Road Trip Race | Mommy and Me Monday | 669th ed
The cross country season for the oldest ended with one final out of state meet. The planning has been happening for months, but really came to a precipice these last two weeks.
I should take a minute to say that most of these pictures were her idea and she was super excited when she asked “do I get to be Mommy and Me Monday?”
Heck. Yes!
Friday came and it was finally time to hit the road. Unfortunately yet fortunately, it was just a trip for the oldest and me as other kiddos had other places they needed to be.
We were all chipper and ready to go as we headed off from the house.
One hour down and still relatively full of cheer.
Two hours down. Starting to get overcast and also dark. This trip was all back roads. Like no freeway time. So many traffic lights and stop signs.
Three hours down. Close-ish….this might have been when it started pouring. Rain + dark + poorly lit road does not equal a fun time.
Oh, and it’s literally not even 6pm here!
Whew. We made it to the hotel. If you squint and look sideways you can see my name on the screen. One of us was more impressed than the other.
Time for dinner, a quick shake out run and lights out. Because the next day is race day.
Race day is here! And it’s a muddy mucky mess. The kind of mud that feels like you slipped on a patch of ice. Where you throw your hands out and have to use all of your stabilizing muscles to not fall.
It was an adventure getting to the tent. I was already in my second pair of shoes for the day (I ran earlier outside and my shoes were soaked.)
We were still relatively mud-free here. But seeing the kids in the previous races covered in mud, I realized we didn’t pack enough towels and wipes.
The race wasn’t as fast as everybody hoped…but again, the mud was bad! But, the kids had a great time at their last cross country race of the season.
The finish line was crowded, so I headed back to the tent to find the kids. When I didn’t find them all immediately, I started looking around.
Who would have thought they’d all be in a pond? A pretty cold pond at that. Hoping they don’t all end up neon green, but I was actually kind of thankful for it because they kids got a good bit of mud off. Note to race planners…if the race is muddy…can we get some hoses or something?
Also, the case of the incredible shrinking mom, or did this kiddo grow a little more?
Despite me asking the kiddo to back a bunch of extra shoes….she left them in the car! And was barefoot and we had close to a half mile walk back to the car. Thankfully, she fit in the wagon we borrowed, but also, this muscle loaded kiddo is hard to pull in a wagon!
We got a lot of funny looks and even a few comments.
Then it was time to head home…wet and full of pond water (her…not me!)
We only got stuck behind 2 tractors pulling some sort of watering station. Then a truck that seemed to be driving slow and braking periodically for no reason. We weren’t ready for this drive home.
After one stop for gas and nothing sounding good to eat, we kept driving.
I think we both hit a wall and decided we had to stop. Thankfully, we stopped at the right time and found a great little restaurant in the midst of not much else. Like so good I wish it wasn’t two hours away because we’d like to go back!
It wasn’t the race we hoped it would be. She’s got some issues to work out physically and the mud made it awful, but it was a great time for her and for us. I mean how often do you get to spend almost 8 hours in the car alone with your teenager? We had some laughs, and some serious talks but it was all really good!
What did you do this week?
GET IN THE PICTURE WITH YOUR KIDS! Who cares what you look like? Who cares how you appear? Who cares what you are wearing? JUST DO IT! Come share your picture on the Facebook thread or use #MommyAndMeMonday!
It’s time again for Mommy and Me Monday. Pop out from behind that camera and capture yourself in action with your kids. Check out the inaugural Mommy and Me Monday for more information. Need another reason to participate in Mommy and Me Monday? Read my post about why I blog with words from a friend’s husband.
