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I am so proud of my family. Not only do I have some of the most loving and kind people in my family but they are also determined, dedicated, and driven. These traits are so important to have in a world where average is becoming expected.

This past weekend was the Rock N’ Roll Marathon and ½ Marathon Race in San Antonio. Kara, her mom Sheri, dad Pops, brother Zach, sister Sara, and brother-in-law Pete all competed in this year’s race. Pete ran the entire 26+ mile marathon route and the rest ran the 13+ mile half-marathon route.

I have so many pictures that I want to share. I will post them below and comment on some.

Zach was nice enough to drive his truck down to San Antonio. It was nice to veg out instead of drive the route.

Check in for the race was at the Alamodome…the entire floor of the huge arena was full.

Here is Kara waiting in line to get her race packet.

Each racer gets a number to pin on their clothing for identification purposes and a small strip of plastic to attach to their shoe (seen in upper left.) This strip has a RFID computer chip that activates that runner’s clock when they pass under the start line and stops their clock as they pass under the finish line…very cool.

Completed check-in and a funny picture

So race day had come. My alarm clock went off at 4:20 am and we left my grandparent’s house (thank you Papa and Grandma) at about 5:15.

It was still pitch black and very cold when we arrived at the parking place, the AT&T Center, and waited to board a shuttle to Brackenridge Park where the race would start.

Kara on the shuttle bus.

Sara and Zach on the shuttle bus

Zach had chosen the “Rosa Parks Memorial Seat”…giggle.

Spirits were high as the runners prepared for the race. The only difficulty was that seemingly everyone had to use the restroom at the same time…

These were the lines for the 50 Port-O-Potties that were near the start line. Each pair of potties had a line that was 50 people long. And these toilets were not pretty…most runners, I guess, wanted to “lighten the load” before they started the race.

…and away they go…

The route took the runners past several San Antonio landmarks including the Pearl Brewery…I was tempted

Here was my vantage point for the race…behind the fence…the only time I run is when I am trying to get away from something.

After the sun came up and the runners started their run, the warm clothing, gloves, scarves, hats, hoodies, etc. all started coming off. There is nothing to do but discard the clothes along the route with no hope of seeing them again. Good for San Antonio’s homeless.

Another landmark by which the runners passed was the Alamo. To most, it’s not as big as they would have thought.

The signature of the Rock N’ Roll races is, conveniently, rock n’ roll. Along the route, local bands played music to inspire the runners.

And runners there were…

The field was 33,000+ runners strong. This was what I had to contend with when trying to locate my family members.

The aid stations were a sea of discarded cups and spilled liquids.

Runners nearing the finish outside of the Alamodome

Believe it or not, this is Pete crossing the finish line. You may notice the clock above him. It reads 3:03:19 which means to me, “WOW he ran for three hours straight! That’s longer than a movie.” To the marathon community, it means that he ran fast enough to qualify for the Boston Marathon which is arguably the most prestigious in the country. CONGRATS Pete!

Here is a little Zapruder work I have done on the image.

I also got a quick chance to see Sheri cross the line.

Unfortunately, these were the only two pictures of family members finishing. The others were lost in the VERY large shuffle.

I did get some good post-race pictures of the greatly respected finishers.

Pops

Sheri (aka Nana)

Sara

Pete

Zach

Oops, I forgot to get a closeup of Kara after the finish. (To be fair, she was not around when I was taking the above pictures.)

The whole group

To celebrate the hard work and preparation, it was time for Mexican Food on the River Walk at Casa Rio…yummy.

This weekend would not have been the same without my Mom and Jim who graciously hosted our three kids at their house on Saturday and Sunday. Even a coughing and puking Parker could not make them complain…THANK YOU.

Also, big thanks goes out to my Papa and Grandma for giving us a free place to stay.

In all, we had a great and fun weekend with our family.

For more:
http://sorenandreese.blogspot.com/2008/11/monumental-weekend.html

Parker gets to go play with his friend from church Judah Worton from time to time. Last time he was over there, the first thing they did was put on Judah’s Star Wars helmets. I thought the image was cute, snapped a picture and emailed it to Judah’s dad, Roland.

Later in the day, Roland replied with a picture of the boys both wearing 3D glasses…it was equally cute. I am thankful that my kids have good friends.

This past weekend we took our bi-annual family camping trip. We went for one night only this time because of other commitments and stayed close to home by going to Ray Roberts State park north of Denton.

When we arrived, I put Wyatt in charge of building the fire. He gathered some sticks for kindling, put a firestarter in place, and added some newspaper. I would say it turned out great.

He was proud of his great work.

Our campsite was near the lake and Parker took full advantage.

This picture is the current image on my phone…cutie.

Unfortunately, I didn’t get any pictures of my lovely girls but they had fun exploring, jogging and riding bikes.