A Work in Progress....: Oregon

...well folks, we made it. 1500 miles without a scratch and Scott has to hit the fence at the last corner and get stuck. No joke...he was stuck on the corner with the end of the truck. Getting unstuck involved removing the car from the carrier and relying on the assistance of a nice neighbor to pull the truck around. He claims the streets are sure narrow here. =)

We've been here one month and have only been slightly busy. Alice started Kindergarten, which she loves. She walked off with her class the first day without so much as a backward glance. (I was so worried because she had only been 5 for a week! There are some days when she would rather stay home and play, but overall the transition is pretty smooth. She doesn't offer information when I ask what she's done each day, but slowly it leaks out. She says "we learned". Practicing the politically vague answers at such an early age.) She goes in the afternoon, and Charley and I usually walk her to and from. Charley likes to ride his bike, and complains when we don't have time to walk and have to drive. (It only takes 12 min. to walk (with two little kids) and 5 to drive, with traffic).

We drove back to Utah for the full Top of Utah Marathon, which Scott and Kip finished.

Waiting in the frigid cold of the canyon winds for Daddy and Grandpa to run by. This was mile 14 of 26, just over halfway, and the first place where spectators were allowed along the road. Alice and Charley were not pleased to be waiting in the cold and both wanted to be held and blocked from the wind.

Due to holding children and cheering for the men, this is the first picture taken, of their back view, as we hurried off to the next cheering point. If you look closely, above the red shirts, there is a blue shirt and grey shirt running together. Scott is grey, Kip is blue. Go team!

Run like the wind, Old one! Busy schedules, inexperience and running the first 14 miles faster than their half-marathon time (which was faster than they planned on) threw the guys off their 10 min-mile pace and the cramping set in. Hard to run with crampy legs. They refused to leave each other's side, and walk/jogged the rest of the marathon. (I'm not sure if they'd do it again, but they really enjoyed the half-marathon three weeks previous.) We drove and stopped at about four more places to cheer them on. While I was waiting for them to pass (the duration got longer at each stop) I cheered on every other runner I saw. Yeah. I was suffering from a flu/cold at the time and practically lost my voice. I love runners.

Charley ran up to them at the finish line and crossed with them, I was too busy yelling to get a pic, and by the time I caught up with them, Scott looked like this.

Here they are with their shiny moose finishing medals. Go Team! They're happy to have shared the experience (neither one would have made it if it weren't for the other), but it's not one they're planning on repeating any time soon. Scott could give you more details if you want them. (I don't think you want them...but ask anyway, if you must.)

We drove out to the coast and the children saw the ocean for the first time (although, once we arrived, it was lunch time and they enjoyed playing at the nearby park more than walking on the beach. Go figure.)