The girls did well on the flights. (We had a short layover in San Francisco.) When we booked our tickets, we couldn't get seats together on any leg except San Diego to San Francisco - meaning Ever was going to sit in a row by herself on three flights. I had bought a few "presents" from the dollar store for her to open on the flights (coloring/activity books, a calculator, stickers). In anticipation of her spending hours on planes flanked by strangers, we had also gotten five videos from the library. Somehow we ended up all together on every one of our flights without even having to switch seats with anyone. Ever didn't even open all her presents during our travels; she was mostly just interested in watching Frozen (and Doc McStuffins on the way home) on my laptop.
Cornyee, being the world-class hostess that she is, had done much in the way of preparation for our arrival. She had many ideas about things to do and had lots of amazing things to eat, including a delicious birthday cake that was waiting for us when we arrived. We ate and got the girls to bed. They were happy but ridiculously exhausted:
Wren had a hard time that first night, but she got better after that. The last few nights we were there she slept through the night, and she's been pretty much keeping it up since we got home. Hooray for 12-hour stretches!
Cornyee helped lots with the kids while we were there. She fed weird-haired Wrenzo breakfast Friday morning:
I showed Courtney one of the Aunt Jemima headresses that I ordered on Amazon and promptly regretted. (I was desperate for some sort of hair thing that would fit Wrenzo's giant head, as I couldn't find any in stores.) Turns out the knot is still huge, so I couldn't bring myself to let Wrenzo wear it in public:
Jim and I had registered for the Baltimore half-marathon happening on Saturday, October 17. Jim originally wanted to do the marathon, but he didn't enjoy (to put it mildly) his long training runs. I encouraged him to run the half with me because it would be a lot more fun to run together. So the half it was. We had to go to Baltimore on Friday to pick up our race packets. The girlies passed out in the car:
Jim ran in to get the race packets, and then we found parking by the harbor and changed a happy Wren in the trunk:
First stop was Shake Shack for yummy burgers and ice cream. Ever was happy about the treat, even though she struck a zombie pose for the photo:
After lunch we walked around the harbor and enjoyed the glorious weather. We also enjoyed the bus/limo-loads of men and women dressed in very fancy (and, for most of the females, incredibly tasteless and revealing) evening attire who were all over the harbor area going to or coming from the restaurants. I was intrigued, and we wondered what sort of prom-for-grownups might be occurring. Eventually Bags asked one of the women what was going on, and she said it was an annual red-carpet event for the lifestyle club they all belong to. We thanked her for the explanation and then wondered what a lifestyle club is. Google taught us that it's a group of swingers. I became more intrigued but also appalled and disgusted beyond words. What is wrong with people?
Here's a harbor shot, not featuring any of the swingers:
Wrenzo loves sucking on the wrap:
We enjoyed the Barnes & Noble (formerly a power plant) and purchased a birthday card there for Ever's preschool friend who was having a birthday party while we were gone:
The race was a bit of a bust. When I first thought about running, I worried about my knees. I tried to run consistently for several weeks before the race - two short runs during the week (3-5 miles) and a longer run on weekends. I did fine until our 9-miler. Then I started to get shin splints and became confused about how to proceed. I always feel as if my knees hold up better when I run consistently and build up slowly. After the shin splints began, I wondered if I should (a) stop running to spare the shins but risk the knees, (b) keep running to continue to build up the knees but risk the shins, or (c) not do the race? I decided to register and hope for the best, and I didn't run much the last two weeks. So - back to the race. I felt great at first. The weather was cool (probably close to 50 degrees when we started), and I don't ever feel as if I'm exerting myself when I'm not hot. We registered for a 10-minute-mile pace, and we started off way faster than that. I didn't feel as if we were going very fast, but the pack was crowded and everyone was blocking our way. We weaved and passed people. My biggest complaint was my bladder. My daughters really wrecked me. I needed a port-a-potty pretty immediately after we started, so that was unfortunate. We stopped as soon as we found one. I pretty much stopped at all the bathrooms, and there were lines, and it was annoying. But other than that, we were doing great. The race goes through downtown Baltimore and through a lot of ghetto. It was interesting to see neighborhoods we would never otherwise see. People were out on their stoops or standing by the road (or sitting in wheelchairs) watching us go by. We passed dilapidated buildings and people were who totally drugged up. We went down a block or two where many of the row houses sported signs saying, "We must stop killing each other." I thought about the recent controversy surrounding the Baltimore police and their treatment of blacks. As we passed all the cops lining the race course, I thought how awful it would be to be a cop in that city.
About mile seven, the race took us down around Lake Montebello. And then my knee crapped out. I tried to limp along for a second, but once it's done, it's done. I get excruciating pain that I just can't run through. Then it was really sad because we had to walk over 5 miles. That's a really long, boring walk. Periodically I tried to run again, but it just wasn't possible. After a few miles we came upon a Popeye's fast-food restaurant. Jim asked if I wanted to go in since the race was a bust anyway. I said, "Sure, I could use the bathroom." On our way in, we passed a lady who was heading out. She looked at us and our race t-shirts. She looked confused for a moment. Then she smiled as I laughed, and we shared a moment. Inside, I used the restroom while Jim ordered seasoned fries and biscuits. He used the restroom while I ate the fries. He came out and ate a biscuit quickly, and then we took the other biscuit on the road.
Those miles we had to walk were really embarrassing. Since we had to stay to the right, we were next to all the cheering spectators. It was awful having them all tell us we looked great, keep it up, we were so close to the finish, etc. Pathetic. It was so frustrating not being able to run when my body felt completely fine but for my dumb knee. Jim said we had to run across the finish line, at least. "I can't let my girls see me this way." I was able to jog the last little stretch, and then we were reunited with Bags, Dunford, and the girls.
Bags took these pictures of Wrenzo in the car while they waited for their train to Baltimore:
And this one of Miss Leigh on the train:
Looking amazing after the race:
We all took the train back to where we'd parked. Jim and I changed at the car, and we headed to Annapolis. (Good thing we hadn't run harder/longer, or we would have been more in need of showers.) Cornyee's military ID got us VIP parking at the Naval Academy, where we enjoyed an interesting tour. I don't know what J. Paul Jones looked like, but I'm pretty sure Ever's cuter:
Ever got a ride from Uncle Dun Dun:
Court wore Wren all day, which was nice for me.
The hall contains a replica of one of the Wright brothers' planes:
This torpedo had something to do with the Japanese and World War II:
Submarine memorial:
Dustin chatted up the tour guide as we walked. So cute:
This is where the head of the school lives:
The tomb of John Paul Jones. We learned all about him, but I don't remember a thing other than he was French and important:
Each year the upperclassmen grease up this obelisk and put an object on the top. The incoming class has to form a human ladder and climb to the top to remove the object. One year they decided not to lube it up, and the incoming class got it done in 14 minutes or something. So they went back to lubing.
This amazing building is where all the students live:
Some visiting Canadian students were getting ready to play some music:
The memorial to fallen midshipmen made me sad.
There were murals of famous sea battles around the room:
This building also contained a wall of photos of a bunch of famous Naval Academy alumni, including Jimmy Carter, John McCain, and Ross Perot. Unfortunately I didn't get a picture that wall. John McCain was pretty good-looking in his day.
Cute street where only faculty who are officers can live (mostly duplexes):
After the tour, we walked around the athletic facility, and I reminisced about my diving days:
We enjoyed some seafood in a really cute section of Annapolis and then headed home. Ever enjoyed some ice cream before bed. No drop left behind:
Sunday morning Bags made us waffles and homemade whipped cream for breakfast, making all of Ever's dreams come true. Church was at 1 P.M. Wrenzo and Coco were looking fab:
In sacrament meeting, we sat behind a couple I recognized. Turns out it was Becca Rowan. Her brother, Jamin, was in my geology class at BYU, and I had been a huge fan of him. Then I got to know Becca in the singles' ward in L.A. I recognized her husband from the singles' ward, too, although I hadn't really known him. Small world.
After church, Ever put Dustin in jail in the back room. He tried to come out of jail at one point, and she cried. So he stayed in jail a really long time. When she finally let him out, he put her in "Dun Dun jail" on the couch. Then it became "Dun Dun double jail," "Dun Dun ultimate jail," etc. To get out, Ever had to answer questions like, "What is 1 plus 1?, "What is your favorite color?," etc. Fun was had by all.
We had dreams of going for an evening walk on Sunday, but we didn't make it out. I think I took a nap that afternoon. Wrenzo and I had come down with a cold. (This sickness eventually spread to everyone and ended up plaguing us Kringels for about a month.) Meanwhile Cokes made us some delicious homemade pizza for dinner. We ended up just eating, hanging out, and watching the movie Rudy.
Coco and Dun Dun rented a minivan so we could all drive together to Shenandoah on Monday. (They had to drive a ways to pick up the van and drop it off. So nice of them.) Wrenzo got her warm gear on:
We hit up the Apple House for some apple doughnuts and cider on our way into Shenandoah. We'd hoped to get in a couple of hikes, but with a late start and kiddies who ended up melting down, we just did one. It was lovely to get out, though. The park was beautiful, and we enjoyed the leaves. 'Twas a gorgeous day.
Wrenzo was hungry when we got to the top. My elfin ear glowed while I fed her:
Jim tried to bring back shenaniquinning:
We left early Tuesday morning. Despite the very early departure, Coco made us Trader Joe's chocolate croissants for breakfast. We took Ever's to-go, and she enjoyed it in the airport:
Jim and Wrenzo dozed on the plane. Ever, who was totally exhausted, forced herself to stay awake so she could watch movies. She blinked about every second, her eyes were so tired. But she didn't give in.
She watched a Doc McStuffins movie and loved it. Jim let her start it over again. Shortly after she started it again, we began our descent. She threw a fit about having to stop the movie. She was crying. Wrenzo was crying. I was very unhappy with Miss Leigh. I guess I have to take some blame, though, since I had just totally sleep-deprived her for a week.
The trip went way too fast, as trips generally do, but we were so glad we got to go. It was fun to see the Homers' cute new house and spend some time together. They are wonderful with the kidlets and are such generous and wonderful hosts. I think this should be an annual event.
