Home Again, Home Again!

The big news first: Jake qualified to go to the Ironman competition in Kona, Hawaii next fall. The Kona race is the original Ironman, and now the championships of the Ironman. Only 50 people from each race get to go, and there were 2,500 people in the race at Lake Tahoe. We are so proud of him, and hoping we can go and see him kick some ass in Hawaii. Especially because it won't be so cold.

We had a great time watching him, and the whole race itself was inspiring. Part of the marathon course went around our hotel and under our room, and as we were getting ready for bed last night at 10pm there were still people trudging around the track, working against their own exhaustion and the clock (they close the course at 12 midnight. Breaks my heart to think of those people who hit the water at 6:30am being unable to finish the race after all that work.) Jake was in good spirits every time we saw him, and it was great to get a wave and a smile from him as he blasted by us, with our matching shirts and our signs.

And here's our man, only yards from the finish line. I had a hard time not ugly-crying once he finished, because I felt so proud.

And I was tired from walking around all day to try to see him race. UGH. SO HARD.

Plus these children, they are so heavy.

The kids were so good during the day. Ellie was very enthused to cheer during the early part of the day (she was a little weird at the finish line - I think because she couldn't see anything.) Adam spent basically all of our spectating time peacefully sleeping in the ergo. They both took good naps in the middle of the day (I hollered at Jake from our hotel room window) and then we had one last trip to the pool last night and while I was packing, Adam was sitting in his bouncer and Ellie was saying "don't you dare giggle Adam!" and he was just SCREAMING with laughter back at her. It made my heart melt into a giant puddle. They love each other so very much.

We had a long day today driving home. Looooong. On the drive up Adam played with toys before he fell asleep, but he spent most of the drive today crying, which just broke my heart. We kept stopping to feed him and change him but at some points, we just had to let him cry until he fell asleep. I kept reaching back to stroke his hair, and Ellie would tell him that it was okay and not to cry. She was a great little traveler the whole time. She mostly wants to color and listen to music - I was amazed at how little work it was to keep her entertained on our eleven hour drive. I couldn't have asked for better travel buddies. They both slept well (especially considering that they were in the same room and could have spent all night going back and forth waking each other up. Also funny - during nap times we put Ellie in our bed, but then poor Adam ended up sleeping in his crib in the bathroom so that we could sit on the couch and talk at a reasonable volume) and Ellie took full advantage of everything vacation had to offer.

Tahoe was absolutely beautiful, and I hope we can visit again in a few years when the kids are bigger and can go water skiing and hiking and take advantage of everything the area has to offer. Or maybe we'll be back next year, since Jake ran the inaugural Lake Tahoe Ironman and is now a legacy.