Swiss Days

Every year, the Gunn family gets together in St. George for the Swiss Days festivities.  It's the day Santa Clara celebrates being settled by pioneers.

There's fireworks, parades, lots of vendors, and a 5k race early Saturday morning.

I haven't been since Mac was two weeks old.

And after telling my athletic now-5-year-old about it, he was completely sold.  We decided it was time to go ahead and do it, whether or not Mark could get off work.

I came to regret the decision for a while, but eventually changed my mind.

See, Belle started puking in the car halfway there.

She continued puking.  All afternoon, all evening, and all through the night after we got to Grandma's house.  While driving, I had no help and so had to stop every time she hurled to wipe it up and change her.

It took me 8 hours to get to St. George.

It's supposed to take 4.

We had originally planned to stay with Uncle Josh and Aunt Heidi, but once the puke settled in, we decided a place with no cousins would be much kinder to the family.  So luckily, Grandma Gunn had room for us, and we holed up there.

As soon as I pulled in - late, flustered, and practically cursing - Chris flew into action helping me clean up and get the kids settled.  She was wonderful.  She sat with Belle while I pulled together Mac's racing gear, and then I stayed up with Belle throughout the night as she alternated between begging for water and then throwing it up again.

At six a.m., the house got going.  Mac leaped to his feet; thrilled to run his first ever REAL race with a NUMBER on his shirt.  He was going to be TIMED, and if he ran as fast as he could without getting in a stroller or being held, he would win a REAL MEDAL.  He practically floated out the door, he was so excited.

Aunt Sarah and Uncle Adam took him to the starting line, while I sat with Belle and Chris made an early morning run for gatorade and popcicles. She arrived in time for me to see Mac cross the finish line, bless her heart.

I'm told he took off at the beginning of the race, and then at about halfway through, Aunt Heidi found him walking on the side of the road.  (I'm pretty sure he was not expecting the race to be that long.)  She dragged him along with her (THANK YOU HEIDI), and he was able to finish without being held or sitting in the stroller. "My leggies was just so tired," he told me, "but I just couldn't stop cause I wanted a medal."

That not-stopping alone did win him a medal. Literally.

They even had a rainbow.

A few of the Gunn family runners ... couldn't snag the rest of them.

 But even though all the 1-5 year olds got a medal, Mac did the unthinkable.  He took first place.

That woke his tired little body right up.

All the racers in the 1-5 age division.

Mac received a cowbell medal with a blue ribbon because he took first place.  Here you see him trying his best not to smile.  Hm ... that sounds like his dad.  Always playin' it cool.

 And Miss Belen?

Well, she had her last puke as all the racers left that morning, and spent the rest of Saturday hanging out with either me or Grandma while all the cousins played at Josh and Heidi's.

She ate popcicples and drank gatorade, and best of all?

She got alone time with Grandma and Grandpa.  With 23 cousins, that is kinda hard to come by.

And I got to slip away to doll up an already heart-stoppingly beautiful gal ... the oldest of the Gunn cousins, Taylor!  I wish I had a better picture, but this will have to do.

This girl is a knock-out; it was so fun to just play up what's already there and act like it was all thanks to me and Katie.  We can't take credit for these good looks! But it was certainly fun to go a little crazy for her first-ever Homecoming.  High school dances are the greatest.

So all in all, in spite of the puke, I'd call Swiss Days 2014 a success.

As long as nobody else is puking right now ... sorry if you are, Gunn family!!