The Great Cousin Marathon

WAY back in July (I know, I know....I'm so very very behind) it was time for the annual Preslar boys trip to Yellowstone. They were to leave on a Saturday and return the following Saturday. And what do you know, Peter and his family needed to be in SLC both those same weekends. Sheri and I got to talking and planning and scheming and came up with the perfect plan.

Step 1: Peter and crew come to SLC on Friday afternoon, preparatory to Peter participating in a half-Iron Man race the following morning near by Utah Lake. Troy and the other Preslar men head out on Friday night.

Step 2: Saturday morning, Peter leaves early to go be manly and sweaty.  Sheri and I drop off all our girls at Margaret's house because she wanted to host a nieces breakfast.  I loan her a large amount of "maple" syrup for the piles of pancakes she's making. In the meantime, Sheri and I take baby Sam to the zoo where we really enjoy a beautiful summer morning together. We actually get to look at animals instead of keeping track of all the little kids and their bags of popcorn and their bathroom needs.

Step 3: After breakfast, Sheri and I drive all the kids to Utah Lake to watch Peter finish his race.  We cheer him over the finish line, take a picture, then quickly clear the area while he has his post-race heaves.  (That was incentive for me to NEVER do a triathlon. I was considering it....but now, never mind!)

Step 4: The Preslar girls and the Romneys enjoy the rest of the weekend together until Sunday afternoon when Peter and Sheri pack up their things and their girls and (here's the kicker) MY GIRLS TOO!! Yes, that's right. Peter and Sheri drove away on Sunday afternoon with the remainder of my children, leaving me alone. ALL ALONE.

Step 5: What does Rachel do with alone time? I'm a loser.  I CLEAN. And clean and clean and clean. I empty out pretty much our entire house, get the carpets cleaned, rearrange my entire kitchen including the cupboards - I basically kick butt.  No wait, I get my butt kicked by my house. And I LIKE it.

Step 6: On Tuesday afternoon I buy myself a large soda and drive myself to St. George, signing loudly all the way.

Step 7: I join the festivities already in progress in St. George until Thursday morning, when I pack up my things and my girls and also two of Peter and Sheri's girls back into my car, and we drive back north to SLC. I spend two days hosting a giant sleepover, taking the girls on an outing to the aquarium and eating large amounts of ice cream.

Step 8: Peter and Sheri have a family reunion scheduled for the weekend and are on their way to SLC, in the meantime I take Siena and Cara to the zoo on Saturday morning to meet up with their many aunts and uncles.

And thus...the marathon comes to a close.  My house stayed clean for about an hour and a half, which was pretty good by my standards.  I was pretty impressed with the girls - that was a long week of cousins and fun and by the end of the week they were getting a little tired but everyone held it together really well.  Yay girls, yay Peter and Sheri, and yay me.


And Yay for Cap and Troy upon their successful return from another great week in Yellowstone!