MS Walk San Antonio: March 7, 2009

After a few months of preparing for the MS Walk to support Multiple Sclerosis, we had raised a little over $300. We didn't reach our goal, but we did have a late start. Next year, we hope to do better. Mom designed our shirts and we headed off to the AT&T Center in San Antonio. Nate couldn't go because he had to work, so we missed him there with us.

Before the walk started, we got to meet the Coyote from the San Antonio Spurs. Many people also brought their 4-legged creatures for the walk, so the kids (including Marty) had to pet as many as they could find.

Finally, the walk started. We hadn't been walking more than a minute, when Marshel spotted the port-o-potties, and had to visit them. With that done, we were off. Marshel and Kellee didn't want to walk, they wanted to run, so we gave them destinations to run to, where they would wait for us and then be off again.

We had to make a decision after about a half a mile walk. There was a short cut to do just a mile walk instead of the 5K (2.2. miles). We decided to do the whole thing. We knew Marshel and Kellee would have a rough time, but decided we would help them get there. There were snack stops and drinks along the way to keep everyone hydrated and happy.

We were steadily falling further back in the crowd because we had a 6 and 4 year old, but as long as we finished, that's all that was important. Unfortunately, the ice cream ran out before we got to it, but we still got a picture with the ice cream guy, Scoopy!

As far as Marshel and Kellee, we encouraged, dragged and carried them part of the way, but they really walked most of it themselves. We saw other kids on the route, but they were all in wagons or strollers. I didn't see any just walking like ours. We were really proud of them. Hopefully it will always be a good memory for them. We reminded them that it was a long way, but that they can walk and that there are a lot of people out there who can't and that's why we were doing this.

We were some of the last people to cross the finish line, but we did it and that's what's important. We walked across together, jumping that finish line. We then headed off to lunch. On our way there, we had to wait for the train to pass, so we sat at the crossing for about 15 minutes. When the train was gone, the guy in the car next to us had run out of gas, so we helped him push his car over the hill and into a parking lot. Finally, we made it to the Spaghetti Warehouse and had a good lunch. When we got home, we all collapsed for a few hours. It was a good day!

Kellee caught singing

I was downstairs and heard Kellee singing, so I snuck upstairs with the camera in hand to catch her. She was in her room singing a song from her favorite movie, "The Phantom of the Opera". Even though she had some of the words wrong, she had the music down and was not shy in singing as loud as she could. It's priceless!

San Antonio Stock Show and Rodeo - Rodeo and Concert

We finished off the long day at the fair with the rodeo and concert. The rodeo was a lot of fun. Most of the competitors managed to get their 8 seconds. There were only a few mishaps and no one needed to be carted off.

Then to finish up, we stayed for the Brooks and Dunn concert. That was really great. Nate wasn't really into it that much, but it was a fun night anyway. Marshel and Kellee crashed about 1/2 hour before it was over. We didn't get home until after midnight. Mom decided the next day would be a sluff day. We all slept in and hung out around the house to recover.

Marshel and Kellee loved their cowboy/cowgirl hats. They wanted real ones, but Mom and Dad were too cheap ($5 was better for something they won't take care of anyway). Dad did look at a Stetson, but we decided we'd wait a bit on it.

San Antonio Stock Show and Rodeo - Not the rides

There were 2 petting zoos and we spent so much time there. The kids loved feeding the animals, hugging them and petting them. There were a couple of wallabys, but there were behind some fencing, so we could only look at them. There were some baby pigs also. The alpacas were so great, because they would just come up behind you and stick their face in yours, just to surprise us I guess.

And then there was the CSI show. Starting with a magic show, the magician's assistant was injured and CSI showed up to solve the crime. We all had to help solve it, but there were a few in the audience who came up as suspects. Nate was chosen as the loser rocker who had been fired (motive) and looked the part. They gave him a polygraph (which was inconclusive) and fingerprinted him. Fortunately, the clean cut guy came out guilty. It was fun to watch Nate on stage.

Another thing Nate and RAchel did that we don't have pictures of, but that they wanted to do again, was the Army Experience. They had to earn t-shirts and hats by doing push-ups. They they did this virtual war where they had to protect their hummer by shooting things around them that could blow them up. They said it was a lot of fun, but they still don't want to join the army.

San Antonio Stock Show and Rodeo - The Rides

On Presidents Day, the kids were out of school and the Fair was in town, so that's where we spent the day. The kids had an all-day pass to ride the rides and they rode everything they could and some over and over. Marshel got to ride some of the big rides and he kept wanting to go again and again. We had to direct him to a different ride constantly. Kellee even got to ride some of the big kid rides. Everyone had a good time. The weather was a bit overcast and chilly at times, but it actually turned out to be a perfect day for the fair.

Our Ward Sweethearts Dance - The Decades

We had a really fun Sweethearts dance, adults only, for Valentines Day. We all got to dress up in our favorite decade. The majority of the people were either in 50s, 70s or 80s. The 80s were my favorite decade, of course. So, we went all out. Marty wore his pants folded up, white socks, penny loafers and the wrap-around sweater. I wore leggings, leg warmers, headband with the hair up in the ponytail (off to the side), big red earrings, bracelets and necklace. The outfit wasn't complete without the 1/2 ton of makeup, including the bright blue eyeshadow. I surprised the kids when I walked out of my room all decked out, and Nate was like, "Wow, Mom. I'd have dated you!" We laughed about that one.

We had a great time at the dance. It was hilarious trying to remember how we all danced back then. We were doing Thriller, moshing, the worm, breakdancing, conga lines, YMCA, and more. We laughed all night watching people and wishing we had as much energy as we used to. Great Fun!