The American Vacation

The adventure started the second we pulled into long term parking at the airport. The kids we excited, helpful and kind. Lexi looked up at me and said “so we do bus first, then train and then airplane and I get to sit by the window”. “Yep” is all I could come up with since I was trying to get 5 big bags of luggage to the bus so we could start our first Disney World experience.
The West’s, Spittle’s and Walton’s (Ohio group missing 2 families) planned a party in Florida for 8 days. We were going to hit Disney World for the week and also add in a few days on the Florida beaches. The kids were excited since we told them that we rented a home for everyone that had a pool and for the next week their bedtimes were going to be super late.
Magic Kingdom- We spent the first day at Disney Magic Kingdom with the Spittle’s while the West’s were still traveling in and as we arrived that morning the heat index was over 105 and would stay that way all week. The blanket of heat hit me so hard that I could almost eat it. I started to soak my clothes and for the next 9 days this process never changed. The first ride we did as a family was in Frontier land on the Pirates ride. The park was clean and fun and we had only planned on spending a half a day. We hit several other popular rides, had a good time and headed to our rental to get settled and cooled down in the pool.
Beach- The whole group made the first official day a beach day and we headed to St Petersburg for a great day in the ocean. All three kids had a funny face the first time they tasted the salt water. The sand was white, the sky was blue and we for the next 6 hours had a blast building in the sand, and playing in the water.


Magic Kingdom,Epcot,Universal and Animal Kingdom - Each of these parks rocked, We did every popular ride that Disney had to offer. We saw all the shows that we were told would be fun and by the end of each day we had very tired kids. In Epcot we watched the fireworks show, in Magic Kingdom we watched the light parade and Lexi even was able to take all the girls for a birthday dinner with all the Princesses within a 2 mile radius. The favorite ride for us was the Rock and Roll in Universal. Anne and I are not park people, in fact we never have been together on a ride in our 12 years of marriage. Thanks to Dawn she did her first without me. Then at the end of the trip we rode together and it was a blast.
Daytona Beach- We did this beach two times as well having so much fun on the boogie boards and the waves the first time we went back again. We had dinner at Bubba Gump’s and the older kids went to see the new Karate Kid. After getting lost just a bit we made it home just before midnight.
The Ohio group worked to squeeze every ounce of fun that we possible could out of this trip. It is a magical place where kids get along, friendships were renewed and future plans for the next one were started. I loved this trip and was pleased that we went with friends. Trips with friends are for sure the best way to go and I forever will try to rock our family trips this way. I have added the best pictures from this trip. Lexi falling asleep on me after the light show is one of my favorites. She struggled to stay awake for the show and then had no chance after, she was just too tired. Thanks to Jessica for planning the trip. Thanks to everyone for putting up with me and for making us realize how awesome friends really are. Love you all

M-I-C-K-E-Y-M-O-U-S-E

Ah the iconic American trip (vacation is when you are without kids) has finally made it to the Walton home. In anticipation of making the trip the best we could we purchased the "how to" Disney books, we watched the DVD's and as the departure day is finally here we feel good. Jackson and Josh do not need the "make me taller" shoes since they are the required height for all the rides. This was a real concern in our house. Lexi has packed more dresses than shorts and shirts and well Anne and I are just along for the ride. OK, that last statement is not true, I am totally excited to be a kid for the next week. The Waltons are indeed ready to rock Florida.
Jessica Spittle has slaved away for many, many hours as our trip planner and we are on the beach as much as we are in the parks, which is a good call. We are staying in a rented house between all that we want to do. We have the Wests joining us as well and the three families are going to have a ball.
Coach Beth that has written workouts that I will be able to get done and invite others to join in and will allow for them to get done on the beach or at the house or hotel. That is awesome and I am glad that I have her helping me this season.
It has been several years since we took the time to have a family trip to some place other than Lake Powell or Salt Lake City. Our kids have grown and I think that they are at the perfect age to really enjoy this adventure. Work can do without me for a few days and I will be glad to put my Blackberry away for a few days.
Disney here we come!

Bolder Boulder 2010 a spectators view

Anne and Nicole decided to run the Bolder Boulder which is the nations best 10K and draws between 50-55K participants a year. I am the one that usually races so I spent some time helping plan the event so it would be fun for all.
We decided to us the RTD as the transportation choice up to the race and I would come later with the kids. I took them to the station and they were able to get on the 5:10am bus. I received a call from Anne an hour later telling me that they had checked in and they were in the 8:10 wave start.
The kids were dressed and we were in the car by 6:30am and had smooth sailing until the last 3 miles on Hwy36. With the crowds expected to be over 100,000 strong I was concerned with parking and getting my 3 kids around in time to see Anne and Nicole on the course. To my surprise I was able to find a parking spot close to mile marker 1 and mile 5. We were able to get a great spot just after the mile 1 banner and started to cheer. The kids know how to cheer and they had the cowbells rocking and were giving high 5's to the runners as they came by.



They were having so much fun that 3 different film crews came and took video of the kids. Lexi was interviewed and decided to be shy for the first time in her life!!!


A few minutes later Anne and Nicole came running by and almost missed us. We cheered as they passed by and then made our way to mile number 5. We took our time and had fun watching the never ending wave of people doing this event. Some were running, walking, wearing crazy costumes and all seemed to be having a great time.

Mile 5 was again very easy to get to and find a perfect cheering spot. The enthusiasm at mile 5 versus mile 1 was way different and so we tried to cheer even louder. Jackson and Josh had a photo make it on the Daily Camera and I was able to capture a great shot of the kids giving high 5's.
Anne and Nicole looked awesome as they came by and I was able to capture a pretty good shot myself.


After they passed we made our way up to the stadium and found the girls just a few minutes later. We walked through the expo and had some good eats and snacks.
Making our way back the the car all seemed to be in great spirits. Jackson and Josh were taking the scout motto of doing a good turn daily serious and picked up trash on the way back to the car. We all had a great time and will try to make this a family event next year. I am pleased with how well this event was done and if asked would recommend the Bolder Boulder 10k to anyone that inquires. It will not be your PR race but you will not find a more fun run race either.

Great job girls,