Bridge Fest 2016

A few weeks ago, Erika asked me if I wanted to participate in Lake Houston YMCA’s Annual Bridge Fest Race. This was the first year for the Special Needs portion of the event and she thought it would be fun for Keaton to participate. Who better to run with him than yours truly!?

In an attempt to prepare for the race, I took Erika’s jogging stroller home earlier in the week and had plans to practice with it a couple times before the big day. Well … that didn’t happen. Also, for anybody out there interested in using a jogging stroller, be sure to put air in the tires ;) But seriously, strollers in general suck. They don’t really suck, but if you don’t know how to collapse the stroller, that part sucks. And it’s frustrating. And annoying. I hate strollers.

On race day, I woke up at about 5:15 to the sound of thunder and rain and laid there for an hour before my alarm went off. I got myself ready for the day’s events and threw a few more things in my bag before heading to the kitchen. I made half a peanut butter sandwich, got my three bags, and headed out the door. I threw all my stuff in the car and … Shit. Don’t forget the stroller! Everything is in the car and here we go!

7:30AM:

I arrive in Kingwood and a few minutes later Erika drives into the parking lot where we decided to meet. Another stroller, all my stuff, and I squeeze into Erika’s car. PS. We need a Suburban. Kason is still sleepy from the ride over and Keaton is already fussy. This could be a long ½ mile we have ahead of us. It takes us about 10 minutes to go two blocks down to the YMCA. Police had portions of the road closed due to the race course and volunteers lined the streets “helping” runners and families find where they are supposed to go. With all the “help” around, Erika almost took two of them out and was super annoyed with the rest. We just need to park people! Get out of the way. We find a parking spot and naturally I think we are ready to get out. Wrong. Erika doesn’t like it and wants to find another spot without any cars around. Oh my gosh woman. And ... we almost take out another car. If this is any precursor to the day’s events, it’s going to be good. She seems to like parking spot number 2 much better.

8:00AM:

Kids are in their strollers. Running shoes are on. Erika needs a Starbucks. As we begin walking up to the Start Line, kids are gathering for the ½ mile Kid’s Race. We continue to get ourselves together with multiple trips back to the car. In the meantime, Erika’s parents meet us at the Y to cheer us on! We have about 15 minutes to kill and start our pre-race photo session.

It’s getting closer and closer to start time. I can tell Erika seems a little nervous. Hell I’m nervous! Pre-Race jitters. I think Keaton was the only person who wasn’t nervous today. There are probably about 12-13 kids in the Specials Needs portion of the race and we all get together for picture before the ceremonial countdown. Here we go Bubba! Keaton likes to go fast so I knew I had that in my favor, but I really had no idea how he would respond. He did so good! We cross the start line and Bump, Bump, Bump. At first I thought it was the unevenness of the road but quickly realized it was the stroller. Did I mention how much I hate strollers?! Apparently there’s a clip on the front wheel that locks in place so it won’t wobble back and forth. We didn’t figure that out until after the fact. Oh well. It seemed to be a pretty bouncy ride but Keaton didn’t complain at all. We paused at the half way mark to adjust his hat plus I wanted to make sure he was comfortable. All is well and down the home stretch we go! We spot Erika, Sweetie, and Paw Paw cheering us on through the finish line! We are immediately met with a medal and big congratulations from all the supporters. Keaton and Erika are all smiles which was all I wanted out of today.

The remainder of the morning consist of the 5K Family Fun Run. As much as I try to convince Erika to go with me, I’m on my own for this one. That race takes me about 25 minutes and the biggest motivator was all the little kids. I’m talking 5-12 year olds running this 5K and most of them are ahead of me. In my defense, I did start towards the back of the crowd and secretly smiled as I passed each one of them :)

10:30AM:

½ Mile Race – Check.

5K – Check.

Time for lunch!

We get the kids packed up, buckled in and say goodbye to Erika’s parents. Off we go … but not before Erika almost hits another pedestrian. This one actually glared back at her too.

We’re back at the Walgreens where I had parked earlier that morning and we are in need of some baby wipes. Erika slowly unbuckles her seat belt as not to disturb Keaton … He does not like it when people get out of the car without him. Granted I’m still here but he doesn’t care. He also didn’t enjoy my rendition of Taylor Swift’s Wildest Dreams. Shocking. What after seems to be an eternity, Erika walks out of the store and as soon as her door opens, the screaming and water works stop. Meanwhile, Kason has slept through the entire performance.

11:00 AM:

Across town we go to Kory’s baseball game at Constellation Field. We make it to Sugarland, drop a car and are back to the excitement. Neither of us can make a decision on lunch so we just start driving. We go one direction and turn around. Try a different direction and again, turn around. Third time’s a charm and we end up at Willies. Both boys need to be changed so we park in BFE. We have this down to a science. There is also so much stuff in the back of this car, it’s insane. We barely had room to lay down the kids. As we’re walking up to the restaurant, I’m carrying Keaton and Erika has Kason. She turns her head and utters possibly the funniest thing she has ever said to me. Girl, you know what I'm talking about! I don’t feel like it’s appropriate for the blog but y’all just need to trust me on this one. Hilarious.

1:00 PM:

Lunch is ordered but not yet delivered and the screaming starts. Nobody is mad or upset, just hungry. Kason might be the most impatient person I have ever met. I’ve said this to his face and he doesn’t blink an eye. The Little Dinosaur just growls and yells if he’s not being fed. Across the walkway is another family with their toddler. That table doesn’t look or sound anything like ours. Food arrives and as we shovel broccoli and squash into Kason’s wide open mouth, the three of us are also scarfing down lunch. We’ve cleaned our plates and paid the bill. Low and behold, my drink spills. We almost made it out without making a mess. Oopsies. I'd also like to point out this is when Erika's asks me if I think it's a good idea to add another little human to this chaos. Erika and Kory, I am supportive in whatever decision you make. We'd definitely need that Suburban.

1:45 PM:

To the game! We pull up to the stadium and again grab the strollers from the back. Yay strollers … Ugh. It’s a beautiful day for baseball but it’s also super windy. Back to the car to grab blankets. Finally, we are inside the gate and the game is already in the 3rd inning. “Erika, I thougth Kory said the game started at 2:00?” “Yeah … me too.” In hindsight that fact that we got there late was probably a good thing. I’m not sure how much longer Kason was going to last. We find some empty seats and finally have a minute to just sit. That minute ended quickly. Kason’s starting to fidget and the only thing that will keep him occupied are his Puffs. I’m so glad I’m holding Keaton. He’s so easy. He’s my favorite. (Keaton, don’t tell your little brother.) San Jac hits a bomb and the Gators go up 9-0. That’s all she wrote folks. Game over.

Perfect timing boys! I’m not sure how much longer we were going to make it. Myself included. Exhausted might have been an understatement.

Those two boys are no joke, but I’d still spend every day with them if I could. We’ll just have to work afternoon naps into the schedule.