Wednesday, July 15, 2009

Lander Trip #3

4th of July

We had a lot of fun on the 4th, with a day filled with activities. Unfortunately, no one was taking pictures, so I don't have too many to show what we did.

In the morning, Kim, Jeff, Matt, and I woke up early and went down to Main Street to participate in Lander's Half Marathon. Matt and Jeff were awesome and ran. Kim and I had decided to do this just for fun and walk the whole thing. We has a blast. We talked and laughed the whole way. We thought it would take us about 4 hours, we weren't going to push ourselves. But we got a little competitive out there and tried passing a few people, (especially when Kim had to pee and we sprinted so fast to be first in line at the port-a-potty at the half way point.) Towards the end of the race, we turned onto Main Street and walked the last 2 blocks to the finish line. That part was kind of fun. Everyone was out getting ready for the parade, so the street was lined with people. A lot of them clapped for us and gave us lots of encouragement. We finished the race in 2 hours, 57 minutes. 1 hour sooner then we had planned, and we weren't the last racers out, coming in during the parade. I'm glad we did it, even though I got 2 blisters and it took me 5 days to quit being sore. We'll probably try again another year.



After the race, and eating all the free food they provided, we headed over to watch the parade. It's a typical small town parade, full of horses and tractors. The kids love catching candy and getting sprayed with water from the fire trucks.

We then went to my parents house to relax for a while. I should have taken a nap, which I would later regret, but there was always something to do or someone to talk to. My cousin Natalie came with her family. I hadn't seen her for so long so it was good to meet her kids and visit. My parents made a great BBQ for us and I ate and ate some more. (I was so hungry that day.)

We started setting up to do fireworks. (In Lander, anything goes. Out of town, where my parents live, they can do anything they want, any day of the year. In town, it is only allowed on the 4th. But seriously, anything is allowed.) I parked myself in a chair, since I could barely move and was pretty much sleep walking for being so tired, while I waited for everyone to get ready. Then a big wind storm came up. We headed inside to wait it out. But at that point, I didn't think I could stay awake, especially knowing we might not even do the fireworks if the wind kept up. This is Wyoming after all, where the wind can last for a week. So Bruce, Travis, and I headed to our camper. (We were sleeping in a friend's camper bacause of Bruce's cat allergy and the cat dander that is all over my parents house due to the cats that lived there before they bought the house.) I was a little nervous to try and sleep that night. We were right in town, where it usually sounds like a war zone from 9-12 pm every 4th of July. But I didn't need to worry, I was so exhausted that I crashed hard and didn't hear a thing.

The rest of the family did end up doing fireworks and having a great time. My sister Kim sent me some pictures that she took that night.

My parents with 7 out of 14 of their grandkids.

Grandpa, Grandma Jo, Dylan, and Courtney.

4 comments:

Natalie said...

Love the action shot ladies! I'm so impressed you guys did the half! It was SO great to see you and your family on the 4th and to catch up. It had been way too long.

Kim said...

You're righ--that picture is pretty goofy of us, but I'm so dang proud of us I don't even care. Thanks for doing it with me. I will always remember the little old lady I beat to the portapotty.

Kate said...

Sounds like you guys had such a fun vacation. I bet it was great to be back home with your family. And way to go on the race! That's quite impressive!!!

Jayleen said...

You guys look great coming into the finish line. Great Job! It's fun to see all those pictures! I was glad that we had the chance to spend time with you and your family!