Utah - Xterra National Championship

This last weekend, the four of us packed up and headed to Ogden, Utah for the Xterra National Championship.  Doug has gotten into Xterra triathlons in the last couple years, and this year he qualified for the national championship race. 

We'd been planning on going to this race for a few months, so when Doug injured himself a few weeks ago, we figured he'd be all healed up in time for the race and we'd still be good to go.  Unfortunately, his injuries did not seem to get much better in the last few weeks, but since we already had the trip planned, we decided to go anyway, and he'd just do the best he could with his injury.

We left Friday morning with the intent of making it to Ogden by three in the afternoon for a mandatory meeting for the racers.  We left ourselves plenty of time, and it ended up being a good thing since we had a few hiccups along the way. I think I mentioned last week that Drew got carsick on the way to Big Sky a couple weekends ago.  Well, he did it again and ended up throwing up in the car about an hour into our trip.  Luckily he seems to feel much better afterwards, and we can continue on, but it really is unfortunate.  I hate when my babies are sick, and I especially hate seeing them puke.  We made another quick stop in Idaho Falls for lunch, but had to hurry so we could still make it to Ogden on time.

Once we got to Ogden, we met my sister and her husband as he was competing in the race too.  All of us headed to the park where the mandatory meeting was held and the boys checked in for the race.  After the meeting, we checked into our hotel and decided to find some dinner.  We ate at a pizza joint that had some really great pizza!  It was delicious.  After dinner, we headed back to the hotel.  Our hotel was right in the downtown area of Ogden, so we went for a quick walk around to check things out, and then called it a night.  The boys had to be up early for the race, and the girls had lots of coordinating to do to get everyone to the race on time. I'm so thankful that my sister was there to help with the kids.  They love her and she's so good with them.  It really is a lifesaver for me!  I'm not sure I could have done it without her!

Saturday morning, we headed up to the reservoir where the swim portion of the race was held. It was a beautiful, but slightly chilly morning.  We wished the boys good luck and then watched as the swimmers started the race.  We waited for the boys to transition onto their bikes and then headed to Snowbasin ski resort where the bike to run transition and the finish was held.  We saw both of our guys transition from the bike to the run and then waited for them to finish.

Erick finished first and ended up doing really well.  He got fourth in his age division, just missing qualifying for the world championship in Maui by one place! Doug finished about five minutes after Erick, which was a super respectable time, especially considering his injury.  He gave it everything he had, and I couldn't have been more proud of him.  He's a stud!  I think he was happy with his performance, but is also looking forward to redeeming himself next year when he hopefully doesn't have an injury to contend with.

After the race, we got some lunch and then headed back into Ogden.  The boys showered, and then we headed out to explore the Harvest Moon festival that was held that evening in Ogden.  It was a cute little Fall festival that reminded me of the fun events that downtown Bozeman holds.  After exploring a bit, we walked to dinner, and then walked back to our hotel.  We fed Avery and then went back down to the Harvest Moon festival to catch the highlight video of the race that they were debuting that night.  The video was really neat.  Both Erick and Doug made the video, so that was really cool!

After the video, we had a quick drink at the Xterra after party and then headed back to the hotel to get the kids to bed.  They were such troopers all day Saturday.  I'm so proud of my littles.  I love them so much and think they are the best!

Sunday morning we took our time getting up and had some breakfast at the hotel.  Then we hit the road because we knew it would be a long trip home.  The drive went well, although we did have to stop twice to feed Avery, which made it longer than we were hoping for.  We grabbed a take and bake pizza and some sushi on our way into town and went home to unpack, eat, and get some much needed playing in for the kids before bed.

It was a fun weekend.  I love Utah, so I always enjoy a trip there.  It's beautiful and such a fun place to visit.  The race went well, and we had a fun family weekend.  It was nice to see my sister and her husband and I look forward to the next one!

Doug's obligatory driving photo!

On our way!

How I feel about my babies puking in the car. :(

Drew loving the ride!

 

Lunch in the car in Idaho Falls because it was too cold to eat at the park.

Avery's lunch.

Bears in the park. Drew loved them!

Sweet motorcycle helmet Drew found at a bike shop in Ogden.

Checking out downtown Ogden.

Playing piano.

 

The swim portion of the race.

The pro's starting the race.

The race helicopter.  Drew loved watching it all day!

Drew making a mess in the mud while we waited for the race to start.

 

Waiting for the swimmers to run up the ramp and into the bike transition.

Doug finished the swim in great time!

Erick was right behind him!

Checking out the bears in the Snowbasin Lodge.

Avery hanging out at the race!

Doug coming in on the bike and starting to transition to the run.

Drew was cheering like crazy as daddy transitioned to the run!

Getting a little bored of waiting!

He did a lot of rolling around in the grass.

Lost his shoes and his socks!

Erick at the finish!

Here comes Doug!

Pained but pushing through!

The boys after the race.

Drew was very interested in the rock climbing at the Harvest Moon festival.

 

Ogden is a pretty town!

Harvest Moon festival!

Checking out a band at the festival.

The highlight video!

 

Drew and dad watching the video!

Walking back to the hotel from the video.

Drew would only go if Erick held his hand.

Starbucks for the ride home!

The Tetons!

I showed Drew how to make a sock puppet.  He thought it was hilarious!

Beautiful!