Two weeks ago, the bike race was close to home, so we made it a day trip, packing up the van Sunday morning and arriving just in time for the kids' race at 1 and Ted's race at 1:30. Oliver was in true racing form, ready to go before we even arrived and putting on his "race face" the moment he was all lined up at the start. Valerie and Almanzo wildly cheered him on and he was all smiles afterwards. "I win my bike race!"
This weekend was a different story. The race was in Rhinelander, WI, about a four hour drive from our home. We decided to take advantage of the cabins available at Camp Tesomas and spend the night on Saturday. The kids were anticipating it eagerly all week long, counting down the days and asking me pretty much every five seconds "is tomorrow the day???"
We got a late start, as usual, and didn't hit the road until almost noon on Saturday. We drove for about an hour and then stopped for a picnic lunch. The boys, of course, decided it was also the perfect time for some pre-race training. They crack me up, because they don't just ride their bikes, they RACE every single time their feet hit the pedals, leaning down into their handlebars and pedaling as fast as their little legs can go.
After lunch, we still had another three hours to go, so, after letting the kids nap for a little while and then stopping for another bathroom break, we plugged in a movie and pulled out the Leap Pads. I don't care how many negative articles or comments I hear about electronics - they simply make long car rides with four kids much more peaceful for everyone.
By the time we arrived, the kids were full of energy and Ted was eager to get a pre-ride in on the race course. After unpacking at the cabin, the kids rode their bikes around and explored the woods while Ted rode for about an hour. When he returned, some other campers had already started a fire, so we joined them and cooked our own dinner, campfire style. I decided to make it as easy as possible, so we packed hotdogs and supplies for veggie and potato tinfoil meals. Of course, we also made sure to bring s'mores ingredients and Almanzo was pretty proud of his choice of GIANT marshmallows.
The kids quickly made new friends with all the other kids camping with their families in the other cabins and were running around giggling and playing until almost 10:30. One family was smart enough to bring glow in the dark bracelets, which made the perfect flashlights and helped us to keep track of them. Oliver and Faith were tuckered out much sooner and since my allergies have been pretty bad lately I sat in the cabin with them until they fell asleep.
Our kids slept really well that night, but, of course, were wide awake and LOUD the moment the sun came up, just before 7. We packed plenty of easy breakfast foods, including cereal, hard boiled eggs, bananas, orange juice, and muffins, but Almanzo still managed to mooch food off another family. He proudly ran over to me with a plate full of freshly cooked scrambled eggs and bacon. "But I was SO hungry, mommy, and they just gave it to me!"
We enjoyed a relaxing morning, since Ted's race wasn't until the afternoon. Despite the forecast of humidity and thunderstorms, it was mostly cloudy with a cool breeze all morning. Almanzo made a new BFF and spent all morning racing bikes and exploring the woods with him. Ted and I enjoyed getting to know two other families with four kids. It was just so fun to be able to laugh and reminisce about the ups and downs of parenting our "large" family with moms and dads who also share the same passion for mountain bike racing. Almanzo's new buddy was the oldest of one of the families and he had three younger sisters who were 3 1/2, 2, and 10 months. Valerie was having so much fun taking the little girls under her wing and Faith even made new friends with the littlest two. Another family had a nine year old girl, six year old boy, and 4 1/2 year old twin girls. All twelve kids got along so well and it was fun to watch them interacting and forging new friendships so easily.
Around 11:30, we cooked up the rest of the hotdogs over the campfire and made PB&J sandwiches for our kids, but they didn't sit still long enough to finish them. The sport race had already started, so they were off cheering on the other racers with their new friends. By the time we needed to get ready for the kids' race, the weather was starting to look questionable. We were getting so many conflicting weather reports, so we decided to head over to the start and let the kids race and then at least watch the start of Ted's race before taking shelter in our cabin.
The kids' race didn't go as smoothly as last time. Oliver was getting really tired, because it was nap time. He was all lined up ready to race and suddenly started crying. The other two year olds took off and he just stood their in tears. I finally had to pick him up and strap him into the bike trailer with Faith...where he promptly fell asleep on the ride back to the cabins. Almanzo was pretty determined to win his race, even though the kids' races are just for fun. He raced his little heart out and was so proud to tell daddy afterwards that he won. Valerie, on the other hand, somehow got confused halfway through her race and Ted had to redirect her several times to get her to the finish. She is clearly my daughter. She tells me often that she likes to ride her bike, but doesn't really like to race like her brothers do.
Almanzo and Valerie were anxious to head back to the cabins with their friends so they rode off ahead while I waited to watch Ted start his race. After a few minutes, however, I could tell Ollie was tired and the air felt pretty heavy like it was going to rain soon. I hurried back and we watched Ted's race fly by the course by our cabins before the rain started. It didn't rain as hard or bad as the forecast predicted and it certainly didn't spoil the kids' fun. Ollie pretty much slept through Ted's race and Faith played in her pack n' play, but Valerie and Almanzo were running around dancing and singing in the rain. They were wet and muddy by the time the rain stopped, but their smiles made the mess of laundry I knew I'd have well worth it.
Ted's race didn't go as well as he had hoped. I suspect he has seasonal allergies, but he won't ever admit it. He said he simply didn't feel right and just couldn't race as fast as he wanted to. He was also wet and muddy when he finished, so we waited for him to shower and then we loaded up the van for the long drive home. The kids were getting pretty tired from a busy but fun weekend and, after a few meltdowns over the mosquitoes getting in the van while Ted packed up, they finally calmed down and fell asleep for about an hour before we stopped for dinner.
We stopped just in time to eat dinner while it down poured and then saw a beautiful rainbow light up the sky before we continued our journey home. We didn't get home until 9:30 and the kids were so tired they didn't even wake up when Ted transferred them to their beds. I nursed Faith while Ted unloaded the bikes and unpacked the cooler and then we both fell asleep the moment our heads hit the pillows. We were exhausted, but it was a good exhausted that comes from a weekend full of great memories and fun adventures. We can hardly wait for next year - we're already planning on staying for TWO nights to extend the fun!
