November celebrations

 Last weekend, Peirce completed his 7th marathon in Harrisburg, PA.

 This was a small marathon with about 800-900 runners.

Harrisburg is a cool city and it has a great path downtown which runs right alongside the Susquehanna river. The day could not have been more perfect for runners. 

 It started off a bit chilly, but there was no wind (which is all I ask for...as if my spectating were more important than Peirce's running!)

 We have taught Eddie and Ben that there is nothing more that runners like than getting high fives from kids during a marathon. It puts a pep in their step. They were able to great runners at miles 1, 6, and 8. We don't bother with the runners at the first mile. Everyone is feeling like a nervous wreck and the race has just begun. But, as the race goes on and the distance between runners lengthens, and the men get separated from the boys....oh sorry, I digress. I mean, as the pain starts setting in, the high fives are a welcome relief. They both got 251! Wow!

 This is Peirce at mile 8. Look how alone he already is. Small marathon! 

 This bridge crosses the river and goes to City Island. The minor league baseball stadium is there, along with batting cages, a little train and horse and buggy rides. It really is a cool thing the city did. This bridge is the last section of the marathon and the course ends right at the other end on City Island.

 Here comes Peirce on the river. He is about to run under the bridge.

But first, he has to do a bit of a U-turn and run up that "little" hill on the left part of the picture. This hill just had to seem like an absolute mountain right before you hit mile 26. 

 The coolest part was that because the crowds were so light on the bridge at this point, Eddie and Ben could run Peirce to the finish line. He admitted it helped! His legs were shot at this point! You can see the mile 26 marker in front of Peirce on the walkway.

 Now onto the celebration. This is Peirce's plate and generous donations from the awesome vendors. They even fed my children bagels. Craziness!

 I wore my new favorite birthday present...my Peirce (spelled right) college sweatshirt. Peirce has given me a present for the 40 days leading up to my birthday. Some are big like this sweatshirt and my Orioles sweatshirt and a lot are small, like a chocolate chip cookie or a dollar store candle. But, I do have to laugh that my most favorite of all are the sweatshirts. I'm a girl that likes comfy clothes!

 Congratulations Peirce on a job well done!

And one more note of celebration....

 My nanny turned 98 on November 4th! She had a pizza lunch, enjoyed her cake, and looked beautiful on her big day! I love you Nan!