Friday...Counselors in the Trunk...Shabbos...It's a Party!

Friday morning, we got up bright and early to swim some more.

Yup, in the pool again at about 8:30 am!

We swam for a bit and then checked out of hotel #1 in preparation for checking in to hotel #2 for Shabbos with Team Lifeline.

When we got to the hotel, it was time for an epic hug-a-thon as Dovi reunited with his BFF Ezra. I've blogged about Ezra in the past. Ezra is Dovi's best friend from Camp Simcha Special. They are 5 weeks apart in age and both have FD. And they seem to be soul mates.

Ezra's dad ran on Team Lifeline as well, except that he ran the full marathon. Fast. In two different shoes. Not on purpose. Yikes.

It was a little insane as we pulled up at the hotel to a crowd of about 10 counselors singing and banging on our van. The only small issue with that is that Dovi has a tiny bit of PTSD from the first year he came to camp...he is terrified of "arrivals"-when you arrive at Camp Simcha Special, you are surrounded by throngs of singing, cheering counselors. Dovi is not a fan. So the guys were banging on the van and screaming...and Dovi was cowering in fear in the van. No worries, once he saw Ezra, all was well.



We dumped our stuff in our room and headed out for lunch with about 10 counselors, 2 of whom rode in the trunk of our van to the pizza store...great example for the kids, huh?

We waited in line at the pizza store for a lovely 40 minutes...gotta love Miami Beach in January!

We finally ate lunch. My kids are like puppies all over the counselors, who were all lovely sports about it. Shana seems to have an itty bitty crush on Joe (see her putting bunny ears on him? She's obsessed with bunny ears. Puts them on everyone in every picture. Drives me batty)

Then we went back to the hotel and (I know this will shock you) swam again, this time with the guys. Sorry, no pictures.

Oh yes, my awesome parking deal. Parking at the hotel was $35 A DAY. Yikes. Well, next door to the hotel (literally) was a public parking lot, which would be difficult/impossible on Shabbos because we wouldn't be able to pay the meters. Until we (and Moishe Deutsch, a clever counselor) remembered that we have a handicapped tag for Dovi (which miracle of miracles, we remembered to bring), so we didn't have to pay the meters. Yay! Free parking! Would you expect any less from me??

Then it was time for Shabbos. Of course, no pictures. Would have been nice if I took a family picture before Shabbos, but being as we were in the pool until about 25 minutes before candle lighting and had to shower 6 people in one shower...there was no time for that.

Long and short: Shabbos meals with the marathon people, Shalos Seudos by the pool with the guys. We fed them. They called me mom and sang songs of appreciation. I'm not sure what more could be said.

Saturday night was the pre-race pasta party.
Sorry, this is the only picture I have. Not very exciting.

A parent spoke really beautifully about Chai Lifeline and how the organization has impacted her family. I also met a couple (hi Shani and Chaim!) who read my blog. I felt all giddy and pseudo-celebrity-ish :)

Then Dovi tried out his jogging wheelchair (thanks Galiah!), got the tires all pumped up,
and went for a jog around the pool deck at about 11 pm. Yes, all my kids were up until after 11 pm for 4 out of the 6 nights we were on vacation.

We all went to bed (not saying anyone slept very much) by about 11:30, while the counselors, decided that, in preparation for a half marathon at 6am, a pizza run at midnight was necessary. Ahh to be young and stupid fun.

Marathon day coming up!