An Amazing Weekend

We had an amazing weekend recently. My niece was running in the Derby Festival Marathon in Louisville, KY, so we went up to see her and the rest of my family. It was a very long drive for us - about 10 hours - but the kids did great, as always.

So many amazing things happened during this trip! A few days before we left, I was talking to my best friend from KY (whose daughter is Drama Queen's best friend) and told her about our plans. She couldn't believe it - they were going to be in Louisville that weekend for a dance competition!

Long story short, we got to visit with them for awhile and see her children perform. Drama Queen and her friend were ecstatic! Here they are after one of the performances:

The next morning, the day of the marathon, we met them downtown for breakfast. After we were done, I called my brother from the restaurant to see where we should go to cheer on my niece. I wanted to be able to see her at several checkpoints. I was a little worried about how we were going to manage this, considering that many streets were blocked off, and parking in downtown Louisville can be a nightmare anyway. Then there was the matter of doing this with 3 kids in tow, buckling them into car seats and the whole nine yards. When I told my brother where we were, he said that all I needed to do was walk outside to the curb! We were already in the perfect spot, because she would be going by twice (crossing the bridge into Indiana and back).


It was so thrilling to see her run by! She looked GREAT! I was simply amazed at her strength and stamina. I called my brother (who was at a different checkpoint) to tell him that I saw her, and he was blown away to learn that she had already made it to that point. He had to get off the phone so he could rush to the finish line to see her, so it was just incredible that I happened to be in the perfect place to be able to tell him where she was.

My niece placed FIRST in her division! We were so proud of her! She also qualified for the Boston Marathon. Wow. I am just amazed!

We got to hang out with them for the afternoon and went to the Louisville Slugger Museum. It was great to spend time with them!

We were also blessed to be able to spend time with more of my family. We stayed with one of my sisters in Louisville and it was wonderful to spend time with her and my brother-in-law. We met with the rest of the family (my brothers, their families, my mom and her husband) for a wonderful meal. It was such a treat, because I don't get to see them much now that we live in Georgia. What a blessing this weekend was!