Dream Realized

I had a dream.

After last year's Ragnar, I had a dream of running a Ragnar with my hubs. So at last year's Foster reunion I started to push the idea, realizing that the stars might really align because there weren't going to be any expecting mommas in the fam this summer. We had 4 of the 6 brothers and their wives sign on by last fall...my Ragnar dream was going to come true!

Weston, me, Tyler, Garrett, Beth, Kristen, Drew, Adam, Laura, Jeff, Angie, Becky

I had another dream. I met Tyler's cousin's wife, Beth, several summers ago and we became friends mostly through our blogs. She was planning to run last year's Ragnar with my team in WA, but ended up not being able to. So when I realized that we were going to be short a couple or two for this year, I contacted Beth to see if she and her husband wanted in. They did! I was super excited to finally get to spend time with Beth and get to know her better. Love her.

Me and the beautiful Beth

The whole experience was awesome. Perfect. I loved our team and I loved the beauty of the Utah valleys and mountains we ran through. I love doing something hard and coming out on the other side of it. I love the inside jokes and memories made. I love the hilarity that comes from 6 hours of sleep in two days. I love that I got to shower in a beautiful home and then sleep for a few hours on a real bed before my final run (instead of climbing into a sleeping bag on the floor of a high school gym with hundreds of other runners and realize how NASTY I smelled...that was my Ragnar sleeping experience last year).

Van One: Ty, me, Adam, Laura, Beth, Garrett

I love, love, love my husband! My parents (so, so graciously) made the trek from Vegas and watched our kids at my grandparent's house for the weekend. It was so nice not to worry about them and just get lost in the experience together. The kids didn't miss us a bit and had SUCH a great time with my parents and grandparents. We were total zombies on Saturday afternoon and evening. My sister and her family drove from Payson where they were at a family reunion to visit us...I was glad the kids got to play, but felt so bad because I could barely put together a coherent sentence. (Sorry again, Adri & Trent!)

Me and my man at the finish line!

And my dad. My sweet, thoughtful Dad. He heard that we were planning to get together as a team in a park right after the finish line. So he asks if he can make lunch for everyone. Bacon wrapped hot dogs to be precise. And the reason (besides the fact that he's just really nice)? He visited Washington while I was training for my marathon and had to do a 20-mile run. He happened to be making those hot dogs for us (mostly for Ty) for lunch and I let him know it was the best my stomach had done post-long run. So when I ran my marathon at the Valley of Fire, he packed his BBQ grill in the back of his truck and made me (and everyone in the fam) those hot dogs near the finish line. So of course he's going to do the same, thoughtful thing after our Ragnar. I'm so lucky to have such wonderful parents!

Mom & Dad getting the grub ready

What a great experience! The stars likely won't be aligned for all of us next year...but hopefully a few years from now. I love me some Ragnar.