The TEXAS Story

We got home yesterday from our mostly wonderful trip to Texas to watch Justin race in the USA Triathlon Collegiate Nationals. He did great; here is our story: (If you don't read the whole thing at least read Saturday about the race)
I decided I wanted to make a new diaper bag for myself to take. I needed something a little larger than what I had but didn't want something huge. I had the hardest time understanding the pattern and had to pick the seams a million times, but I finally finished it and it turned out great!

We left Wednesday morning at 7 and drove the 7 hours to Farmington, New Mexico. I had never been to New Mexico so it was fun to see the Southwest. We had to take the highways the whole way and I loved driving through all the tiny old towns along the way; I had a lot of time to watch out the window because I forgot to bring a book to read, or anything to do in the car for that matter...nice. Matthew was a champ driving. We got to Farmington around 2 and after unloading our stuff we went down to a path along the river. Matthew and I went for a walk while the others went for a run. We stayed at someone on the team's house and they had two big golden retrievers which Matthew loved. That night we ate some real southwest BBQ. The weather was beautiful. Matthew did not sleep well.
Thursday we left around 7 again to make the 9 hour drive to Lubbock, Texas. We had sunny blue skies until we hit the Texas border. Then the skies turned gray and cloudy and eventually it started to rain. We got to Lubbock around 5:30 and went to the hotel to check in for the race. Justin got a bunch of sweet free stuff : ) Matthew was a champ in the car again-not crying even once!! Then they dropped us off at the member's house where we were staying. We ate dinner, settled in, and just relaxed. They had a fish tank at their house which Matthew loved. It rained and rained and rained. Matthew had another really rough night.
Friday we just chilled in the morning. That afternoon we had the people we were staying with drop us off at the Lubbock Art Festival. Justin and I have a tendency to visit art things on our vacations. They had a Lego art display which was really cool. (I had pictures but I currently can't locate them.) It was fun to see the southwestern flare to everything. Then we met up with some others from the team and went out to see where the race would be. Justin and Ian went for a quick swim in the lake. Matthew and I stayed in the car because it was still raining and the wind was blowing hard. Then we went home, ate dinner, and got ready for the morning. Matthew had an okay night-but still not great.
Saturday we were out the door by 6:30. Luckily it had stopped raining but the wind was still blowing really bad. We got to the park and found where we were supposed to park and unloaded all the gear. Then we made the trek to the course. They had gotten so much rain that the road crossing the lake was flooded and we literally had to carry the bikes and Matthew in his stroller through the mud and water. Awesome. This is a picture of the road later that afternoon when we went back. By that time the water had gone down enough that we could push the stroller across in only a few inches of water. It was crazy and there was mud everywhere.
Around 8 Matthew needed to eat. They had the spectators blocked off in one small area and there was nowhere to go. So I found the driest, least muddy spot I could find next to a car and plopped myself down and nursed Matthew while trying to hold the blankets down in the wind. A little after that I asked if they would let Matthew and I sit in the medical tent until the race started. When we came out to go watch the race they almost didn't let us through to the spectator area. But we made it and froze our butts off waiting for Justin to start. It was 9:50 before his wave started. It was so neat watching them all jump into the water when the gun when off.
Due to the lovely rain the water temperature dropped a lot the night before the race so it was only 54 degrees. Due to that and all the wind they cut the swim in half so it was only about 9 minutes before Justin was out of the water and headed off on his bike.
Then we waited for about an hour for him to come back. Once again Matthew had to eat so this time I nestled myself down by the port-a-potties to nurse. It was still cold and windy and it was at this point that I asked myself why I had thought this would be a good idea. Oh, yeah, because it was supposed to be sunny and warm in Texas so we could spend a fun day outside watching the race. Anywho, Justin came in from his bike and threw on his running shoes and was off for the last leg of the race. Matthew and I then made the trek to the finish line. I literally had to pick the stroller up and just carry it because I had to walk through mud and up and down a hill to get to the finish line. But we made it and then waited anxiously for Justin to come into sight. He finished looking strong!
Here are the official stats from the race:

Swim -9:16 (usually 1500 meters but cut down to under 750)
Bike - 1:14:48 (41 Km)
Run - 44:25 (10.7 Km)

Total (w/ transitions) - 2:12:23

Good for 163rd overall, 119th in Men's Collegiate Division, and 3rd on BYU's team.

The BYU team did great and finished 24th in the Nation!

After we got everything loaded back up we went back to our houses to shower and pack, then went to IHOP to get some food, and then we were back on the road around 6. We didn't get in to Farmington, NM until 2 a.m. Matthew slept great in the car but had another rough night once we got there.
Sunday we had breakfast and loaded up for the last time. We took off by 9 and arrived in Provo about 3:40. The long trip had finally come to an end. Matthew, of course, did great in the car. He wins 5 gold stars for the best traveling baby ever.
It was really fun being able to watch Justin race and I am excited to watch him do his other races this summer.