KC Half Marathon

Mark ran a fantastic race this weekend.  Mark PR'd by 3 minutes finishing at 1:55.  Mark ran with a buddy.  Not with me.  I was supposed to be running beside Mark.  This was my first DNS (did not start.) We signed up for this race back in May and decided we would train together (well both train for a half marathon at the same time) and do our first race together.  This is not something we can easily arrange with the girls and all, so we have to count on the grandparents to step up and help out.  Turns out, we did not need them.  If you recall, back in August I injured my hip and have not been running for the last month.  I tried very hard to rest and heal so I could run with Mark, but it just did not work.  

So, Mark trained for this race and ran it hard and fast.  This is not an easy course and I am so impressed with how he did.  

We arrived to the first spot early and ready to cheer him on at Mile 4.  We actually arrived when the first marathoners were speeding past with the police escort.  The girls loved it.  

It was very cold at 7:20 in the morning, waiting, waiting, waiting for Mark and Shannon.  But, finally we saw him and gave him a high 5 and a kiss and they kept on running.  

Then we headed down near the Plaza, around mile 7, to look for them again.  We saw several of my friends running past as we waited.  We both knew several people running on Saturday. 

We made another quick stop at mile 9 where Mark almost missed us. I was about 1/2 earlier on the route than he was expecting, so he ran right by us.  We jumped, yelled and screamed, but he never saw us.  A couple of other runners caught up to him and told him he passed us, and he looked back and saw us.  Crazy Mark came running back (a pretty short distance) to give hugs and high 5's and kisses again, and kept on running.  He probably added 30-45 seconds to his time doing that, but he said it didn't matter.  

Then it was time to race to the finish line, which was crazy.  We had to park pretty far away and walk, or run at times, to the finish line.  

I snapped a few pictures of this adorable little one with her scarf.  

Then Lauren hopped on this wall to strike a pose.  

Then we barely saw him cross the finish line.  He was looking for us, but we were standing pretty far back, up on a wall.  That was the only way we were going to be able to see him.  It was crazy packed at the finish line.  It was so much fun.  

There he is.  Looking great, feeling great, breaking his old 1/2 marathon record on a much tougher course.  Way to go Mark!  

and running buddy Shannon.  He rocked this race also.  

Then we went inside, up to the tunnels to warm up.  

We saw this view while we were up there.  Thousands of runners.  Tons of excitement and exhaustion all at the same time.  It was an incredible race that I missed, but still enjoyed watching Mark and cheering him on.  The girls totally love it and we would not miss it for the world.  

Surprise 40th Birthday Party

This past weekend in Des Moines we celebrated Mark, Todd and Jim's 40th birthday.   Jim and Mark thought it was just a surprise party for Todd, Todd know something was up but not sure what, and Mark made sure Todd got to the party on time. We celebrated at a bar and grill, Champs, in Des Moines.  The room was great, although we had so many people we were spilling into the bar area.  We probably had over 100 people at the party!  

So Jim arrived a few minutes before Todd and Mark.  I have no idea why.  He was out golfing with the rest of the guys all afternoon, but was in his own car, so he showed up a little early.  We were all stunned and did not know what to say.  He literally stood in front of his cake for several minutes before realizing the party was for him as well!  

Todd arrive and acted surprised...

Then the look on Mark's face cracks me up...he saw his brother and the wheels started turning...Mark quickly realized the party was for him also!  

Shannon drove up from KC for the party, after telling Mark he was not going to be able to make it to "Todd's Party."  Shannon sent me a message on Face book trying to figure out what to say to Mark.  Shannon did not want to mess up anything...He didn't...all the guys were totally surprised.  

This hat was a huge hit.  Mark's brother brought it up and Mark wore it most of the night.  

Jon and Pat drove over from Omaha with their families.  

Steve, my sister and parents came up for the party as well.  

The Minnesota boys (Todd's brother in laws.)  Mark hangs out with them every year for the Fantasy Football draft and knows them pretty well.  

Each guy had their own table, cake and an assortment of baby pictures.  I also brought up Mark's senior pictures and those were a hit!  

Steve got Mark some crazy gifts.  Adult depends, reading glasses, pill container, AARP card, etc...

Mark and his brother Pat. 

All the guys, and little Spencer too!

We took a lot of pictures of the birthday boys...Great bunch of guys and amazing friends.  

Um, a little too much beer perhaps? 

Brian, another great college friend and one of the guys...

And the masterminds behind the party.  Tammy, Bridgit and myself.  We started planning this party back in March...it has been so much fun the past several months getting all the details worked out.  I am so glad Mark and Jim were surprised, and Todd was a little bit surprised as well.  He obviously had no idea what were were planning,  he just know something was up!  

Happy 40th birthday Mark, Todd and Jim.  It was a good one for sure!  

Riviera Maya- Day 3

Tuesday July 9th was Mark's 40th birthday!  We had a great day planned.  

After sleeping in, enjoying breakfast at La'Isla, we headed to the beach for a massage.  An 80 minute massage ON.THE.BEACH.  It was heaven.  

This is the couples massage area.  We had a massage early in the morning, so it was not too hot, but Mark said he still got a little warm.  

It was so relaxing to lay there and just listen to the sound of the ocean in the background.  (Although there was a few more distracting sounds that I managed to ignore, but Mark did not!) 

Before we headed to lunch and the pool to relax and enjoy some more drinks we got sucked into listening to a presentation on time shares.  Ugh.  It took over an hour and took away from our pool time.  We were finally able to get away from that and enjoyed lunch at JoJo's again.  

One of my favorite drinks of the week...Lalita's daughter.  (Again, I have no idea what is in it.) 

This one too..I think it was a banana and strawberry daiquiri.  

We spent the whole afternoon (2-5:30) at a pool and parked at the swim up bar.  We met several great couples this afternoon and enjoyed talking to them.  We also did face time with the girls from the pool (Wifi was best there) and the girls said hello to our new friends as well.  It started to sprinkle around 5:30, which was OK because we needed to head back and shower for the night.  

We had dinner at La'Fluenta.  It is a culinary theater where the food is prepared in front of you.  

It was a 5 course meal with food from Sicily, Hawaii, Japan, Jamaica, and Iceland.  

At first we were told that they were full Tuesday night.  We really wanted to go Tuesday night since it was Mark's birthday.  Well, they made some arrangements and got us in...front and center at the best table in the house.  Mark asked me if I had something to do with it, and I did not.  I had no idea we had the best table in the house! 

If you were not sitting front and center, you could see what was going on on the big TV screens placed throughout the restaurant.  There was also a special birthday song for Mark and an extra glass of wine for the both of us with dessert.  

It was a great day and a perfect way to celebrate Mark's 40th birthday!  That night we went to the beach to see the turtles.  There are huge (4 feet) turtles that come out at night and lay their eggs on the beach.  The turtles dig holes very deep to lay their eggs and at dawn they return back to the ocean.  It was crazy to watch and I really wanted to take a picture, but Mark told me not to mess with nature.  He was probably right...

Happy 40th Birthday Mark.  I hope it was a good one.  I sure had fun!  

Surprise Trip to Chicago!

Last week before we went to Mexico, we made a stop in Chicago to see a Cubs game.  We flew out Saturday morning from KCI and landed in Chicago before 9:30.  We were able to do some sightseeing around the city we absolutely love before heading up to Wrigley.  

Our hotel (Palmer House) was in the Southern part of downtown, one block off Michigan Ave. It was a short walk to the Art Institute and Millennium Park.  

We strolled through Millennium Park enjoying all the art work all the people.  

The famous bean...

Next, we headed up Michigan Ave. looking for a local deli for lunch.  

We walked all the way up to the river and found a great deli.  Perfect for lunch.  We cooled off, had lunch and then walked along Michigan Ave. a little longer to catch the red line up to Wrigley Field.  We realized we did not have our train passes and ended up wasting $20 on more passes (the train machine did not give change...ugh)  

We hit one of the local bars for a beer before heading into the Stadium.  It is such a fun atmosphere all around the ballpark.  It is a true  love of baseball up there.  

The view from our seats.  Behind home plate but way up high!

Then we decided to walk around for a while...

and found new seats....

Then we went and got a snack..and new seats again!  Mark said that was the most fun he had at a Cubs game.  Wondering around looking for new seats.  It was a fun game with a Cubs win!  

With the use of our phone and the train map we can get around Chicago very easily.  

We noticed this steakhouse when we headed up to Wrigley and decided to try it out for dinner.  When we walked in it was packed, and they did not have any openings until 10:00 that night!  They said we could sit at the bar if we wanted...so we did.  Then we noticed were were completely under dressed and steaks were $75.  Ouch.  But, we were able to find something less expensive and enjoyed a great dinner.  

Then we headed back to the hotel to crash for our early flight out of O'hare in the morning with our final destination of Riviera Maya, Mexico.  

The next morning we caught the Blue Line up to O'hare.  It was crazy how dead the city of Chicago is at 4:40 in the morning.  But, I could not believe how packed the Blue Line was.  Full of travelers, and employees for the airport.  

I took these pictures and sent them to the girls Sunday morning.  Early morning flight, tired parents, coffee in hand, destination Mexico.  It was a great day!