We were so happy for McKay and his special day! Ironically, there was another blizzard coming over Parley's summit (what month is it?!), but we made it in time. Ben baptized him and it was a very special service. Nora hosted an after-party with amazing food and the boys just got to play play play!
We went back to Boston!!! Bevan's stellar performance last October at the St. George marathon earned us another trip to Boston this spring. It's such a huge deal, I was nervous the weather wouldn't cooperate. It ended up being just perfect, especially for running.
We had to soak up every minute without the kids, so we ended up taking a red-eye flight so we could spend the whole next day exploring. We met up with Trisha and Eliza, hit the expo early, went for pizza at Regina's, and spent the afternoon wandering around downtown Boston. I had to focus my instictive public transportation skills to re-learn the subway routes, the only way to get around. We finally made it out to Cambridge, to our hotel, and crashed hard!
The next morning was Easter Sunday. We walked over to the local chapel for Easter Sacrament meeting and, like last time, it did NOT dissapoint! The sheer talent in that ward was overwhelming. They even pulled out a french horn during "Christ the Lord has Risen Today. Alleluia!" They had great musical numbers and speakers and it was wonderful to see the so many visiting runners from all over the country. For our "sunday school" we headed downtown to the old South Church for the "Blessing of the Athletes". It was like Cambridge + drums + bagpipes. The lady preacher gives a special blessing to the runners and it all ends in glorious song! It's definitely a MUST for any Boston marathon runner. We toured around town again, shopping for some sweats for Bevan to wear at the starting line. We forgot to bring warm clothes for the morning. Oops! The final stop was for some much-needed carbs for Bevan: chicken parmasean and pasta at Bertucci's!
Bevan left the next morning for the starting line, all decked out in his running gear, race bib, and glorious sweats. I hung out in the hotel and watched the elites running on the tv while I slowly packed up our room. We had to check out, but were able to leave our big backpacks in the lobby. I headed to the course, out in Brookline. I knew it was a needle-in-a-haystack chace to actually see Bevan, but I did!!! He didn't see me, but it's all good. I didn't even try to find Trisha or Eliza running, I had no idea what they were wearing. The subways were packed so I ended up walking 3 miles back to the finish line. Whew! I found Bevan in Boston Public Garden, collapsed on the grass, proudly sporting his finisher's medal. We mosied back to the hotel, showered in the hotel gym, got our bags, ate a hamburger, and took the subway to the airport. It was a packed 2 1/2 days in Boston, but always worth it! He wants to go back already.
