Ironkids

It's been awhile since our kids have been able to participate in the Ironkids fun run at our races.  The boys were both so excited to run their race and earn their own medals.  

Ironman legends Dave Scott, Mark Allen and Mike Reilly getting these kids off to a proper start.

Daxton registered for the half mile race.  I was very impressed that waited so calmly and patiently in the cute to start.  

He didn't want us to run with him, but Jeremy was set up about half way through the course to cheer him on.  I was so impressed by this kid.  He didn't get tired or stop to walk once.  In fact he looked so relaxed and comfortable that I kind of wondered if wants to do this more often!

  

Kelton was registered for the one mile race.  He was very determined that he wanted to run the full mile.  He asked that I run next to him, but as soon as he took off I knew I couldn't keep up, he was sprinting like crazy!  I sent Jeremy a quick text saying that he had better be prepared when Kelton came flying by because he was really moving.  

Once again I was really impressed by Kelton's performance.  He ran the whole mile without stopping and cruised his way up through the pack of kids.  They were pretty lucky that they were able to pass under the same finish line that the 70.3 athletes get to the next day. 

 

They were so proud of their medals and their efforts.  

A little post-race relaxation.

Awesome job boys!

So far so good!

I would say that school as been a success so far.  Sure, getting up and moving in the mornings still isn't their favorite thing, but they're all doing it.  Even Cambrie who is getting up at out the door by 6:15 for early morning seminary.  

It was a disappointment for Daxton to realize though that if he is late he doesn't get a party....he gets a tardy.  That's not nearly as fun.  (Poor guy, thinking he gets a party if he's late!)  Daxton's favorite part of school is telling his big brother all about his day as we walk home.  I think it's adorable what kind of relationship these two boys have.  

  McKenzie finally has her double bass and can't wait to learn how to actually play that enormous instrument!  Cambrie is anxious to teach her the ropes so that perhaps they can play together one day.  

Cambrie has also been embracing this high school experience with open arms.  Even though cross country didn't work out as she had hoped, she is still part of Battle of the Books, and frequently stays after school so that she can watch a volleyball game or football game.  She loves the energy there and is navigating this whole new high schooler world so well.  Fingers crossed the rest of the year continues to go well for these kids!

Time for meets!

Last year we were simply grateful that GU was able to find a way to let these girls compete, even if they were just at their gym with just their teammates.  This year we finally get to compete with other teams again.  I wasn't sure if the gym really was crazy, or if we just weren't used to the craziness, but there were so many gymnasts there!  The girls on our team definitely took notice, they were nervous.

  I was really worried when beam was their first event, because they didn't have time to settle their nerves.  McKenzie was the first one up, and that was even worse!  She's one of the most solid girls on beam so I know why they put her first to get the girls off to a good start, but I was still nervous!  I haven't had a chance to see any of her level five routines yet, so it was fun to watch something new.  She stayed on and completed all of her skills, and finished with a smile.  Ultimately she ended up placing sixth because of her beam score, so that was fabulous.  

Her vault and floor went well, even if her scores weren't what she was hoping they would be.  (I wish I had a camera with a better resolution, because I think this picture is kind of fun).  

On bars she missed her second kip and came off the bars.  She was disappointed about that and it definitely affected her overall score.  Frankly I was just proud of the girls for completing this meet and shaking off the cobwebs.  It's been such a crazy year for competition, and I think the rest of the season will go great.  

After the meet both McKenzie and I were hot and tired.  We stopped to get a hamburger and shake to celebrate a job well done.  I can't wait to watch her thrive this season.

Elitch Gardens

After Labor of Love, Risas decided to treat all of their employees and families to a day at Elitch Gardens.  We haven't been in a couple of years and the kids were excited to ride some roller coasters.  We ate lunch in a pavilion with the rest of the company, and were grateful for some shade and cold drinks.  It was such a hot day!  

His popsicle matched his shirt!

When it came time to ride the rides there were only a couple that we could all do together.  We rode the spider=which Daxton absolutely hated, the ferris wheel-which was nice and slow, and then the log flume-where we all got soaked. 

Did we ultimately put all of the kids on this ride against their will?  Yes we did.  But we were kind parents and kept their shoes nice and dry even if we were drenched from the waterfall and subsequent splash from the bridge.

 Jeremy took the rest of the kids on the more extreme rides while Daxton and I hung out in the kid zone.  Look at Kelton's face on this drop!  He was absolutely terrified!  I think he enjoyed some of the other roller coasters more.  

Daxton was perfectly content in the kid land.  

He even practiced holding his hands in the air, which is a huge step for him.

  Towards the end of the day we found the bumper cars and both boys loved those.  They went two or three times in a row before we had to call it a day.  

One afternoon was all we needed to have a great time.  Thanks Jeff!

Coronado Island

About a month ago I was lamenting to Jeremy that I really needed a vacation.  Not just any vacation, but a weekend on a beach with him where I didn't have to worry about a thing.  He totally delivered.  He booked a trip for the two of us for the weekend to get away.  He arranged child care for all of the kids, and took care of all of the logistics.  The only thing I needed to do was back a swimming suit.  He didn't even tell me where we were going, and so I couldn't even worry about watching the weather.  I found out at the airport that we were flying into San Diego, but what I still didn't know was that we were staying on Coronado Island.  I don't even think I've heard of Coronado Island besides in terms of that's where the Navy Seals train.  It was so glorious.  I admit that we got off to a rocky start when we arrived to the Airbnb past midnight and it didn't look exactly as advertised.  Ultimately it was a great little place and we should never judge our hotels at 1:00am when we are seriously sleep deprived.  The agenda consisted of simply relaxing.  I couldn't wait.  

We went out to breakfast at a little café the first morning and then went for a run.  We ended up running about eight miles up the Silver Strand.  It was a beautiful little path through some peaceful wetlands and beaches.  Yes, this was going to be a good trip.  Since it was a vacation we didn't mind stopping for a Slurpee after our run one bit.  

Along the street were cut-outs of surfboards.  We passed by them a couple of times before realizing that they were the shape and size of actual surfboards used by surfing champions at national competitions.  This was the biggest one we found from nearly 90 years ago.

We changed into our swimming suits and went to the beach.  I like watching the kids play on the beach, but really I love laying on the beach.  I put on some sunscreen, laid down, and totally zoned out.  In hindsight maybe I shouldn't have relaxed so much because I fell asleep and got totally sunburned!  That sunburn irritated me the rest of the weekend.  It itched like crazy!  

When we were hungry we walked to some local joints to find food.  We found a hot dog shop that sold the most incredible street corn.  No joke, with every bite I said, "Yumm."  I licked every last bit of flavor off of the paper wrapping.  Later we went back to the same shop for some fresh churros and those were just as delicious.  

We walked out on the pier at Imperial Beach.  We saw a pod of dolphins swimming by.  We walked the locals fishing off the pier.  We laughed as the guy handing out orders at the fry shop was cracking jokes, "Maria!  Your fries are done. They're fried.  Your fish and chips are done.  They're friend too.  Your drink is ready.  But don't worry, it's not fried!"  "Eva...Wall-E is looking for you.  Oh, and your order is ready."  Every order he had some wise crack ready to go.  It was very impressive.  

One night for dinner we drove up to the city of Coronado and walked around the property of the Hotel Del.  It was incredible.  It had a Victorian grace, beauty, and richness to it that I just fell in love with.  Out on the beach there were tables set up for restaurants, weddings, and cafes.  There were bands playing as the sun set and I was completely charmed.  

We ended up buying a mango chili popsicle that was delicious.  I have to remember to thank Jeremy's assistants for introducing me to Tajin, because it's a game changer.  

We walked through the hotel exploring.  While it's been maintained and parts of it renovated over the years, there is still so much of the original hotel.  The whole hotel is made of wood which meant that some weathering has occurred and not all of the floor are still level.  The central elevator is original and it totally felt like we were in the Twilight Zone and Tower of Terror.  

I loved the lobby.  There was an elegant wall of keys behind the registration desk that I thought was awesome.

President Taft's chair

Isn't is a gorgeous building?  

Outside we wandered through some sand dunes.  With the sun setting I couldn't think of a more romantic getaway.  

The next day we went on an excursion up to the Cabrillo tide pools.  It isn't the prime season for tide pool viewing, but we still managed to arrive during low tide and could go exploring a bit.  Jeremy went wild climbing over all of the ledges and dropping off cliffs as he explored.  

The most successful little pool we found was stocked with crabs.  They crawled up from underneath a ledge and gave me the chills and they crept along.  

We passed through Miramar National Cemetery along the way and it was beautiful is its own solemn way.

Really most of our time was spent on the beach.  We spent nearly three hours one afternoon asking "Would you rather?" questions.  Our host had a 3000 question book that we used for awhile before coming up with our own.  The afternoon flew by.  We did a shorter beach run one morning and finished off by doing yoga in the park.  There was a local Zumba class going at the same time and I found myself thinking that doing yoga to a Latin Zumba class is actually not bad at all!  

Jeremy liked waking up early to go wander up and down the beach looking for treasures.  He came home with some pretty fun seashells for the kids.  

I love the lighting under the pier in the morning.  

Unfortunately our very stress free, recovering vacation had to come to an end.  We made one final stop before going to the airport at The Sugar Factory.  Jeremy simply said that it was a popular place to eat.  We had no idea that it is basically MTV meets Willie Wonka Factory.  It is a star-studded location and we were lucky to get seats without a reservation.  It was early enough in the morning that we went for some rainbow sliders to share.  

But had it been a few hours later, we definitely would have indulged on one of their incredibly flamboyant milkshakes.  I think I want to take my kids there just so we can order the King Kong Sundae: 24 scoops of ice cream covered with hot fudge, caramel and strawberry sauce, sliced bananas, toasted marshmallows, Reese's Pieces, chocolate chip cookies, crushed waffle cones, gummi bears, white chocolate strawberry shavings and toasted walnuts with whipped cream , giant lollipops and sparklers on top!  It looked insane.  Who am I kidding?  Everything on the menu looked insane.  I looked around at the other tables and couldn't believe the extraordinary, colorful, enormous creations I saw sitting there.  

The whole weekend was a success and I was so grateful that Jeremy and I had a chance to escape.