Vacation!!

We are packing up and shipping off for a week of vacation in lovely Louisiana. Every summer since we have moved to Kentucky we have gone back home to Louisiana to spend a week with family and relax. The two parts of the year I most look forward to are Christmas and our summer trip to Louisiana - because we are able to be surrounded by our families.

While we have made wonderful friends here in Kentucky and have really built up a family here, there is nothing like being home. I mean home home. I tentatively call our address here in Kentucky home, but Texas and Louisiana will always be home home.

So, tomorrow morning me, Chad and Emma will embark on a 14-hour drive to Alexandria, Louisiana to Chad's parents house. During our trip I plan to swim, float in the pool, lay by the pool, read by the pool, play with Emma in the pool...you get the drift!

I also plan to get some good transition training in, since I will have readily available access to a pool. I am going to work on my swim to ride transition, as well as my ride to run transition. My triathlon is less than 4 weeks away and doubts and nervousness and excitement is really starting to set in. I feel well prepared for the distance, but I will feel better after doing a mock tri next week.

I am also very excited about getting to see my side of the family next week. Last summer I was able to see my grandmother, aunt and cousin on my dad's side, and this summer I will get to see my grandparents, aunt, cousins and family on my mom's side. I wish there was a way I could see everyone each summer. I can't wait to reunite with my cousins Emily and Amy - we've been partners in crime since birth. And now Amy and her husband Tim have a beautiful baby boy that I will get to meet.

The other great thing about the trip is that my family (my mom, dad, sisters Megan and Michelle and niece Brittany) will be driving over from Houston to spend three days with us in Alexandria. Brittany will be turning 10 (which I just cannot believe) on July 31st, so we will get to celebrate her birthday with her a few days early.

Brittany w/ Emma - 4 years ago. My little babies are just growing up so fast!

My sister Megan has really gotten into Crossfit, so I am going to do a few "WOD's" (workout of the day) with her. These will likely leave me in a heap, but I am going to give it a try.

I hope to have a lot of pictures to post after the vacation. I will also be "live tweeting" our trip down to Alexandria and back. You can follow my Twitter feed on the side bar here, or at twitter.com/meremawbrooks

We have a plethora of items to keep us entertained on the way down. We just picked up a Griffin iTrip so that we can listen to podcasts. I have some episodes of the The Stay Tuned Report, Triathletes Coffee Shop, and Zen and the Art of Triathlon stored up to listen to, and Chad has some Bigfoot podcasts that he has downloaded. You can guess which part of the drive I will be sleeping through!

I also recently picked up David Sedaris' most recent book "When You are Engulfed in Flames" to read on the trip. I am also working my way through John Grisham's "The Client" for the second time. After watching the Ultramarathon Man dvd about Dean Karnazes, I am considering re-reading "50/50: Secrets I Learned Running 50 Marathons in 50 Days."

Well, happy trails (and tails, in honor of Emma)! I will post when we are back in Kentucky with vacation pictures and training updates.