This past weekend the sisters flew the coop! We got out of dodge. Left town. We "ran" far, far away from our many adult responsibilities, parenting duties, and any semblance of reality, and we dove head first into a weekend of much needed connection, and relaxation. Here's the abbreviated story. For the full length version, you will have to hit one of us up in person!
Awhile back Mird and I were busy day drinking, I mean day dreaming, of races we could run to get another state done in 2022 since Covid had significantly slowed our pace for our 50 state challenge and we feared we might never finish. We considered many options and finally settled on a birthday trip for Mird's 40th in October. Then after further consideration of our kid's impossible sports schedules, we decided November was a better option because fall sports would be done and we would be carefree and able to easily go. **In the end, we planned a 4-day getaway to Santa Fe to visit Domid and have a dual birthday celebration. The girls who suck at planning finally had a plan!
Then we lived life at a record pace until Veteran's Day also known as GO DAY for the adventure. We met up in a carpool lot outside Lansing and headed to Detroit to fly out. Upon arrival it was apparent that we did not have our act together. In fact, we probably didn't even know what our act was or what we would possibly do with our act if we were to unexpectedly find it! I didn't know what airline, time, or other key details existed for our trip and Mird had forgotten her toiletry bag which housed all of her "essential" items including but not limited to her insulin, beauty supplies (haha), and prescription medications YIKES. We tried to make light of the situation and joked a bit. Then we debated our options and ultimately decided to hit the road to Detroit so we would not miss our flight. On a positive note I had forgotten my toothbrush at her house the weekend prior so she had that and my toothpaste with her.
We flew Southwest out of Detroit because we were drinking when we planned this whole gig and likely it seemed like the best idea at the time. In hindsight, flying out of GR would have probably saved time and money and it most certainly would have preserved some of my sanity, but we're athletes not travel agents so.... Flying Southwest became somewhat of a never ending game of bingo. Since they have you line up in a letter number order, but there are no assigned seats, we never actually sat together until the final leg of the journey home. Each time a seat number was called one of us yelled "bingo" and we all giggled. Once we arrive to Albuquerque airport we pulled off the greatest surprise in the history of surprises or at least the biggest surprise I've been a part of likely because keeping secrets is not a strength of mine...Check It out! Loretta ROCKS!
Once we got to Domin and Ivar's house things improved significantly-- likely because there was vodka, guacamole and we were no longer traveling. It also helped that we were literally with most of our favorite people. We took the time to enjoy our precious time with each other and we ate an impressive number of tacos. Saturday we headed to Meow Wolf and goofed around for a couple hours, took a short break at home and then headed to the plaza for an afternoon of shopping. We ate Domin's famous salmon, rice and salad for dinner which is the most delicious meal I can imagine. A glorious gourmet meal and it's healthy too! For entertainment we watched AJ's volleyball team on Facebook live and made a photo collage puzzle I created online which was a surprise birthday gift for Mird!
Sunday was race day and we headed out early to Albuquerque for the Duke of Dough 5 & 10K run at Mariposa Basin Park. We arrived with plenty of time to spare and sat in the Jeep for awhile because it was cold out--46 degrees perfect for running, but a bit cold for standing around and waiting.
The air balloons were miniature, but still added to the festive atmosphere at the race! We also were all in the top 4 of our age groups with two of us medaling so we decided we were the "The A Team" and started singing Ed Sheeran loudly in public (or possibly silently inside my head) I am unsure because I ran so hard I was pretty incoherent.
I truly don't know how I pulled these paces off. It was a miracle. I attribute it to my deciding to chase a marine when I lined up at the starting line and saw "Semper Fi" tattooed on his leg...I figured if I could keep him within my line of vision, I would probably do ok. It paid off, big time!
New Mexico State 15 (I think) Finish Line Fun...
We are the Champions!!!
We flew home on Domin's birthday after we serenaded her at the strike of midnight, slept a few hours, and woke up early to drink a ridiculous amount of coffee and eat one final delicious egg sandwich crafted by Domin. She really is a culinary genius!!
The final leg of our journey. Seats B 42, 43, and 44. BINGO! At last we're sitting side by side. Also we did some t-shirt watching and found a winner--our favorite by far.... 
We all went to the airport together and Lerd had her own flight that arrived to GR about 5 hours before we arrived in Detroit...We parted ways after this awesome selfie and decided next time Lerd gets to be in charge of planning!!!Vern Out
**When we planned this trip, Mird and I thought we'd be carefree and kid's schedules would be more open. We now know that we will not be "carefree" ever again since we decided to become mothers and our schedules might loosen up when our kids graduate and move out, but until then we will have to make time to run these races and spend time together because otherwise it won't happen. It means we might miss a playoff game (haha) a volleyball tournament (cry cry) and we might forget our toiletry bag. However, we will survive because we are the road runner, a team, sisters and we don't quit! We CAN do hard things
