That Was a Weekend!

Oh my!  Last week was supposed to be my "easy" week before prepping for summer school starts.  I have no idea what happened to the week.  I knew the weekend was going to be crazy, but I guess I anticipated being much more productive leading up to the weekend.... the best laid plans, I guess.

Friday, Abe turned 7.  We had a great day -- full of school, cleaning and celebration (more on that later), and managed to surprise Abe with a party with friends.  After the party, Dar and I cleaned up, got packed for St. Louis, and loaded up for the Saturday morning activities.  I think we got to bed by midnight.

We got up at 6, roused the boys, ate breakfast, and loaded up.  Mia joined us and we headed 30 minutes to Hopedale.  We met up with our friend Amy and her three kids, and Dar and Mia watched our combined six kids (ages 7, 6, 4, 2, 18 months and 13 months) while Amy and I biked the 13.2 mile course.  Quickly. Because we had to get back for Mia and Dar to participate in the Duathlon.  We did, and they raced and did great.  I didn't manage to get any pictures of them, but they both did awesome.  I am hoping we have Mia hooked!  Unfortunately, Dar's achilles is really hurting him.  It might have something to do with his crazy 10+ miles of hills in Dances with Dirt last weekend.  Or his 5+ mile run Monday.  Or his 7+ miles of hills on Wednesday.  Or the Duathlon on Saturday morning.  I just don't understand (read: sarcasm).  He is a machine, and I am amazed by him.  But, he is a little crazy.

Back to Saturday morning...... Then we raced to Abe's last soccer game and back home again.  We loaded up the roof-top carrier and all of our gear (yes, this was an overnight excursion, but we needed three rows of seats and the double stroller), showered, changed diapers and clothes, iced Dar's foot, and finally got on the road.

All three boys napped a bit on the way to St. Louis, we arrived at the Holidome next to Six Flags and met up with the Hardy crew.  We checked in, headed to the hotel restaurant, and then went swimming in the awesome pool.  We celebrated with cupcakes, then finally headed to bed.  Poor Myrtle shared a bed with Abe and Jack, but everyone slept relatively well.  Charley was up by 6, so Dar, Charley and I headed out to get breakfast for everyone.  When we got back, I headed out for a run, then we all got ready and took the shuttle over to Six Flags for the day.  It was a FULL day.  Poor Dar was limping the whole day, but he was a great sport about it.  The kids loved Six Flags, and we managed to avoid the really horrible weather on the way home (the tornado that killed 89 people yesterday was only about 1.5 hours away from where we were).  We unloaded, stuck sleeping boys in bed, and crashed ourselves.  I told Dar I was sure we could have fit something else in.

Now we are putting off school for a little while so I can get the yard mowed before the next bad weather rolls in...... we are grateful for a blessed weekend, amazing family and friends, and life.