Memorial Day Weekend

Memorial Day Weekend

A long awaited three day weekend, a weekend with the kids, and no race in my immediate future. Those were the ingredients to a fantastic weekend. We did our usual family planning to get a guideline for the weekends activities. It was a great combination of action and relaxation. I think it turned out fabulously. You can be the judge.

Friday's don't normally include too many activities outside of the family planning session. However, this week was a lot more eventful. Phoebe and I managed to go for a bike ride. We ended the day by going up to Mehlville pool for a nice swim. Phoebe went head first off the diving board for the first time just before it was time to go. I figured out that it's hard to get Max to do anything other than a flip anymore. I fit in some regular swim set training while the kids did their own thing. Swimming does a lot for draining energy and everyone sleeps good those nights.

 Wow, was that just Friday? Saturday started off early to try to beat the heat. We went for an early bike ride around the trail at Jefferson Barracks park. I can't say we really beat the heat though. It was hot early. I had to ride through a flat tire on my cyclocross bike. We took it slow and I managed to keep from ruining the tire or rim. It was time to head home and cool off for a bit through the heat of the day. We all played a full game of Monopoly (I won thanks to Boardwalk/Park Place). Off into the heat again and to St. Francis' school picnic. The kids and I rode a few rides and that was seriously all I could handle. My days of being able to handle non-stop riding or any ride are over. Momo the monster (octopus ride), scrambler, and the round up. We ran into Tisa whom I hadn't seen in forever. Phoebe went on to use up the remaining tickets on her own with the Pharoh's ride and then finally the nice, relaxing carrosel. We weren't there for much more than an hour and that was all I could take of the mid-day heat. We also watched the Men in Black movies to get the kids ready to seeing the new Men in Black 3 movie that is coming out. It was decided to do a backyard camp out, so we setup the tent and got the fire pit down by our "camp site". We roasted marshmallows and told some stories before bed. Emily didn't join us in the tent and Max didn't last long because of the heat. I don't blame him. It took forever for it to cool down so I could sleep, and the birds woke me up early.

Sunday morning was another try at an early start to beat the heat, but this time it was the Renaissance Fair. Again, we failed with the heat. It came on early and even with the shade, it was still just plain hot. We went to a juggler show there that was good and funny. The kids threw knives while Emily and I threw axes. The kids did most of the quest (Max did finish, but wwe weren't able to stick around for his knighting).  We also somewhat successfully shot the bow/arrow. The people there are always interesting. The camelbak full of cold water helped get us through the day. Poor Emily with her liquid limitations though, darn failed kidneys. Time to get home to cool off and relax. I made a stop at the bike shop to get tubes to fix my flat. I made some other smaller bike repairs as well. We watched some really cheesy scary movies with some of the worst acting I've ever seen. It just ends up making the whole thing funny. We eventually went for another bike ride around the neighborhood once the sun started going down (again, with the heat dictating our schedule).  When we got back Emily and I introduced the kids to a couple new games. We played our favorite card/word game, Quiddler. Then the fireworks came out and we had a blast playing Risk. Very little happened in the way of ganging up or teaming up. The battles were constant and had a "take no prisoners" feel.  It's a long game and didn't finish until Monday morning with Emily routing all of our troops leaving everyone else in her wake.

Monday. Yes, can you believe we did all that and still had another day to go? We finished our Risk game, ate some breakfast, and a quick visit with Emily's mom, Maryann. Then the kids and I were off to Gypsy Caravan to meet up with my parents. Emily stayed home to relax. Not a bad choice with the heat and all the walking we had to do. We found my parents right away and wove our way around two of the three big areas that were setup with seemingly endless rows of tables of peoples stuff and people everywhere. We all got at least a little something there. I even picked up soem things for Emily. The kids got some cool rags and I brought the camelbak, so those kept us cool and the heat manageable. We headed back with the kids so they could go to a BBQ with their mom and that side of the family. The house gets so quiet , so quickly when they go. Roxie, our cat, likes it but I miss them pretty quickly. I immediately made myself busy cutting the grass.

Monday continued... It is Memorial day and all. I went out for a short run. I headed out to Jefferson Barracks cemetery. A mere 2 miles there and 2 miles back doesn't make for much of a training session. That wasn't the purpose though. I was taken back by the large line of cars coming to and from the cemetary of people visiting their lost loved ones. I was there to do the same. I visited William A Edens. He was agreat friend and just one day younger than myself. We were told we looked like brothers a lot (although he was always thought of as the older one because of my size). We lost him in 2005 and there aren't very many days between times that I think about him. He inspires me still to be the best me that is possible. It drives me to know how much of a gift my life is and that I need to make the most of every moment. I miss you, Wil. While there I took a moment to look out over the sea of seemingly endless graves, each with a flag, and be hit with the impact of how many lives, at this location alone, that were effected. On my way home there was still the endless flow of cars and in and out of the cemetary. It was good to see so many people remembering this day was for so much more than just cook outs.