Moab was just such a blast for our family!!!! We left midday Friday with our friends and drove 3 hours to Green River. (We didn't book in advance and all the accomodation in Moab was booked for the marathon) Below is a photo of our $50 buck, one bedroom hotel room. We are students afterall and it worked out perfectly. We then drove to Moab to register for the marathon and meet up with some more friends.
In Moab the first thing the children seemed to notice was the cactus!!!! We were in a desert so they were a little fascinated. Hyrum wanted to see just how sharp the needles on the plant were... I was waiting for the yelp and the blood but it didn't happen.
Two trouble makers. They had so much fun together and that was perfeccccct....because they would need to keep each other entertained when they were waiting for their mums to get to the finish line.....21km later!!!!
Diana, Esther and Emily went to register, get our packs, t-shirts and timing chips to put on our shoes!!!
Whilst the men ate at Wendys with their adorable children the girls hit the cute little town to get a real meal.......pasta before the race!!! (To make us "feel" like real professionals!)
The actual race started late because they had a smaller race before us, as well as a wheel chair race. By the time we finished the race it was extremely HOT! One interesting thing that happened during the race was when an ambulance was speeding and blasting it's sirens to come and get an injured racer. We all automatically moved to the right hand side of the road (they block off all the roads for the race) to let the ambulance through. Well on the way back, we could here the ambulance faintly and everyone moved to the left to allow it to go through. Well, then we quickly realised that the ambulance was staying on the left side of the road, so hundreds of us had to quickly move to to the right hand side again. Becasue we were going down the canyon, you could see for half a mile and to see all the runners go back and forth, trying to get out of the ambulances way. Seeing one side of the road completly empty and then all these people on a limited amount of space jammed in, running, was rather amusing!
Finally over!!! I was happy with my time. We all did very well.
After the race, the atmosphere is very crazy and fun. A band blasts, people are on a high and there is yummy food to eat!!!! However, the last thing I really want to do after a race is EAT!!! I feel sick. Also for the those who raced, after you finish you can get a FREE massage but instead for us lucky mothers, we have hot, tired and grumpy children to deal with!!! (Yay.)
So after enjoying the festivities we decided to make the most of our time in Moab and go HIKING with our friends. Yay. Something you should always do after a marathon.....
We hiked to delicate arch in Arches National Park and it was just BEAUTIFUL!! However, the hour and a half it took to get there was shall I say....interesting!!!! It was hot and the children were tired and they were saying things like..."my legs are tired", "I need more water", "how long is it going to take??" For some reason, in the middle of the hike, after Hyrum had complained that he was tired, decided to do some push-ups. (Possibly showing off to our friends cute litte girls??? Who knows) So that was interesting to say the least. Dave and I just looked at each other in wonder????
To keep the children going....we did say we would give them $50 for the child who saw a rattle snake!!!! It worked really, really well and fortunately for us the kids are not $50 richer) 
In the photo below, there is another funny story that goes with Hyrum. David was trying to get Hyrum to move closer to the arch. Hyrum wasn't moving and Dave just assumed that he wasn't listening to him again. Well, by then, Dave was kind of yelling for Hyrum to move, so he could get a better picture. Well Hyrum yelled back in urgency and said "if I move any closer dad, I'll fall off the other side." Dave didn't press the matter further and we all cracked up laughing.
Isaac was a perfect little angel who was just making all these funny sounds and enjoying his surroundings. I am glad that Dave was the one holding him this time!!!
A photo of Emily and Adam Wankier and Dave. We were all celebrating the fact that we were heading back to the car. Emily and Esther were a little tired, hot and stinky!! We had so much fun and are already planning our next road trip. For Emily, it was her first half-marathon, and she is officially HOOKED!
