sundance downhill race

On Memorial Day Ben had his first downhill race of the season.

My cousin Robyn's husband, Morgan, also did the race, so we were able to hang out with them Sunday and Monday.  Our kids are the same ages, and totally hit it off.  They had a blast!  They got to have their first cousin sleepover ever the night before the race. 

The morning of the race was definitely nuts.  Ben and Morgan had to be there early for warm up runs, so I got to load up all the kids, and get us there.  It was pretty much a madhouse, and a feeding frenzy, but we got into the car on time, and the scenery on the way to the race was breathtaking!

Once we got there, we met up with Robyn, and we started the hike up the mountain side, to get to a spot where we would be able to see Ben and Morgan zoom by.

When I say hike, I mean HIKE.  Robyn and I had 9 kids, snacks, water, jackets, and a stroller, and there was not a trail!  We did some serious bush-wacking, and it was all uphill.  Thankfully, majority of the kids thought it was a "grand adventure through the woods."  My screaming legs and arms from pushing the stroller and holding children beg to differ.

um yeah...see how steep that section was.  Go William go!

check out the scenery!  I can't believe we live here!

We were able to find a great spot right by part of the downhill race track, and as a bonus, there was a jump right there.  The kids were thrilled.

We were able to see Ben and Morgan for about 3 seconds as they came blasting by, and we cheered them on the best we could.

Then....we packed up all 9 kids, the snacks, the shoes, the blankets, and the stroller, and made the trek back down the hill to the finish line.  We only lost 2 pairs of shoes in the process (both of them belonged to our 2 year olds), go us!

Morgan an

Luke and some random people hiking along the race track.

d Ben had great races.  Unfortunately, Morgan's chain broke, so it seriously slowed him down, but he still had a great time.

Ben did awesome, and he was even able to podium!  He was just over 4 minutes...which is a great time.  I think it was 4.03. 

Because Ben was in the top three, we had some time to wait before the awards, so we packed the kids up, drove to Heber, grabbed some lunch, and then packed them back to the race.  It was a BIG day!  They were really good sports, and very supportive of their awesome daddy.

After all was said and done, we got home just in time for a neighborhood barbeque.  Needless to say, I was spent.  So, Ben took the kids, and I stayed home and did this.

Netflix and Oreos...the good life.

Ben has his second race coming up this weekend.  He is hoping to get another great time, and maybe even move up a level.  He is definitely training hard for it.  Check out these pictures his buddy took!

"Courage is fear leaving the body."