Day before the race

We got to the convention center right when they opened up.  I got my race packet and shirt and started to get so nervous.  The convention center was great!  They had so many things for the runners.  It was neat that people would notice your race packet and would say things like: good luck tomorrow, you're going to do great, that is so great you are running, and how many is this for you?  There was so much support from complete strangers. 

They had a booth where  you could make your signs to cheer on your runner.  All the kids wanted to make a sign.  Everyone walking by would comment on the kids.  They were taking this serious.  The people running the booth even came and took pictures of the kids making their signs.  Aubrey is funny though.  Anna asked Aubrey how to spell awesome.  Aubrey, without skipping a beat, said very seriously, "ASOM."  So that's what Anna wrote.  I love the picture of the kids with their posters.  Eric's with 2 potential sentences, Anna with her incorrect spelling that my daughter helped her on, and Jennifer with just scribbles.  Not one word.  I love it.

After I picked up my packet, I stayed and listened to 2 keynote speakers.  They were great.  One was for the first-timer marathoners.  He gave a lot of helpful tips about the marathon and put me at ease about the process.  The other speaker was the chief running official from the magazine Runner's World.  He talked about the many different races around the world that he ran.  It was interesting.  After the speakers, we took the kids swimming.  Again, I saw Amy go here during Spring Break and thought the kids would love it.

Thank goodness for this water slide.  Jennifer and Lily probably spent over an hour just going up and down this thing.  they loved it!

Aubrey and Anna playing on the lily pads.  Eric, posing next to the lily pads.  I wouldn't let him go on them.  He did get to swim though.  I asked the neurologist last time we were in if Eric could swim, and he gave me the okay.  He loved it.  He said it was his favorite day.

It was so hard to get a picture of Lily.  She would go down the slide the second she got to the top.

Dad, Diane, Amy and Cami came down to St. George that afternoon/evening.  Dad wanted to take us out for my carb loaded meal before the marathon. 

Yum., spaghetti!  The food was delicious and the kids had a great time!  Amy and her sisters gave me a very nice card and some "marathon food" which consisted of "sixlets" for the 26.2, "M&Ms" for Marathon, and a "powerade" for the power that I will need. 

Eric wanted to punch the statue in every picture.  Cami and Jennifer were fascinated with the Christmas lights.  After dinner I needed to start my rountine for the morning.  I had to get up at 3:30 am, and I didn't want to wake anybody up.  I was WAY to wound up though.  I bathed all the kids, and did the girls hair so Zac wouldn't have to worry about it in the morning.  Then, I laid out my running clothes and gear, drank my nasty ultra fuel, charged up my garmin, and plugged in my MP3 player.  I gathered all the GU I would take and tried to stuff them in my water belt. 

Lily was impossible to go to bed that night.  Of course.  So Zac took her for a ride around St. George, and got lost!  She was sound asleep by the time he got back.  Amy and Diane went to visit their "aunt" that night, or so I thought.  They had made 16 posters for me and went and drove the race course the night before and put them all out!