Day 48

"Hello Y'all"--Those are the famous words of my family in Texas! That's right - this is the time you have all been waiting for - a cameo appearance in the blog of NationRun2008.

This is Kaitlyn, Gigs, Gigglefest, kskells coming at you with a report from Flower Mound, Texas. As you learned yesterday I came into Dallas to surprise Andy, spend time with my family and see the NationRun team as they continue to make great strides across the country. So far my time here has been great and today the boys opted for a day off. Hopefully this day off doesn't set them back at all--but it was certainly worth it (especially for me!).

We started off the morning by sleeping in which was amazing for all of us involved-I think at this point in the trip the boys take in all the sleep they can get. My cousin Elyse had a great breakfast made for us that consisted of: Eggs, coffee cake, fruit and what is apparently called "pigs in a blanket." Durkin loooved the pigs* in a blanket and I am not so much a fan of sausage so I gave mine up to Andy and ate away with just the "blanket". It was good. After a great breakfast and chatting we hung around the house before deciding what the plan would be for the day. The guys watched an hour or so of trick shot bowling which consisted of throwing the ball through 4 chairs and throwing two balls with the same hand. It was quite intense.

There is one part of the morning that I must not forget to mention. We had a showdown in the living room between my second cousin Logan and Durkin that consisted of Star Wars Trivia. This mini trivia session started off with Durkin and Logan exchanging a shared Christmas present between the two of them, a Star Wars pop up book. I guess it is normal that a 23 year old and a 6 year old receive the same gift for Christmas?! Logan and Durkin went back and forth testing each others knowledge of Star Wars for the remainder of the day. It was cute**

Once the trivia was done and it was established that the boys were extremely impressed with Logan and his Star Wars knowledge, the seven of us headed to Fort Worth. On our drive over to Fort Worth the boys were talking about how this area of Texas (Dallas) would probably be the biggest area they would hit until they reached San Diego. Durkin mentioned how one of his goals in Texas was to purchase a Texas belt buckle--so for the rest of the afternoon we were all on the lookout. Our afternoon started with a lunch at Angelo's BBQ Restaurant. This was a BBQ Restaurant that was wigged out with animal heads all over the place. We saw Deer, Moose and Antelope heads. Berkley was extremely afraid of the bear wearing a t-shirt. After eating lunch and taking some pictures we were off to visit the Fort Worth Stock Yards.

I don't think any of us knew what we were in for at the Stalk Yards--right when we arrived we were greeted by a horse and decided to walk into a barn. I am not a huge fan of animals, but we saw the cutest new born horse. It was so small and adorable, only five days old. I also got to sit on a horse and as I was mounting it the back of my jeans ripped. It was the classic moment.

Matt eventually found the belt buckle he was looking for at the fourth or fifth shop. It was a giant silver outline of the State of Texas, probably 5 or 6 inches across and just as high. This thing was enormous. He proudly displayed it for the rest of the afternoon looking tougher than ever. While downtown we also witnessed a mini cattle herd as 20 or so cattle were marched down the main street. It was interesting to see and people around us acted like it was nothing out of the ordinary. Berkley and Logan also tried their luck in a giant maze that was once a check point in The Amazing Race 5. It took them 25 minutes to snake their way out.

Before we were about to leave and head back to Vanessa and Brent's house for dinner we decided to check out one of the largest Honkey-Tonk clubs in the world. We were all asked to show our Id's in order to look around and wouldn't you know it, I was the only one in the group that didn't have mine on me. They didn't believe I was of age and we were forced to leave without getting our full Texas tour. Better luck next time I guess.

We headed back to Elyse's to change my ripped, favorite, most expensive pair of jeans I've ever owned and then headed over to Vanessa's for dinner. This whole experience for me has been great because it has been so fun to not only visit my family, but also see their homes. They come to NH every summer to visit our family, but it not often our NH family gets out to Texas. So as my Aunt Pam, Elyse and Vanessa spent time cooking, I of course was outside jumping on their awesome trampoline. Andy, Berkley, Logan and I had a great time. We played freeze tag and popcorn - all of which Berkley and Logan were pros at. Andy showed us all some impressive moves that he had recently picked up at the Trampoline and Tumbling Institute in Paris, Texas. While we were fooling around on the trampoline Durkin and Logan were battling it out across the lawn, each with light saber in hand. I don't know who was having more fun. My 6 year old cousin or a 23 year old mustache grown man. Once I was done acting like a six year old dinner was ready! Pam made GREAT lasagna and Elyse and Vanessa did a great job preparing the meal as well. While eating some dessert we all had the pleasure of watching IDOL. Yes, that's right--Elyse, Scott, Vanessa, Brent, Logan and Berkley are all huge fans. I can't say Andy, Ken and Durkin felt the same. Just for the record Logan thinks Simon should be "kicked off." As we were about to leave for the night Andy's phone rang. To the guys surprise it was a friend they had met earlier down the road. Anita, from Greensville, MS was calling to see how things were going. She was excited to talk with the guys and they felt the same way.

After a great day it was time to head back to Scott and Elyse's to prepare myself for my cameo appearance on the road. Today was so fun and I am grateful the boys decided to take the day off. I hope to get enough sleep tonight because I will be "attempting" to run with them tomorrow. DO you think I can make it-because at this point I don't think my family has much confidence in me...we'll have to see! I hope to make it all day but I will have my cell phone ready to go.

I leave you with my Grandmother Hale's words of wisdom to the boys:
"Keep those legs running and continue to follow your dreams!"-Thanks Grammy

Be sure to check in tomorrow to see if I make it or if the boys end up pushing me in the jogger! Also, to the family members of Andy, Ken and Matt--the boys look so GREAT and I can assure you they certainly eat enough:)

*Kaitlyn/Gigs*

I talked with my parents today and they informed me that a number of packages arrived at my house. For those of you that have not looked at the website lately we have added a thank you and links to Saucony. Patrick, the VP of Marketing contacted us about a week ago stating he has been following our run and wanted to help us out. The great people at Saucony have generously donated 6 pairs of running shoes to all of us along with a number of t-shirts, running shorts, head bands, hats and even rain coats. We would like to thank Patrick and everyone at Saucony for there support in our dream. Without the help of great people like them and across the country this trip would not be what it is for all of us. Keep it coming America...

-Andy

* They were made of beef so I guess they were "Cows in a blanket".

** I wasn't sure just how into Star Wars Logan really was, so I started with easy questions. At first it was simply "what color is Darth Vader's light saber? how 'bout Luke's?". Logan really impressed me so I stepped it up a little bit and he still kept the answers coming! On our way to Fort Worth we were stopped at a stop light and both our car and the car he was in had the windows down. Ken and Andy were pressuring me to hit him with some trivia but my mind was drawing a blank. I thought of asking him what Boba Fett's ship was called but I knew there was no way he would get it. I couldn't think of anything else to ask so I just blurted out that question, sure enough he immediately fired back with "Slave 1!". I was in total shock, I'm pretty sure they don't even mention it's name in any of the movies, he just knew it.

On the topic of Boba Fett, today we found out when Logan grows up he wants to be a bounty hunter. In a related but much cuter discussion, we learned that when Berkley grows up she wants to be "A doctor, a mommy and a grocery shopper...and work at target!"

May the force be with you,
Durkin