Busy Day

Last Saturday was a very busy day for the Allsops. Malachi had his first swimming class in the morning. He was so excited and did a great job, although afterwards he told me he didn't like swimming class because it was too short! It looks like we'll be going up to Knisley's to use the pool this summer (if that's okay with you, Jackie!).
After swimming, Malachi and I went to the ballpark for the Meet the Team activities. They had a jump castle and other blowup games to play on, a fish fry, some Little League games and then introduced all the T-ball teams. Erik is coaching the Dodgers again and Malachi is number 5.
Finally, the boys and I went to the Bell Tower to make desserts for some special dinner guests. Mom was cooking dinner for a few of the students from church before their prom, so I made the girls little cakes in the shapes of dresses and the guys got tuxedo brownies. Here are Melanie and Austin and Doug and Kayla showing them off.

After-Marathon Celebration

After the marathon last Monday, we decided to stay away from the crowds (and the walking) and hung out in Jamaica Plain, Laura and Meck's neighborhood. Malachi got to play in a nearby park...

We had dinner at a local Thai restaurant...
and ice cream for dessert! A perfect, low-key ending to a wonderful weekend!

Here we are, all 13 of us: Gene, Meck, Alice, Molly, Laura, Becky, Malachi, Kevin, Megan, Elliott, Kelsey, Erin and Erik.

Thank you all for sharing Erik's marathon weekend with us - we had a wonderful time and loved being with all of you!

More Fun in Boston

The weather wasn't the greatest last Sunday, but we didn't let that ruin our day! We started out at the Boston Common and followed the Freedom Trail to the Old North Church. It was very interesting and a great way to see the city.

Malachi is obviously a country boy - he didn't know what a fire hydrant is!
Shortly into our walk, we had to stop for a balloon animal to entertain Malachi.
Old City Hall
The Lloyd girls in North Square
The Allsops with Paul Revere
Old North Church
We had a picnic lunch in Paul Revere Mall.
The guys went back to rest while the girls enjoyed some Boston Cream Pie and then went to check out Harvard.

Elliott's first experience in a subway station.

He actually seemed to like riding the trains!

The Marathon, Erik's Experience

Erik was able to go to the Expo and pick up his number on Saturday, which also happened to be his 30th birthday.
He also checked out the finish line on Boylston Street.

Here he is under the street signs for the last turn of the marathon onto Boylston Street, something he had dreamt about for a LONG time.

Monday morning he had to arrive at Boston Common at 6am to catch a bus to the start line in Hopkinton, MA. These are runners waiting to board the buses. Thanks, Meck, for driving Erik to the bus!

This sign speaks for itself!

This is what the wait for the port-a-potty looked like at 7:15.

This is how it looked by 8:45!

Here he is running up the famed Heartbreak Hill just before the 21st mile marker. He looks a lot better than he feels at this point!

After the race, runners collected their belongings from buses.
This is what a Boston Marathon finisher looks like - happy and tired (and decked out in the jacket, the shirt, the medal, etc.).

Team Allsop at the Boston Marathon

What an appropriate sign:
Aunt Meg and Elliott waiting to cheer on some runners

Grandma Alice knitting to pass the time

'Buelo and Malachi practicing their racing alongside the course

The Lloyd sisters (and Elliott who was napping in his sling)

Erik's favorite runner, Ryan Hall, who came in 4th place and ran the fastest American time
Team Allsop getting ready
Aunt Laura, Grandpa Gene, Grandma Alice, Malachi, Elliott and Yaya

Aunt Laura - she did a great job of picking out a place for us to watch and getting us there. She also led a few of us to meet up with Erik after he finished...I don't know what we would have done without her expert planning and direction!

Our favorite runner - he even slowed down for some High-5s along the way!

Erik finished with a time of 3:09:36 and placed 2,594th out of 22,540 runners. We're so proud of him!

Hometown Hero

I wanted to get a few pictures up now to get you excited about what's to come...

Happy 30th Birthday!

Erik - we love you! You are such a great husband and daddy. You make all of us so happy and we're extremely proud of you! Have a wonderful birthday and a fun weekend in Boston!

Watch Out Elliott!

I think this is why many parents don't like their kids to have toy guns:

Crazy Girl!

Adeline got to play with Malachi and Elliott this morning. Here she is practicing her babysitting skills:

Well, on the other hand, maybe she was just anxious for her turn in the jumperoo:

A Message for 'Buelo

This is what kept Malachi busy during his naptime this afternoon:
Did I mention how much fun he had in Tennessee last week with 'Buelo and Yaya? Let's just say that he barely wanted to give me and Daddy hugs when he left to go with them but almost cried when we came back home!