April 30

We have been training for five weeks, and the big day is finally here: Race Day! The only problem? The weather forecast pretty much guaranteed thunder storms all morning, and Caleb was not excited about running his first 5k in the rain.

For some reason, Eli nursed like crazy through the night last night, and so I was awake more frequently than usual. I used the time to pray for no rain this morning, and God answered my prayers. When we got to the race, there were a few sprinkles, but it stayed dry until we were about halfway through. By then, it didn't even matter.

This boy was so ready! (I'm pretty sure if it had been actively raining at this point, it would have been a different story.)

My two Super Men! Lily was trying really hard to be in this picture, but cropped her out. This one is just the big boys.

Even though it wasn't raining, Lily insisted that she be sheltered by an umbrella as we walked to the starting line. This is one of my very favorite pictures. I hope my girls always expect that they deserve to be treated like this by the men in their lives, and I hope my boys grow up to be as respectful and loving as their Daddy is.

My wonderful Mom braved the early morning rain to meet us at the race and handle the kids while Chris, Caleb, and I ran. We thought we could do it without her, but it was so much  better with her there! The rest of the race pictures are ones that she took with my camera.

I love, love, love this photo. The kids were all so happy and excited!

 We headed to the starting line, and Mom and the little three waited.

And we were off! We had several talks with Caleb about running his own race, and not trying to keep up with the people around him. The first half mile of any race is the most chaotic as everyone settles into a pace and a place, but Caleb did a great job. He found his pace, and he really seemed to enjoy running with all of the other people.

Running! 

My thoughtful Mom brought poster board and markers, and while they waited for us to run 1.5 miles out and 1.5 miles back, she and Daisy made a poster for Caleb.

She also brought snacks for the little ones, so they were content.

Then the rain started. It was a good thing we had 4 rain coats, 5 umbrellas, and 4 ponchos for 7 people.

Chris, Caleb, and I had such a fun race! Several of my friends ran with us, and lots of runners took time to cheer for Caleb. He ran the whole 3.1 miles, only pausing twice for sips of water. We had great conversation as we ran, including a time where Caleb looked up at me and asked, "Mommy, can we evacuate?"

I was puzzled about what he meant, and then it dawned on me: on Thursday, we discussed the word accelerate. He was trying to use his new word, but got a little bit turned around. Once we figured that out, it became our little joke.

Soon, the finish line was in sight. Caleb had just enough energy left for a nice kick at the last few hundred feet.

Waving to the little ones!

Look at how excited Caleb is!

I love that boy. He was so happy and proud!

We all crossed the finish line together, with a chip time of 33:16. Caleb was the 9th finisher in his age group (14 and under) and the youngest person to cross the finish line.

We were so proud of him!

And he was really excited about his sign.

I am so proud of Caleb's hard work and perseverance!

We said changed out of our wet clothes, loaded up the van, and said goodbye to my mom, then headed home for lunch and naps.

Eli and I tried out our final carry of the 30-day challenge, which was a fancy Taiwanese carry. My new long wrap was perfect for it!

And Caleb asked me to help him do this.

That sweet boy was really excited about his sign!