I went back to Cali, to Cali, to Cali...
What a fun weekend I just had. Wednesday night my dad, Tracy and I headed down to California for an extended weekend full of fun and family. It was so much fun because all six of the Sorensen kids were descending on Laguna Niguel along with my mom and dad. We slept in Las Vegas at my Aunt Martha's Wed. night and arrived at Wendy's home around noon. Tracy and I were determined to get some quality shopping in so we borrowed my mom's car so that we could head out as soon as we were ready. I quickly showered but vegged on the couch to watch Pushing Daises and made it through about 20 min. before I feel asleep and suddenly shopping wasn't as high a priority as napping. We ended up waiting for Jessica and Wendy to join us and then headed out to the Irvine Spectrum for dinner and shopping. When given choices of places to eat I was so excited that The Cheesecake Factory was an option.
I absolutely love this place and since the closest one to Utah is in Vegas I don't get to eat there as often as what seems fair. my sisters were nice to go along, they get to eat there whenever they want and I guess it's a popular choice for girls night, but I was literally starting to drool at the mouth anticipating the Spicy Cashew Chicken dish that I order every single time I go. (why mess with a good thing, right?) To our surprise my parents were just finishing up there so we hugged and kissed and let them continue on their "alone" time. We had a great time over dinner laughing and just enjoying each others company. We headed over to H&M for shopping and then called it a night. The next morning my sister Elena came in from Denver and after much primping and clothes swapping we headed out to PCH to try the much raved about Sprinkles cupcakes. 
We were so happy to have completed the race before the shut it down that we started taking pictures and rinsing off in the sprinklers they called showers when I started to notice that people didn't seem too interested in getting clean. I didn't think much of it and continued sharing stories with Wendy and Tracy until I look down the hill a little and notice the huge finish line signs with people cheering. WHAT?! This race still isn't freakin' over...ahhhh! I had to cross the finish line so I take off and just as I'm about 2 feet from crossing the line Wendy runs pass me just so she can cross first, whatever. We quickly gathered our things and because Wendy had to hurry home to feed her baby we headed out with still nasty and muddy, oh and starving! You can't go to California and not eat at In-N-Out so Jake was kind enough to pick us up some burgers and fries - perfect after race food. We had a few hours to shower, rest and recover until it was off to the Newport Beach temple to support my grandma who would be going through for the first time.
This was such a neat experience. My brother flew in from Colorado so all 6 of us were in the temple with my parents doing a session for the first time. It was so wonderful to be there with my grandma and to get a glimpse of what is yet to come. She was able to be sealed to my grandpa who had already passed and then she was sealed to my mom and her sister. Yes, there were a lot of tears, but the good kind. We all met up at Jessica's for a late dinner afterwards and had more laughs and a lot of funny picture taking. I absolutely love this place and since the closest one to Utah is in Vegas I don't get to eat there as often as what seems fair. my sisters were nice to go along, they get to eat there whenever they want and I guess it's a popular choice for girls night, but I was literally starting to drool at the mouth anticipating the Spicy Cashew Chicken dish that I order every single time I go. (why mess with a good thing, right?) To our surprise my parents were just finishing up there so we hugged and kissed and let them continue on their "alone" time. We had a great time over dinner laughing and just enjoying each others company. We headed over to H&M for shopping and then called it a night. The next morning my sister Elena came in from Denver and after much primping and clothes swapping we headed out to PCH to try the much raved about Sprinkles cupcakes. They were good, but I don't know if they were wait in a long line and pay $3.25 each, good. I tried the red velvet and I have to admit it was really tasty. (How was yours Wendy...oops, I forgot!) What is so fun about being with your sisters is that even a very long car ride to get cupcakes can be really fun, so it's never a waste of time. Friday night was more of the same: laughing, eating and inside jokes. Wendy's nerves were starting to set in a little so she was starting to shut down and started feeling sick every time the race was mentioned. I don't know why, it's not like we trained for it or anything. Well, because Elena and Tracy weren't planning on running they weren't prepared with the proper foot wear so our genius idea (I'll blame it on the huge amount of sugar that day) was to go find cheap "athletic" shoes (I use that term VERY loosely) that can be thrown out after the race. Where does one go to find such shoes? why Payless of course! And what could scream quality more then their BOGO 1/2 off sale!!!!! Something in the back of my mind kept screaming " this isn't right, just use the shoes you brought", but I was stubborn and I was going to make these shoes work for me. Elena and Wendy found these obnoxious colored shoes, Tracy was tame with the grey and pink, and I of course couldn't pass up the steal-of-a-deal paying only $3.49, I know - I'll pay for it later!
We were up bright and early the next morning excited and nervous at the same time and it was then that I realized that my new shoes wouldn't bend!!! "I'll make it work" I kept telling myself, I know, I know I'm gonna be hating it. Elena and I quickly try bending the shoes back and forth trying to break them in and I convince myself that this did the job. We're off to the races and there's no stoppin' us now - not even the fact that Elena's team running shirt makes her look like she's on her way to a Playboy photo shoot.After a short drive to Camp Pendleton we park our car and meet up with Jessica and her running team and decide to hoof over to the race rather then take the shuttle - hello 1.2 miles I wasn't planning on. It is on this little jot that I start to realize just how bad these shoes are, but I already payed the $50 entrance fee so I'm not going home now. Tracy, Wendy and I get to the starting line and start sizing up the competition only to realize that it's a pack of grey hairs that we are going to beat - everyone else was way too serious. Now was as good a time as any to start stretching so we do a couple of bends and then we're off - well sort of. It felt like we were cattle, about 2,000 people trying to fit through a small opening and failing miserably. The momentum was lost. About 1/4 mile into the race I came upon 2 street cleaners and a firetruck. Jessica warned me that they would spray the hose into the air and the water would fall down as the runners passed by - someone forgot to tell them that. I was drenched/soaked as I ran by but it was either that or try to avoid the water all together and be singled out by the fireman's hose, no thanks. I was literally gasping for breath as I cam out the other side and continued on the run like this was a normal thing to have happen. Something new I learned - cheap plastic-like shoes don't expel water very quickly, if at all. Before the race began Wendy and I promised to stick together in order to push each other through the hard parts. Not even 1/2 mile into it I was already telling her to go on without me "just go man, just go" and I'd catch up (yeah right!) I came across river crossings, hay hurtles and tire jumps but they were nothing compared to the mud pit. It was seriously a huge pit of mud that stunk so bad I didn't want to even imagine what was in there. In the middle of the mud pit was a 5 foot high wall that you needed to hurl your tired body over and I misjudged my landing and ended up face first in the mud - graceful is my middle name. I found Wendy just in time for her to see my graceful landing and we headed off to finish the race together. by this time my little toe felt like it had fallen off my foot and just sloshed around in my foot while my other toes were being rubbed raw by my quality foot wear. The next mud pit/climbing wall was a little easier which was good seeing how a photographer was there snapping away - goodbye dignity! Next was the tunnel crawl which the hard cores literally dove into, not Wendy and me, nope - the sand would scrape away all the flesh on our knees so we decided to crab crawl through. It was all good until Wendy got out first and thought it would be funny to snap a picture of me mid-crawl...NICE. We thought we were about done with the race (how much more was a human body going to take?) so when we asked a marine along the sidelines how much further and he replied not much after the mud hill both Wendy and I started to laugh at his "joke" until I looked up and my jaw dropped. It was the steepest, muddiest, you've-got-to-be-kiddingest hill ever. There was a rope on either side of the path that you would cling to in order to drag your body up the incline all the while a marine was at the top with yet another fire hose (man I hate those!). People were slipping and falling all over the place and one marine told us that if you went up the center where it was wetter and muddier (is that a word?) it would be easier. The water from up top had made a path with "foot holds" which made it easier to climb without slipping. It worked and I gladly passed all the people holding on for dear life as marines fired away showing no mercy. At the top we asked another marine how much further and was told "about 1/4 mile". We were told about 1/4 mile for the next mile and we finally made it to the end only to find another mud pit, but this one was shallow so we had to belly crawl to the end. Wendy was in front of me and I guess thought she would swim it because several times she kicked her feet only to splash my face with nasty mud. 
We were up bright and early the next morning excited and nervous at the same time and it was then that I realized that my new shoes wouldn't bend!!! "I'll make it work" I kept telling myself, I know, I know I'm gonna be hating it. Elena and I quickly try bending the shoes back and forth trying to break them in and I convince myself that this did the job. We're off to the races and there's no stoppin' us now - not even the fact that Elena's team running shirt makes her look like she's on her way to a Playboy photo shoot.After a short drive to Camp Pendleton we park our car and meet up with Jessica and her running team and decide to hoof over to the race rather then take the shuttle - hello 1.2 miles I wasn't planning on. It is on this little jot that I start to realize just how bad these shoes are, but I already payed the $50 entrance fee so I'm not going home now. Tracy, Wendy and I get to the starting line and start sizing up the competition only to realize that it's a pack of grey hairs that we are going to beat - everyone else was way too serious. Now was as good a time as any to start stretching so we do a couple of bends and then we're off - well sort of. It felt like we were cattle, about 2,000 people trying to fit through a small opening and failing miserably. The momentum was lost. About 1/4 mile into the race I came upon 2 street cleaners and a firetruck. Jessica warned me that they would spray the hose into the air and the water would fall down as the runners passed by - someone forgot to tell them that. I was drenched/soaked as I ran by but it was either that or try to avoid the water all together and be singled out by the fireman's hose, no thanks. I was literally gasping for breath as I cam out the other side and continued on the run like this was a normal thing to have happen. Something new I learned - cheap plastic-like shoes don't expel water very quickly, if at all. Before the race began Wendy and I promised to stick together in order to push each other through the hard parts. Not even 1/2 mile into it I was already telling her to go on without me "just go man, just go" and I'd catch up (yeah right!) I came across river crossings, hay hurtles and tire jumps but they were nothing compared to the mud pit. It was seriously a huge pit of mud that stunk so bad I didn't want to even imagine what was in there. In the middle of the mud pit was a 5 foot high wall that you needed to hurl your tired body over and I misjudged my landing and ended up face first in the mud - graceful is my middle name. I found Wendy just in time for her to see my graceful landing and we headed off to finish the race together. by this time my little toe felt like it had fallen off my foot and just sloshed around in my foot while my other toes were being rubbed raw by my quality foot wear. The next mud pit/climbing wall was a little easier which was good seeing how a photographer was there snapping away - goodbye dignity! Next was the tunnel crawl which the hard cores literally dove into, not Wendy and me, nope - the sand would scrape away all the flesh on our knees so we decided to crab crawl through. It was all good until Wendy got out first and thought it would be funny to snap a picture of me mid-crawl...NICE. We thought we were about done with the race (how much more was a human body going to take?) so when we asked a marine along the sidelines how much further and he replied not much after the mud hill both Wendy and I started to laugh at his "joke" until I looked up and my jaw dropped. It was the steepest, muddiest, you've-got-to-be-kiddingest hill ever. There was a rope on either side of the path that you would cling to in order to drag your body up the incline all the while a marine was at the top with yet another fire hose (man I hate those!). People were slipping and falling all over the place and one marine told us that if you went up the center where it was wetter and muddier (is that a word?) it would be easier. The water from up top had made a path with "foot holds" which made it easier to climb without slipping. It worked and I gladly passed all the people holding on for dear life as marines fired away showing no mercy. At the top we asked another marine how much further and was told "about 1/4 mile". We were told about 1/4 mile for the next mile and we finally made it to the end only to find another mud pit, but this one was shallow so we had to belly crawl to the end. Wendy was in front of me and I guess thought she would swim it because several times she kicked her feet only to splash my face with nasty mud. 
It's good to know that despite getting older we can still tear it up around the dinner table. Good times, good times. Some cherished belly laughs:
- the sonic bomb felt around the world
- submitting a bill for reimbursement
- Gary on the kick drum
- anything Office related
- growing up a Sorensen
Funny side note: the sealer at the temple was our neighbor growing up and he was talking about all the Sorensen girls and the swarms of boys that were at the house constantly. Paul was there and threw out "how about all those girls that swarmed the house?". He thought about it and said "Yeah, I don't really remember any girls. Well, maybe one or two, but not much." Ouch, you were the heart breaker Paul and you ended up with the prettiest girl of all.
As you can read it was a great weekend and I'm looking forward to spending the next weekend at our first annual sisters retreat at a cabin in Eden, Utah. Love ya sistas, and a big kiss for you Paul - my most favorite brother EVER!
8 comments:
Loved the play by play. Next year we are doing a sisters team and a brother-in-law team...who do you think will win? Of course the more experienced ones, right?
Tears- This was too funny, reading this. This was a pretty accurate point of view. Why are your pictures so dang small?
Lots of fun! I can't wait for next year... maybe I should start training now???
Oh Emily, I've been waiting for your take on the run. Each of you girls has such a different personality that your versions are so different. After all that nonsense though, wasn't it the greatest time ever? I absolutely loved the play-by-play. Somehow I deleted the email I had sent out last year after I finished, and I'm pretty bummed about it. It was very close to yours. Except for the $3.49 shoes. Classic. I really didn't know that you were all running until the day after when I talked to Jessica at church. How fun!!! I can't imagine what it would have been like to grow up with 4 sisters. What a blast!
P.S. I thought I was going to have to throw my shoes away after, but I took the soles out, threw them in the washer, and I still wear them today. I can't imagine trying to run that in crappy shoes. My feet hurt for you!
That was great, Emily. I almost felt like I was there! That is so cool that you all did it together. Anything is more fun with all the sisters together!
That is hilarious, and don't mind my laughing at my pain, you know you've done it to me often enough!! And a campout (kinda) to follow. You guys rock and I'm totally jealous!
Emily, I love your post! Now it all makes sense why some of you moved with such pain later that day! Maybe next year I'll try to convince Dad to try it with me.
When ever you have that impulse to buy right before the event you should always stop. It never works out the way you think it will. I remember going skiing when I was sixteen and thought that my cool 1991 headband would look better with bangs. So, I cut some. Well, let me tell you from experience that nothing makes a headband look good. And those bangs took forever to grow back out. Atleast blisters don't last for years. Your trip log sounded like fun. I keep trying to remember why I didn't go with Paul. I am sure we had a good reason. Just can't think of it right now.
Post a Comment