Done...Sort of.

Brantley and I are back home from our big adventure. My girl is such a trooper. Not sure what I did to deserve such an easy kid but I thank Him every day for her.

Matt got us all packed up and out the door to the airport last Thursday morning. He was questioning my sanity, and my skills, of travelling half way across the country with a 10 month old by myself but, once again, I confirmed what we all know - women are rock stars. He admittedly would never think about doing a trip like that and after the first 3 hours in the plane I came to the conclusion that he probably would have strapped her into a seat and headed for the nearest emergency exit after the first 30 minutes. She definitely was on good behavior but just very, very, very....very busy. We were slightly delayed getting out of Dallas because of FAA regulation #0383720 (ie. a stopped up crapper) but once they got that situation handled we were off. Pop picked us up from the airport and we headed straight to Freebirds. I'm salivating just writing this.

We took our burritos to go and headed to Nana and Pop's where Sadie and Pappy were waiting for us. The second we walk in Sadie starts barking that high-pitched, ear screeching bark that I love so much. B looks at her for 1 second and then lets out an ear screeching bark of her own. I imagine her little brain was saying "Eeek! A dog head!! Where the heck is the other 90 pounds of it?" Or that Matt had coached her to do that so he would have someone on his team. Either way, this was going to be a really long week if the 2 of them were unable to come to an understanding. Needless worry. After a good meal and good night's rest, B. was ready to make nice. We couldn't keep her away from Sadie the rest of the week.

Friday, we drove to San Antonio and everyone else came in Saturday morning. SO fun! There are only 3 people in the world who make me laugh till I'm crying and Monica is one of them. And I had not seen or really talked to Maurie in almost 10 years but it was like it was yesterday. I love that.

Sunday was the big race. We were really jazzed about running. Seriously. So excited. Couldn't wait to get up at 5:30 and wait for the shuttle in 34 degree weather for an hour. So fun. I was hoping to wait our there longer but the shuttle arrived and we had to go. Met a NCSU grad on the bus (go Wolfpack!). Got dropped off and walked, um, half a mile to the start line. Finally, we were off. Folks, I hate to knock SA but it is so not that pretty. I'm assuming the route planners took us through the best of what SA has to offer in the hopes that some of the 30,000 runners may want to come back. I think they missed the enchilada on that one. Anyhoo, we were running and it was fine, lots of angry bands along the way to keep us going. We got to mile 8 when Monica began to feel the effects of her delicate condition. Instead of push our luck, we decided to walk the rest of the race. It ended up being great - gave us more time to hang out!

We crossed the finish line, snagged all the free food we (ok, I think it was just me) could and then started the 2 mile walk back to the hotel. We finally got to a point where traffic could get through and called Dad to come get us. Yea Dad!

We decided that our next trip to see each other would (1) not involve running 13.1 miles (2) would be girls only (3) not be in SA and (4) involve more wine. Can't wait!

Sunday afternoon we load back up and head back to College Station. Brantley wakes up about an hour outside of town and is really over all the planes and automobiles she has had to endure the past 4 days. We're able to entertain her for the most part until we get home and then I leave that task up to her cousin, Tarn.

Monday we head out to the barn to introduce B. to Lucky, Bonnie and Buddy. Love at first sight? Not really. Scared they were going to eat her? More likely. She was fine once we had a fence and about 50 feet of pasture between us. By Tuesday our city baby had become a cowgirl. Her daddy was proud.

Wenesday we go to Freebirds - yes, people, we went again - and then head to the airport. For those of you who don't know College Station, it is a pretty small town with a really small airport. But they are SERIOUS about their security. I was packing a couple of bottles, water and food for Brantley plus Tylenol and Ambisol, water for myself, Vaseline Intensive Care Lip Therapy, and lip gloss between my purse and her diaper bag which, by the way, took me SO long to get packed and organized that morning. Not only did they make me unpack all that stuff and put it in a clear plastic bag (if anyone knows how putting it in a clear plastic bag is going to stop it from working if it has been tampered with to do evil, please let me know) but they also made me unscrew all the tops to her bottles and water and they held this test paper over each one. We passed and were allowed to board. I'm surprised they didn't test her big fat heavy wet diaper.

Our seatmate from DFW to RDU was a God send. Brantley pretty much loves everyone she meets and this lady was no different. In fact, B. made friends with almost everyone around us. All along our journey people were really nice and helpful. So refreshing.

Wednesday night I literally woke up multiple times and cried at the thought of having to go to work instead of being with Brantley. After having her for so many days in a row I wasn't looking forward to getting back into the normal routine. Happy to report - I survived. And I think Jackie was really happy to have her back. Who can blame her?