Some friends are way more than we deserve. A dear, very pregnant friend, who already has two small kiddos, took in all four of our treasures for the weekend and let Joey and I slip out the farm gates and spend a few days treasure-less.
Thank you sweet, sweet friend!
DESTINATION: Vail, CO
OPERATION: Tough Mudder 2011
TEAM NAME: Mud-Stained Eyes
GOAL: Don't Die
The plan was simple.
Meet the team up in the mountains, eat good food, laugh with friends, complete a 10 mile obstacle course created by Navy Seal type folks in under four hours, and make it home alive to put the kiddos in their beds by Saturday night.
It's Friday afternoon and we're through the gates and riding the highways through the peaks. We're with friends, talking about life and swapping memories of when we all were still dating and kidless.
There's a gorgeous park with paddle boats and views of the snow-capped mountains. He's running with some of the guys and her and I get to take our time strolling along the beaten path.
We meet up with the rest of the team and have enough nachos to feed an army. They're delicious but they fill us all up with air that makes for hilarious jokes and laughter later on alone in our room. If you know my Joey, you know that I was laughing until my stomach hurt.
Not to long after sunrise we geared up for the Mudder, Sarah and I went out early with the boys to scope out the course in hopes of capturing some of their experiences with our lens. And getting off the shuttle brought a magnificent sight... thousands of men and women, ready to willingly annialate themselves....
Surrounded by HIS glorious creation... it just might inspire one to be brave...
My man...
The team...
A little prayer... A whole lot of faith...
And let the games begin! Hundreds running down the mountain... one guy totally diggered and you could here the crowd echo "ooooooo" as he got trampled by the mob.
Sarah and I snuck up the mountain to catch a glimpse of obstacles 7, 8 & 9. The water was like ice and the team trekked across one side and dogged barrels on the other. Some folks came up shaking and cramping... but all our boys... they were awesome.
Obstacle 9... logs up the hill, through the mud.
Crawling through the mud...
Ice jacuzzi...
Sarah and I couldn't make it up to the middle obstacles so we camped out towards at the man-size slip and slide that led straight into a nasty mud puddle.
And Everest... The boys made it look like a toy. They got up like a human on an ant hill.
And the grand finale, a tunnel of 10,000 volts. And they're brave and they run like nobody's business. My Joey, he gets shocked in the eye, and he just keeps running...
Ten miles and three hours and forty minutes later... Triumph! All nine Mudd-Stained Eyes crossed that finished line.
A little mudd, nine manly men, 25 obstacles, 10 miles,
and a much needed night away with the man I love more than maybe I should.
Him and I and some ridiculous show where people jump through holes on the television.
He cracked jokes and I laughed.
He kissed me and I kissed him back.
He is most certainly a manly man who crawls through mud, swims under barrels, and runs full force through electric wires...
But he's also the man who takes me along on his adventures
and makes me so proud to be his wife.
