St Nicholas Day, A Best Race Ever, and Rule #9

Dec 6. was a very, very busy day!  Ever since 1985, the McParlands have celebrated St. Nicholas day, and have come to expect wonderful Christmas ornaments to magically appear in our shoes.  This year was no exception.  Despite our being 1300 miles away in California, ol' St. Nick was able to find us- and especially Xander, to help him celebrate his very first St. Nicholas day properly!  Thanks to Grandma Kathy for letting St. Nick know how to find us.

Saturday was our travel day, and on our way there we almost met St. Nicholas's best buddy, Santa.... we were right next to the Flight to the North Pole and if we didn't have big plans for our weekend in Sacramento, we just might have hopped aboard!  We settled for meeting a very nice police dog who was helping out.

We got to Sacramento with no mishaps. Xander was again a very good traveler, with only a small amount of (probably justified) fussing.  We had a quiet night, and Jake got ready for the race on Sunday.  It was bitter cold to start the race, only 25 degrees in the morning, but warmed up a little as the race went on.  Xander and I stayed bundled up while we cheered on the racers, and especially Jake, who ran a spectacular race! 

We were racing from one point to the next trying to see him as often as possible.  No matter how many times we saw him, he was smiling- I really don't think he ever stopped smiling or passing people during the whole race!  We did miss his finish though- in our racing to one of the sighting spots, I lost the keys to our rental car and it took a few hours before I could have a tow company help break in and I get the paperwork to call the rental agency and find out that a kind soul had put the keys in a safe place for me to retrieve again.  All ended well for Xander and me, and for Jake too!  Jake finished the race in 3:02:30 which is a significant personal best for him and was much faster than he had hoped for.  Best of all, he finished still feeling well and strong.

Monday we had a little extra time before our flight home and we were able to drop in on Cousin Rebecca Martin at her winery in Napa.  Nothing like getting a personal tour!  Rebecca looks wonderful and clearly has a passion for her profession.  What fun!  Only one regret there though- we forgot to get a photo!!

Just before heading to the airport, we stopped to get a late lunch.  Here is where rule #9 comes in- No dumping chili on the Mama, *especially* when she only has one pair of pants, it's cold out, and we're about to get on a plane. Hmmm....  Those inquisitive baby hands are trouble!

We had a wonderful weekend, but I was very, very glad when we made it safely home and into our own beds.