A Trip Down Memory Lane

When Chad heard that the BYU Gymnastics team was going to compete at our alma mater, Southeast Missouri State University, he decided it was a good chance to take the kids and show them our old stomping grounds.
I know Chad and I enjoyed our trip down memory lane, I'm not sure if the kids properly appreciated it or not. Oh well, sometimes you have to suffer through things for the sake of your parents, right!
Our first stop was the track where I spent a lot of time. Not much seemed to have changed there, except for knocking down "the house" that we used to lift weights in and building a real building there.
Cole and I raced around the track. (I won of course!)
Emily and Cole played on the high jump mats that I used to jump on.
And, Emily checked out the hurdles. (Her technique needs a little work!)
Not to be outdone, Chad took them to see the field where he played football.
Cole and Chad raced. (I'm pretty sure Cole won that one!)
Finally, Cole and Chad talked strategy about when Cole plays on a big field like that. (Or Chad was telling Cole about all the great plays he made on that field! I'm not sure which!)
Even though it wasn't their greatest performance of the year, we enjoyed watching the gymnastics team compete.
Cole and Briana hit it off. As many years as we spent with Briana, that didn't really surprise us. It did surprise me how old Briana was. She's not the little girl we used to play with!
The kids even got their picture taken with Rowdy the Redhawk. (Although I'm still a little bitter that they are no longer called the Indians. But it's probably best not to even delve into that!)
Finally, no trip to Cape Girardeau is complete without a trip to the Mississippi River.
Chad showed them the gates that they close when the river gets really high and the marks on the wall that show how high the river has gotten in the past.
Cole was so convinced before we got there that he could throw a rock across the river. Once we got there, he realized that maybe it was a little bigger than he ever imagined!
All in all, we had a great time. It was so much fun to go back and remember all the places and people that we knew there. We got to hang out and talk to old friends and it was like we had never left. It made Chad and I realize how much we love the area and the people there. Thanks Cape! We will be back again some day!