disney (day 4)-the best day of all!

marathon day started very very early...

that's right jon was up at 2:45 a.m. to get ready and catch the shuttle to the starting line.  he ate some breakfast and tried to wake up...

and put on his shoes with his timing chip and his emergency contact info...

and then his jersey that i painted "5 year ALL SURVIOR" on...

and then he was off into the early morning to take on the race...

i went back to sleep for about an hour and a half, and then wanda arrived to start our day of marathon watching.  we made it to the starting area, but couldn't get a spot to see the runners go by, so we decided to cut our losses and head to the next stop, hopefully beating the rest of the spectators there.  on our way to the monorail, we came across another part of the path.  we weren't sure if it was the blue start or the red (they split the runners for the first 3 miles to aid with congestion) or even which one jon was, but we decided to take our chances and watch for a few minutes, and good thing we did, cause we saw jon before long!  this was at about mile 2...

then we jumped on the train and made it to the 9 mile marker and found a spot to watch.  there were many interesting people running in costume.  my favorite was this gladiator guy...

there were also alot of minnie mouse's.  can't imagine running that far in costume!  we saw jon pass this point too, and he handed off his sunglasses to me for safe keeping.  then we hiked through the polynesian resort to the 12.5 mile marker.  and there he was...

smiling and all!  wanda and i were so proud!

then we grabbed some hawaiian coffee at the hotel, and made our way to the finish line.  the crowd was enormous, but i knew we had some time because i had signed up to get text messages showing jon's progress in the race, so i knew about the time he'd be getting in.  we picked a spot and slowly moved our way up the crowd as people left to go meet their runners that had come by.  just about the time that we got to the front of the pack, here he came!  i could tell that he was in pain, but he looked good and was about to finish his first marathon!  then we walked around to the "family reunion" area to find him.  out he came from the "d" gate (d-as in davis) with his metal, and ice around his poor knees...

i was so proud of my man...

he took a few minutes to stretch, and then we got a nice british man to take a picture of all of us...

then it was back to the resort.  jon showered and then was out on the bed in no time.  he deserved a nice nap!

we both napped for a few hours, and then i insisted that he get up and get moving to help with the soreness.  we took off to the magic kingdom!  it was slow going and jon was so tired, so we grabbed some food and took in just what we absolutely had to see.  we rode the new pirates of the caribbean ride.  johnny depp appears like 4 times, it was wonderful.  of course i made jon put on the jack sparrow hat!  what girl doesn't like a pirate?!

we rode the runaway mine car roller coaster, and the go carts that look like race cars.  i drove, cause jon's legs weren't working so well.  those things are hard to steer!  good thing they're on a track, cause i probably would have run of the road.  okay, not probably, i would have.

we would have ridden space mountain, but it was closed.  so, we got some ice cream on main street usa, and called it a night.  

all in all it was a great trip to the magic kingdom.  i don't think i'll ever be too old to feel the excitement when you walk into that place.  it really is magical.  i just love it, and can't wait to take our kids there someday.

well, that's our disney trip!  it was so wonderful and we are so grateful to all the people who made donations to the leukemia/lymphoma society so that we could meet our goal.  it was the perfect way to celebrate 5 years remission, and to prove that life is sweet on the flip side of cancer.  we are so blessed.