Country Music Marathon

Last weekend, Scott ran the Nashville Country Music Marathon. It was his 5th marathon. He has been training for a sweet forever (not counting the days or anything), so we were all ready for him to get out there and run. The weekend was even more special because Paka, Uncle David, and Aunt Terri (Paka's sister) were also running (Uncle Mike was there too, not running. My kind of spectator). And to make it even more special than that, Aunt Karen (Paka's sister) and Uncle Jerry came to see us all in Nashville. It was a fun weekend visiting and catching up, with just a minor amount of worry and anxiety:)

When we arrived, Mary & I quickly made our exit and went to the Puffy Muffin. Because of course. It was just as good as I remembered and I loved getting to catch up with Mary on all things. Uninterrupted.

On Friday night, all 15 of us went to eat at Buca di Beppo. When I made the reservation for FIFTEEN, I got a little nervous in my stomach. 10 adults, 5 kids, in a restaurant. But I gotta tell you, it was fabulous. The kids were SO good and it was so much fun to be together, talking, eating, and laughing.

The boys.

The whole family! In case you need a key, from left - Noah (7), Nate (9), Gavin (6), Me, Lila (4), Scott, Mimi, Paka, Uncle Jerry, Aunt Karen, Aunt Terri, Uncle Mike, Amanda, David, Levi (2).

After a good night's rest (ha!) (Scott tossed and turned, I slept with Lila who cried in her sleep and gritted her teeth all.night.long), the runners were off to the starting line. 

So proud of all these runners!

The rest of us made our way to mile #14 to see the runners come by. Our little cheering section! The kids were again, SO good. 

Scott finally ran by us and we were all very excited! I enjoyed seeing him but it just made me worry more. I'm not sure I'll do any sightseeing of him during marathons again. I think I'll just see how it turns out at the finish line:)

Done! Nate, Lila and I barely made it to the finish line to catch him (Nashville was crazy with closed streets!) but we made it. We were all very glad for him to be done. Big sigh of relief!

My phone died, so I didn't get any pictures of David, Kevin and Terri crossing the finish line. But let me just say, I am so proud of all the runners in the family! It was a long (and hot) day for all of us (non-runners included) and let me just say again, the kids were SO good. They were such troopers and I was proud of them too. 

That night, we hung out at the hotel and rested. I took this picture because all I could think was "marathons by day, reading books by night." #allinadayswork

The next morning, we posed for a picture before going our separate ways. David's yawn is how we all felt. Promise. 

On the way out of town, we swung by our old house. Love this house. Such a special place in our hearts - our first house, where we brought Nate home from the hospital. And Kitty Paus too of course. 

Now on to the next marathon...I think I'm gonna need some Valium for this go round:)