Iron + Man

The big Ironman Day finally arrived.  I will have Al write a blog about the race because I'm sure I wouldn't be able to write all the details.  We weren't able to see the swim because we would have had to take a ferry at 4:00am which would have been tricky with Alex.  The bike was in New Jersey which we also missed so we got to see him at the very end of that before he started the marathon.  It's all about supporting your Ironman so I made us shirts to wear that day. 

We had until 2PM we had to be in Jersey to see the Al finish the bike so we went to the Top of the Rock to check out the view.

It was really cloudy and rainy that morning so I didn't bring my sunglasses, mistake!!

On our way to catch the ferry we got into a cab.  I put Alex in and then proceeded to fold up the stroller.  The next thing I knew he was laying on the curb crying.  Luckily kids are somehow resilient to everything and he was ok.  He had a big goose egg right in the middle of his forehead, but I'm sure that won't be the last :(

On the Ferry to New Jersey.

There was a park where the athletes finished the bike which was nice so Alex could run around.

This was by far the hottest most humid day we had been there.  We were all drenched in sweat, so gross.

Our cool t-shirts

We only had to wait about 30 minutes to see Al, Ross, and his dad which was nice.  

He did great on the bike and swim, but now was the hard part with his knee.  We wished him luck, gave him a kiss, and told him we would see him at the finish line.

The bridge the marathon ran over back to NYC

The marathon was also hard to be a spectator so we had an early dinner at Patsy's.

An amazing Caprese salad.

Our yummy pizza, but Grimaldis was better.  Alex was in heaven having pizza for every meal.

The Ironman ended in Riverside Park.  On our walk there we stopped at a playground for Alex to play on.

NYC doesn't have splash pads, but they do have these cool cement pads with animals that spray water, same concept right.

Al knew he would be finishing around 14 hours with his knee which was around 10pm, so we were at the park for 4 hours waiting.  There were so many people everywhere I didn't want Alex to get out of his stroller, so I tried to trap him with snacks.   Here he is around 8pm eating his thing of Seaweed.  

I was using the IronTrac app which was so delayed.  When it said Al had 2 miles left I went over to the finish line and waited maybe 5 minutes before I saw him.  Thank goodness I didn't miss him and such a bummer that my picture didn't turn out very good.

Almost an Ironman

Al Cameron you are an Ironman, congrats!!  So proud of him especially since he was hurt.  There isn't anyone stronger or more determined than Al.  We love you and glad we could be there to watch you achieve your Ironman goal.

2 Al Cameron Ironman

Shelly & Al

Al's times

Brooklyn

Friday was a big day for us. Alex slept in until 9am which helped us both catch up on some sleep.  He refuses to sleep in cribs or pac n plays when we aren't at home, so he slept between us in the bed.  He somehow ended up sideways every night or almost on top of me so I was hanging on the edge.  Thank goodness we don't do that at home.

He had breakfast in bed every morning while watching Mickey Mouse Clubhouse.  

We met Christy and Kat for lunch at a restaurant called Landmarc in Columbus Circle.  We were all Kappas together at the U and now they both live in NYC.

Kat is due the same week I am and is also having a boy, so fun.

After lunch we went to see Christy's new apartment and got caught in a downpour.  Alex fell asleep on me on the Subway so carrying him through the rain was tricky.

Happier after his 30 minute nap

 Alex thought riding on the Subway was the coolest thing ever, especially when he got his own seat.

The rain stopped just in time for us to go shopping in Soho.  Shopping while your pregnant is depressing so the only thing I bought was a jacket for Al at lululemon.

After shopping we went to Brooklyn to try the famous Grimaldis pizza.  Christy walked us along the river and it was such a pretty afternoon.

I love this picture.  Christy titled it,  mom and baby duckling.

Alex had a meltdown when he got to Grimaldis from only having a 30 minute nap.  I tried to console him with Root Beer.

Our pizza was amazing.  Christy, me, and Alex finished the entire large.

Christy is so great she ordered her husband Jace a pizza and carried it from Brooklyn to the City....lol   At one point we were walking and a semi drove by us and it almost blew away.

Even though we were stuffed we stopped for the some famous ice cream at the Brooklyn Ice Cream Factory.

It melted so fast from the heat so eating it was a challenge.

Poor little Alex napping in his stroller.

It was such a great day.  Thanks so much for spending it with us Christy, miss you.

LAX to JFK

We flew with Alex on a red eye from Hawaii when he was 9 months old and it wasn't bad.  Our flight to NYC left from LAX at 1am.  I put Alex to bed and let him sleep until 10:30pm which is when we left for the airport.  He ran around the airport until we boarded the plane so I was convinced he would fall asleep right away.

We were those people with the crying baby.  Everyone around us was trying to sleep and here we are walking him up and down the aisle, letting him watch Mickey Mouse Clubhouse, and anything else to get him to sleep.  It took him a least 2 hours into the flight to fall asleep and when he did he was out.  Luckily the seat next to us was empty so he could sleep there.  Being pregnant on a red eye was the worst.    There was no comfortable way to sleep.

We landed safely in NYC at 9am.  Can you tell we are all running on 2 hours of sleep.

Alex enjoying his first cab ride into the city.  We got in trouble for him putting his foot on the TV screen by his feet.  Our cab driver wasn't very kid friendly.

We stayed at the Hilton Times Square.  The first room they tried to put us in smelled like an ash tray so they moved us to one of the top floors with a great view.

Alex and I were on our own once we got to NY since Al had so much race stuff going on.  We enjoyed our first slice of many pieces of pizza.

I tried to get Alex to take a nap with me for over an hour in the hotel, but it was hopeless.  We went to meet my friend Melanie in Central Park.  I don't know if it was the heat while waiting for the Subway, but he passed out in my arms.  When we found Mel he wasn't moving an inch.

Melanie's little girl Alexis is 1 month younger than Alex, so it was perfect.  They were the cutest.

I haven't seen Mel since I lived in Utah, so it was great to catch up.  We went to Zara Kids and scored some cute clothes on sale, we got some amazing cookies at Levain Bakery, and then we got sushi.

Alex and Alexis were hilarious at dinner.  They were playing in their waters and eating each others rice.

We had a great time Mel.  It was almost as fun as when we worked for the Jazz together :)

That night I walked Alex around Time Square.  We went to the Disney Store and he was mesmerized by all the Mickey's.  It was a pretty eventful first day.

When we first got to NY we found out that 3.4 million gallons of raw sewage had been dumped into the Hudson the Ironman swim might be cancelled.  Al had said something to the hotel manager that put us into a different room.  That night we had this card and lots of extra soaps and shampoos :)

IRONMAN NYC

We are leaving for NYC tomorrow. Our flight doesn't leave until 1:10am which should be interesting with Alex. Al's race is 3 days away and I think we all are a little nervous.  He went to the Doctor today and his MCL is still torn, he got a MRI last week which showed a bone bruise, and he has a tight IT Band which are all on his left knee.  Cross your fingers for him!!  Knowing Al he will fight through the pain just to hear the announcer at the finish line say "Al Cameron you are an Ironman."