Last day at the lake

Well. We had to come home. It was a sad day. The lake house was so relaxing and so entertaining. The only thing missing was 'old dog Trey' (we missed you!). Pete actually worked and came to the lake. It was a 3 hour drive each way so he just had to sacrifice sleeping, no big deal.

Pops, Nana, Granny and Granddad, we could never thank you enough for your generosity in planning and paying for this vacation. It is a trip that I will cherish forever. It was so fun to be surrounded by my family for three days of play, fellowship, exercise, encouragement, gambling, :) and, as always, EATING!

We are a unique group. I do not know another family that enjoys each other as much as we do. I cannot imagine my life being any more blessed. I know I speak for all of us when I say that it was an amazing vacation and I can't wait for the next one.

danna and granny

sara and zach have a pull up competition...who do you think won???

goggle picture!

reese and pete

soren and wyatt

reese, nana and ashton

wyatt, ashton, avery, nana, reese and soren

the gang

Announcing the first annual Parker 5k Fun Run!

This was Pops' idea and it was so much fun...well, it was fun when it was over. Since many of us have become runners in recent years Pops decided that we needed to have an official race. Pete and Pops figured out the handicaps that each person needed, Pops, Mat and Zach mapped the course, and on our last day the race was on.

It was a staggered start with Kara leading off (Mat decided to run with her having NO training, run shoes, nothing!), Nana 3 minutes later, Danna 5 minutes, Zach 10:10, and Sara leaving 12:10 after Kara. We had to race in the morning due to the heat, so Pete got left out as he was at work, but we all know that he would smoke the pack anyway. The course was somewhat hilly and we did not get started until 9:30am so it was already getting pretty warm, but we all had good races and were pleased with our times.

Results:

Zach was first across the finish line with a race time of 23:00 (7:40/mile pace). Kara came in second with Sara hot on her heals (Kara sprinted the last 100 yards and I could not catch her to save my life! It did not help me that she had her hubby there spurring her on to the win). Kara ran a 34 minute race and I actually had my PR 5k of 21:58 (7:24/mile)! Woo Hoo! Next was Nana with a 31 minute total time and Danna came in at 34 minutes (I think?).

We collapsed in the driveway to congratulate, trash talk, celebrate, recover. I think we all agreed that it was quite painful, as 5k races should be if you give your all, but also fun. Granny and Granddad were our timers and held down the fort at the finish line. Jodi, Alissa and Pops drove the course offering water and words of encouragement. It was such a good time. Next year Pops will be able to join us; he is suffering from a foot injury. We are also hounding Jodi to join us next year as well.

I think that it is pretty cool to have 5k race as part of your family vacation. We rock, you guys!

kara leads off with "Mat the Encourager"

nana takes off 3 minutes after kara

danna's "go!" at 5 minutes into the race

zach takes off strong with 10:10 on the clock

saving the best for last? There I go 12:10 behind Kara with a lot of ground to make up!

zach out on the course
zach sprinting across the finish line in 1st place! He caught and passed danna, nana and kara!
there is Kara with me racing to catch her...but alas, it was not to be. Third place for me.

nana finishing strong

and danna, who had to run in the Texas heat when her body is used to Colorado cool

typical mat pic

dishing about the race