Wave At The Wife

School's out. No bus. My "toad" of a husband shows his support at the Ragnar Relay.

Pausing for a photo

Family Support at Snowbasin

Assuming my usual pose, I whipped out the camera and took a picture of Dale waving at me in costume. With all the crazies at Ragnar, he actually fit in quite well. For the non-running crowd, the Wasatch Back Ragnar Relay is a 192 mile foot race, with 12 person teams running day, night, and then the next day. Each runner on the team runs three “legs” of the race. I was Runner 12, so I ran Leg 12, Leg 24, and Leg 36. Dale says all this talk of “Legs” makes him jealous. Not to run one, just to have one.

Waiting for me to arrive

Dale and Ryatt greeted me, waving their support, at Snowbasin Ski Resort. I was just finishing my first leg of the race, a nearly 5 mile climb (with over a thousand feet of climbing, ending at an altitude of 6400 feet). My next “legs” would be 6.75 miles at 4:30 am (including another 650 feet of climbing into the town of Oakley), and 7.2 miles at 3:45 pm (a scenic Park City trail run from Deer Valley Ski Resort to Park City High School).

This was my second year running this Ragnar Relay, and the thing that surprises me the most is how little the race is really about running. Maybe it's because we're not "in it to win it." I’m spending 30 hours in a van with some of my best friends (or soon to be best friends), yet I’m only running for less than three hours of that time. There’s not much sleeping going on. The hours are filled with supporting your teammates on their runs, eating, laughing, talking, laughing, some attempts at singing, followed by more laughing, and “visiting the dunnies.” [I had an Aussie on my team, teaching us fabulous slang from down under.] In short, it was just an amazing girls weekend.

"Van Two" Teammates

Have a Funny Day!

"What a dreadful thing it must be to have a dull father."

-Mary Mapes Dodge

Happy Father's Day! We celebrate with a few father stories from our family:

 

Rikki:

"I remember my dad taking me to a movie in the middle of the day when I was about six years old. We walked into the theater, and it was totally empty. My dad told me that he rented the entire theater just for me. I felt like a princess. I was so excited that I spent most of the movie running around the theater and sitting in every single seat."

Rain:

"My dad ordered a cake for my sixteenth birthday. The cake he ordered was this little kid's dinosaur cake. I guess he was trying to embarrass me, but by now, there's not much else he can do. My cousins thought it was pretty funny, and so did the lady checking us out at Costco."

Riot:

"My dad went to my school for my birthday. He read my favorite book to my friends in my class. He was so funny."

Dale:

"I was raised by a single dad, who was raising three boys on his own. He was always there for us and our countless ballgames. One year, I was playing Little League baseball as a Catcher. There was a play at the plate, and it was really close. The runner slid in and knocked me down, the Umpire called him out. The stands erupted in cheers. And then I noticed that I had dropped the ball. I picked it up quickly and nobody had noticed. I then turned around and told the Ump that I had dropped the ball. The runner was called safe and the fans went silent. That was how the game ended. Afterward, my dad told me he had never been more proud. Thanks, Dad, for instilling in me a love for sports and teaching me to own up to my mistakes. Happy Father's Day."

 

Rochelle:

My own father never waved me off to school in a costume (no regrets there). He did, however, spend many mornings helping me fold newspapers for my early morning paper route, teaching and loving through action and example. My dad had his own favorite goodbye phrase, and it continues as a morning farewell in my own home: "Have a funny day!" Thanks for your sense of humor and "knee-slapper" jokes, Dad. May all our days be funny.

Frogger

"Eat the fly! Eat the fly!"

Crossing the street in New York City is like a real-life game of Frogger.

I like to call this the "whoodathunkit?" NYC trip. This blog started as a way to share my funny husband with family and friends  a trip to New York and countless interviews was not part of that plan. With just a couple hours notice to get on the plane, Dale and Rain spent two days in New York City for their appearance on Good Morning America. While there, they were also able to interview with CBC TV (Canada), Inside Edition, FoxNews.com, Fuji TV Network (Japan), and RTL Television (Germany). Our German friends provided Dale with this fantastic frog suit and had him waving at spectators in the park (Rain said it was funny!).

Dale managed to find a bus to wave at. Rain was NOT on this bus (NYPD):

Other photos from their "whoodathunkit?" NYC trip:

Rain at the Good Morning America Studios

Rain in GMA's "Green Room"

Abracadabra Costume Shop with Inside Edition

Near the USS Intrepid

Dale waving from Time Square

 
Our other kids didn't get quite as much media attention, but they were featured on our local ABC station the night before the GMA showing (cute interview).

Update 6/13/11: Dale is out working in the yard and a neighbor stops by, congratulating him on the recent publicity. Neighbor asks Dale, "So what are you doing now?" Dale looks down at the pooper-scooper in hand, back at the neighbor, grins and says, "livin' the dream."