St. Louis, Day Two: St. Louis Zoo

On our second day here in Missouri we packed up Annaliese and headed off to the zoo.  Many members of the family were there and the kids were loving every minute of it.  Cale and I were actually very excited as well and were kidding around about it because we are a bit older.  I haven't been to the zoo in a very long time and it was fun to see the animals but I mostly enjoyed watching Annaliese take it all in.  We were able to spot cheetahs, rhinos, hippos, and elephants...awesome!  It was really hot outside so we had to make sure we were hydrating and taking breaks but we made it through and left around 1:30pm to meet up with Alex for lunch after his training session.  It took him awhile to get ready so we drove around downtown St. Louis for a bit while we waited.

Once we met up we had lunch with 16 people and then were able to shoo many of them away and spend some time with Alex in a smaller group.  Ashley and Mike eventually took Annaliese back to the hotel and Alex, Cale, and I went to the women's competition.  I'm really not used to watching meets with Alex so that was fun but he left early because he needed to get back to rest for the second day of his own competition.  Cale and I stayed until the end and were taken back to our hotel by Cale's club coach who is here coaching and shooting photos for International Gymnast magazine.  He's a super nice guy and I really enjoyed meeting him.  It's been wonderful having people to take us around everywhere...we're really lucky!

Because we didn't get the chance to work-out in the morning, we decided to head down to the gym around 11pm; little did we know that it was hardly more than a converted room that had a broken treadmill, bike, and elliptical.  After fussing with the equipment we just decided to head outside instead and took off for a run in the middle of nowhere, Illinois.  We have cornfields right outside our hotel so we ran past them and down the street quite a bit before it was just too dark to continue.  There was absolutely no way I would have gone alone, so it was nice to have Cale by my side :)

The final day of men's competition is up next and that means we will find out who will be going on to Olympic Trials in just a matter of hours.  I know he won't read this before he leaves for the meet, but Alex should know how proud I am of him and all his accomplishments no matter how things pan out.  I've said this many times before but honestly he's one of the best people I know and I am honored to be here cheering him on.  Yesterday was Best Friend's Day (it seems like they have a holiday for everything) and it seemed fitting because it was just another reminder of how lucky I am to have someone so special in my life.  It's going to be an emotional day (I was already shaking and wanting to cry while we were at the women's competition) but no matter what I know with all my heart that no one has worked harder or wants this more than he does and that can never be overlooked.  He is one of the few people who can walk off the floor with absolutely no regrets and of course I wish him the best of luck and will be living and breathing each routine with him throughout the competition.  I love you, Alex and can't thank you enough for allowing me to be here with you, sharing in what has been one amazing journey.  Good luck and here we go!!