Stud Muffin Strikes Again

Mark just ran marathon #28, his 4th Boston. And it turned out to be his 2nd Boston where the temperature was excessively hot. His first one (2004) was 87 degrees or so. But as a spectator, it was tolerable. This time it got into the low 90's, and it was too hot even for us as spectators. But even though they offered (because of the heat) to let any of the runners defer to next year, provided they didn't even start the race, he opted to "run" it anyway. And amazingly enough, he ended only 20 or so minutes behind his normal time. Not bad, considering the winner was 10 minutes slower than last year's time. And he completed the marathon, which 932 runners didn't. He wasn't one of the 2600 who sought help at the medical tents, either. He just did it smart. Because he's a stud muffin. (And I would have posted pictures, but I forgot a camera. So when I get pictures from our friends who did take a camera, I will post some.)

Life is good

All my children (yes, I realize I have only three)and grandchildren (and only two of those so far) together this past weekend for the temple wedding of our middle child to a really great guy. Life doesn't get any better than this!

Our European "Benture"

We made it there and back. Had a few bumps along the way but nothing we couldn't surmount.






























Learned that the Parisians are very nice, friendly, helpful people in spite of the reputation they have in America. (Have a sneaking suspicion that perhaps if one is friendly and nice to them, they respond in kind.)













Discovered that when driving in Europe, a GPS is essential.









Were reminded yet again how very young our country is.





Now know that Italy is indeed (as Katrina tried to tell us) hot and that Tuscany lives up to its reputation for beauty.







Gained a new appreciation for people trying to communicate in a country where they don't speak the language.













Missed my mom terribly, but figured she was watching out for us (and helping us when needed).













Glad to be home (partly so we can plan the next trip!).

Wahoo!

That was my exact response when my daughter's boyfriend told us he wanted to marry our daughter! We are so happy for her and for us (because we like him lots)!!!

Go me!

I accomplished a hard thing this week, which I will never admit to in public. But my family was so supportive, and I appreciated that support so much. I actually knew they would be. Even the far-away child did what she could, saying a little prayer with my favorite grandson for me. Doesn't get any better than family!

#26

The crazy man did it again--ran his 3rd Boston Marathon. And he would like me to document it so people know he wasn't making it up.

So here are the posing-with-the-bib pictures:












And the posing-at-the-finish-line-two-days-before-the-race pictures:






To get some acknowledgement of what we (the spectating family) went through, here's an example of what the subways looked like most of Saturday and Monday (and no, that's not Mark's bald head in the picture) and what the streets looked like near the finish line where you had to go reclaim your runner:











Then there's the one picture we took of him when we saw him just past mile 16:










And finally, the picture of him with his reward of his new medal. His official time was 3:38:45, which is actually a qualifying time for next year's race. Although he didn't quite win (but only because those darn Kenyans were running again), we're proud of him!

Favorite

We got to go to Disneyland with the entire family (including grandkids!) a couple weeks ago. I loved it all, especially bonding-with-the-grandchildren time. Extra rewards when Andrew chose to ride with me instead of his mom on Buzz and when Emma got so excited when Bethany handed her off to me that she leaned for me, then kicked and kicked and snuggled her face into my shoulder as if she couldn't contain her joy. I couldn't contain mine at that point!

But my very most favorite moment came when we were waiting for the World of Color show and my three daughters and I played Disney 20 questions. Okay, it wasn't the game that was so rewarding, but watching the interaction of my daughters. They're now approaching more of a peer level. They've always gotten along (for the most part), but Camilla was always very much in the little sister role because of the age difference. But she's almost 18 and for the first time I felt like I was watching the magical bond of sisters. Never experienced it myself, but so glad to be able to watch it in them. I had such an overwhelming feeling of love watching them. There really is something special about sisters. And I love my daughters!! (Guess which one is my favorite?!)