Iron Girls...

On Saturday my friend Diana and I increased our chances of becoming Mothers of the Year by loading up our girls (Diana's daughter Genesi is in Annika's class) and heading to Seattle for a fun filled 24 hours. Our main objective was to run/walk the Iron Girl 5k (a female only run around Seattle's Green Lake). Our secondary objectives were hotel staying, pool swimming, and delicious food eating. We also had a healthy dose of giggles...not to mention fun!

Annika was so excited before the outing began that I thought she was going to burst. The girls loved the hotel and looked like quite the little travelers packing in all their gear...

After checking into the hotel we hopped the new(ish) trolley train and headed for a little shopping...

Then it was time to check into the race. When you check in the day before you have the opportunity to peruse the vendors at the expo. I have to say that this expo had some pretty decent swag and the girls did a good job loading their swag bags. Of course what vendor could refuse those faces... Mommy's like free stuff too. See look how happy we are. Oh wait...we might be happy because we got to go shopping, we are staying in a hotel and we know that some good margaritas are in our very near future...

After a much needed (delicious) dinner at Agua Verde we headed back to the hotel for some much anticipated swimming...

The alarm rang early the next morning, but the little troopers donned their shirts and race numbers and looked especially speedy even though it was before 7am...

We made it to the start line with literally a minute to spare. Teams Chica Azul and The Lovett Girls were ready to rock this thing...

I haven't ever participated in a women's only event before and I have to say that it was quite moving. The air was charged with good cheer and positive attitudes. Women of all ages, shapes and sizes were ready to run/walk. Moms and daughters held hands and wore matching shirts. As I crossed the start line with my two girls hanging onto my hands I got misty eyed at how proud I was of them for being willing to embark on this little journey with me. And I was so so proud at how awesome they did...running about half the course and always being upbeat. Annika even got tripped and fell at one point, but she brushed it off, braved her tears and kept going. Such little troopers...

As we crossed the finish line the girls ran their hardest, we clasped hands again and all finished with an awesome time of 51 minutes. Diana and Genesi were right on our heels and as they crossed the line Diana started to cry because she too was so proud of her little girl's first race...and then had to laugh as Genesi turned to her and said, "Whoohoo! Now I get water!" We all received gold medals and the girls proudly wore them for all to see...

It was a wonderful mother-daughter weekend made only that much more special thanks to Diana and Genesi. What great memories I will have. Iron Girls Rock!!!