Road Trip!

This weekend John and I got the rare opportunity to enjoy a road trip all to ourselves.  Friday morning we dropped the girls off for their last day of school (with nary a picture taken - bad parents) and headed North to Duluth, MN where John would run the full Grandma's Marathon and I would take on the Gary Bjorklund Half Marathon.   It feels like it has been a really long time since John and I have had that kind of uninterrupted time together.  We talked, listened to music, finished conversations and had the chance to enjoy each other's company.  It was so nice... 

Pausing for a selfie on one of our many bathroom stops on the way up North.  It's important to be well hydrated!  Feeling lucky that we still love being together after all these years....

My parents were kind enough to look after the girls while we were away and from the sounds of it they had a great weekend.  They spent hour upon hour in my parent's pool, went to dinner a friends house, went to dance, went to a party.  Saturday night my dad sent me these pictures, proof of a late bed time....

Ava, carving out her own space in the guest room in the basement....

He did not send me pictures of the ice cream they had for breakfast.... Probably for the better!

John and I both had great races for Grandma's marathon weekend. Because hotels/housing were difficult to find and expensive to boot we ended up staying at the University of Minnesota- Duluth dorms.  I would highly recommend this as an option if you are participating in the Grandma's races.  They were so welcoming and accomodating - they set out a hospitality suite to welcome runners, they had breakfast, coffee, Gatorade and water early in the morning before the race, the shuttles picked up runners to take them to the start lines right in front of the dorms.  The price was super reasonable and the rooms, while quite functional, were clean and comfortable.

Saturday afternoon after the race we stretched out in our single dorm room beds and I napped for more than two hours.  Two hours!  I'm not sure I've ever done that.  John dozed and watched a movie - both of us soaking up the fact that there was nothing we HAD to do.  And me realizing how much I needed some rest, apparently!  Saturday night we enjoyed dinner with John's long time friend, Scott Peterson and his wife Julie. Scott ran the full marathon and turned in an amazing performance.  We had a fantastic recovery dinner, but the company was definitely the best part.

At home summer vacation has officially started - and as nice as it is to get away, it is even better to be back home.