The next day we went to the Mall and walked around some of our favorite memorials. I didn't want to do too much walking since I had my half marathon the next day, but we did quite a few before we went to meet our friends in Fairfax for dinner and so Sharra and I could go pick up our race packets. We went to the MLK memorial. I LOVE all the quotes on the walls. There is also a great view there of the Washington Monument. (really any view is great of that thing though!) Then we went to my favorite, Teddy Roosevelt Memorial. This one takes a while to walk through but it goes through each term of his Presidency and what he accomplished. It has some great quotes as well and there are lots of cool waterfalls throughout it. We then walked over to the Jefferson Memorial and then to the Lincoln Memorial. The BYU Football players were at the Lincoln Memorial and I saw Jamaal Williams!! I was so close and wanted so badly to ask to take a picture with him but chickened out since Spencer had gone to the bathroom. dang! Next time for sure.
After the Memorials, Charley spotted a trolley that looked just like the Daniel Tiger Trolley. She wanted to go on it so badly. She had actually seen these same trolleys in Philadelphia but the tours were like an hour long so we didn't want to get on. This tour was only 20 minutes.. score! Bergen was napping in the stroller, so Spencer took Charley on the trolley. They rode to Arlington Cemetery and back. Charley's face was priceless getting on that trolley! I hope I never forget her pure joy and squeal of delight! She was super excited to be riding the Daniel Tiger trolley!
We then drove out to Georgetown. I love Georgetown! It's a quaint little town right outside of the main Mall area. It's only like 10 minutes to drive to and has the cutest shops, bakeries and restaurants. We walked around for a bit and stopped at Dean and Delucas to get some yummy dessert bars and cookies. Then I yelped another amazing bakery place called Baked and Wired that we NEEDED to try! So we walked over there and got MORE dessert bars and cookies. They were absolutely divine and both recommended!
Saturday morning Sharra and I woke up bright and early for our race! It was a beautiful morning with the sunrising and the temperatures were perfect. We actually both didn't know we were signing up for a girls-only Diva race when we signed up a few months ago, but when we picked up our race packet they gave us a tutu to wear and everything was ALL pink! Well we weren't daring (or crazy) enough to wear the tutu's but still had fun running the race! It was actually a very hilly course! I didn't know it was going to be that hilly and was surprised by the amount of up-hills there were!
A little back story about the race: So my hip had been hurting me pretty bad before this race. I started going to a PT to help it heal and did stretches on my own. I fasted and prayed that it would heal and had Spencer give me a blessing. Before the race, I took a few days off and race morning my hip didn't hurt! It was nothing short of a miracle and Heavenly Father watching out for me. I ran the race in little pain! I wanted to run a fast race in preparation for my full marathon in November but didn't know what to expect with my hip, so I went out taking it at a slower pace. When I realized I was in third place (!) I began to pick it up a little. The first place girl dropped way down (she must have started too fast) so now I was in second! I knew I was going to see Spencer at mile 8 and kind of wanted to be in first when I saw him, so at mile 7, I passed the first place girl and never looked back!:) (well I did at the very end to make sure no one was going to pass me right at the end) I was in first place from mile 7 on and ended up winning the race! It wasn't a PR for me but it sure felt good to break the tape at the finish line! Spencer is so supportive and brought the girls out to watch me! He drove out (had to leave our place at 7am!) to see me at mile 8. I don't think he thought I was in first place when he saw me because he seemed a little of a shock when I came running by:) After I passed them and tried to hug Charley real quick, they got in the car and drove to the finish line. He said he parked the car and then had to sprint to where the finish line was with both girls and the double stroller ! What a champ! He was able to take a video of my crossing the finish line too! Love that family of mine. Sharra did amazing as well! She got 9th overall and almost PR'ed (by only a minute I think).
After the race, we went back to our Airbnb place and got ready for the game that afternoon. It felt so good to stretch, foam roll and take an ice bath and then hot shower! Nate's parents live really close by so they actually found two young women from their ward to come watch all the kids for us. It was perfect! We gave them money to order a pizza and they stayed with both our kids for the night while we drove out to the game. It was about an hour drive out. It was a fun game to watch and I forgot how much I like watching football at the stadium. When Spencer and I were first married, we would go to all the BYU home games. It was so fun and you get way more into them when you are actually there! We also met up with a few friends from Utah who flew out to watch the game too. Spencer and I got a really good (but expensive) cheeseburger with sweet potato fries. After the game, we went back to our place and packed up the girls and drove back to NYC that night. We got home at 2am but we had to drive that night since I was in charge of the Primary Program at church the next day!
Looks like such a fun trip! You're the coolest. And such a diva! (lololol actually you're not a diva at allll but you rocked the race!) I'm glad your hip didn't hurt!
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