He Runs!

Matthew's first running club race of the season was last week. He's gotten better this year, keeping up with his buddies and not running with his hands in his pockets so his Pokemon cards don't fall out. (Seriously. That happened last year.)

Anyway, he raced like he meant it on Thursday, and we were proud of his effort and the fact that he enjoyed himself.

Matthew and his pal Dane in blue

Matthew with Andy and Dane close behind

Lots of cloudy skies in Arizona lately

Matthew, Andy, and Dane all looking good at the finish

So proud of his effort!

She Rides!

Last weekend, Brian's mountain biking race series began. We headed up to McDowell Mountain Regional Park near Fountain Hills on Friday evening, camped in the Airstream, and listened to the rain all night. We woke up to more rain, but it eventually stopped and the race day officially began.

I was up first. But not in the way you would think. I had volunteered to do leg marking from 8:00 to 9:00 am. Brian's race didn't start until 10:30, so I figured that would be a good time to do it. All racers are expected to put in five volunteer hours, so I donated my time to him. It turned out to be 1.5 hours, so that's a good start.

One of my best customers during this time was Elizabeth.

Yes, that's right. I said Elizabeth. She decided that she wanted to race. Brian had taken her out there a few times so she could try out the course, and she thought this would be a good place to start. Though nervous because she didn't know exactly what to expect, she still wanted to give it a try. I applaud her bravery; there's no way I'd go out there and compete with other "beginner women" in my age group.

The beginning of her race was a long way off, so there was plenty of time for her nerves to really kick in. In the meantime, we watched Brian start and finish. The sky grew darker and darker during the hour that he rode, and we even got rained on a bit. We were excited when he finished because it seems like he was really racing against those two other guys at the end.

There were nearly 50 guys in his category, so his strategy was to get as close to the front as soon as possible.

He was really putting in the effort. 

He was successful.

He's completing the 3-mile loop here, and I was really surprised to see that his course was still so crowded.

Still having fun!

As he was finishing the 10-mile loop (and the race), he was clearly trying to make it past these two guys.

The one guy notices Brian flying by here.

This guy had no clue because it was so loud at the finish.

I was honestly afraid Brian was going to take out the old lady writing down numbers old-school-style at the line.

He didn't hurt her, but he did catch both guys.

After lunch, Elizabeth got ready for her race. That's a long time to wait for something, and I think the longer it went on, the more she started to dread it. But she lined up with the other 13-14 year old girls anyway with both excitement and the determination that she is not a quitter.

She got in line with the ten other girls, who if they weren't wearing a team jersey and sitting on a $3000 bike, they had faces like the girl with her hand on her hip.

It was clear everyone else had been here before, and Elizabeth's face was all relaxed and whatever like above.

That is, until she realized the horn was about to blow.

 It blew and they took off. Elizabeth followed close behind. :)

The juniors do three of those 3-mile loops. I figured she wouldn't pass anyone, so I just hoped that she would be riding her bike the next time we saw her and that there would be no blood on her arms or knees or anywhere.

At the end of her first loop, less than twenty minutes later, she was still upright with no injuries.

We waved and cheered and then waited roughly twenty more minutes for her to come by again. She was still upright and no blood was trickling anywhere. I was relieved, and we cheered for her again because we were so proud she was doing this!

As she finished, it started to sprinkle and we were so happy--and she was, too--when she crossed the line.

My Baby!

She came in eleventh out of eleven girls in her category, but the boys started at the same time as she did and she passed three of them. So she was happy to know she rode faster than three boys her age.

The results didn't matter to us. We were proud of her for trying something new. She said she didn't love it but she didn't hate it, and yesterday she decided that she would give it another try at the race next weekend. I think the worst part of it for her was that the kids who passed her could have been a little nicer about it by saying "on your left" instead of "get out of the way." She said that started to get to her, but she was able to calm down about it out there by reminding herself that she's been doing this for three months while those kids have probably been doing it for a lot longer. And if I wasn't already proud of her for being brave enough to do it, I was extremely proud of her for easing her negative self-talk, being kind to herself, and doing her best like the warrior she is.

Trying to Hold It Together

The past few months have been emotionally trying. Actually, I suppose it started long before November 8, 2016, but since the election I've found myself in a pessimistic funk. People tell me I need to get over it and that a lot of us need to get over it. While that is true to some degree, I also think a lot more people need to wake up. And President Obama's speech last night just might inspire more to act.

What's done is done and there's no changing it. Just because I don't want January 20th to come doesn't mean it isn't coming. I won't be happy about it. I won't watch. And I won't support a guy I can't even respect. Can't you just hear him?

If you can't hear him, then you better start listening and paying attention and asking yourself if you truly believe in what he is saying and what he is doing. If you don't, then start speaking up. Because he's said and done a lot already, and most of it is either attempting to drag our country in the wrong direction or just plain nonsense.

My friend mentioned a quote she saw on Facebook recently that read something like if you want your pilot to fail, then he crashes the plane and we all die. I've processed that for a bit to figure out exactly what I'm angry about, what I'm disappointed about, and what I really want.

Everyone is human. No one is perfect. I'm not perfect. But when I am wrong about something, I admit it. When I am unkind or mean, I apologize. He never does either. Everyone--not just Meryl Streep--saw and heard him mock the disabled journalist, and everyone--not just Meryl Streep--still sees him stubbornly repeating that he didn't do it. Everyone heard his offensive words towards women just weeks before the election, yet there he sits, ready to take the highest office in our country, while Billy Bush is now unemployed for merely giggling at his shocking confessions. 

There are still people who say boys will be boys and that has nothing to do with being a good president. To that, I say oh yes it does. First, no. Not all men talk like that. My husband does not. My father does not. And Brian and I will do our best so that Matthew doesn't grow up saying that he grabs women by the pussy. Because, if you will allow me to remind you, that is what our President-Elect has said. And when the president says things, people tend to listen. When young boys, men, girls, or women hear a person of such high power talk like that or act like that, they may think it's acceptable. 

It is not acceptable. It should never be acceptable. How is this now acceptable?

I've been calming myself lately with yoga and meditation and asking Alexa to play soothing Native American flute music. It's helping. But he's still everywhere and isn't going anywhere. Four years sounds so long right now.

What it comes down to for me personally, is that our new president is a jerk who cares about nothing but self-promotion. Forget boys will be boys. Jerks will be jerks. I have low expectations of him changing and becoming a good person. Honestly, I don't think he's capable of even being a decent person. He's cruel. He's a bully. He uses the numbers one through ten as adjectives to describe women, and on his worst days he calls them pigs or cows. He doesn't speak in complete sentences. He tweets temper tantrums. He can't even wish the world a happy new year with any sense of diplomacy. He still won't release his tax returns, even after all the commotion he caused about Hillary's emails. He's a spoiled brat who always gets what he wants at the expense of anyone in his way. If you think for a moment that he won't throw you--his loyal constituent--under the bus in order to get his way, I think you're in for a rude awakening.

So wake up now. Pay attention. Speak your mind. He doesn't have to ruin everything. It's too late to keep him out of the Oval Office, but he still has to answer to the American people. He's only as powerful as we let him be. He may never admit he's wrong, but we can tell him he is by requesting our senators and representatives vote against his policies. We can request that they vote "no" on his nominations and appointments.

The last few months I'd forgotten I still have a say. We all do. Let's not forget it again.

Now, if this new role of his causes a shift in character and he goes down as one of the greatest presidents our country has had--or even if he's an okay president and we don't all die in World World III--mark my words, I will admit I was wrong.

Our Second Vacation

This last trip was two trips in one, really. After our fun day at Universal Studios, we headed southwest to the beach. Crystal Cove State Park to be exact. And it was glorious!

We arrived to a beautiful campground right on the coast. The campground consists of three loops over six tiers, so everyone has a gorgeous ocean view. The sites were big and there was plenty of vegetation to provide privacy. We loved it!

After we got set up, we took a walk to explore. The campground and beach are separated by PCH, but the bluff takes away any road noise.

We drove down the bluff to the parking area at the bottom, went through a tunnel under PCH, and then we spent some time at the beach. Though chilly, the kids had a good time in the sand already. Matthew got a metal detector for Christmas, but we didn't find any treasure.

We did enjoy a beautiful sunset, and the kids even created sandcastles.

By the time we got back to our Airstream, the view looked like this:

The next day we knew would probably be our only sunny day at the beach, so we took advantage of the weather and stayed outside as much as possible. Brian and Elizabeth took their mountain bikes because there are hiking and biking trails behind the campground that go through the backcountry hills. However, due to recent rains, all the trails were closed so we couldn't use them. Thankfully, there is a paved trail along the bluff that goes the length of the state park beach--about three miles. So after Matthew and I set off on foot and scooter, Brian and Elizabeth caught up with us shortly. They were bummed, but we made it work. They'd go ahead and double back. It wasn't a bad way to spend a morning.

Matthew and I took our time and caught all the sights. We took lots of pictures, even of all the signs. He and I can butt heads sometimes because we are so similar, but we had a nice time together exploring here. This time was one of the best parts of the vacation for me.

The photo below looks like Matthew is about to merge onto PCH. hahaha

We came upon the Historic District at Crystal Cove. This place is really cool. There are lots of old cottages you can rent out and a swanky eatery called the Beachcomber Cafe is right on the beach. We stopped for a peek. It was a neat little village.

Never saw a Christmas tree right on the beach before.

We left the Historic District and headed back to camp.

When we got there, we were in for a big surprise. Matthew's buddy from third grade was camping in the site right next to us! Kaedan and his mom flew in to stay in her best friend's Airstream with her for a few days. What are the odds?

Though it was sunny, the air was still cool so we warmed up with some ramen noodles for lunch and then hung around outside for the afternoon.

Elizabeth and I tried to find the sea glass jewelry making class in the Historic District, but I guess the guy who manages that was under the weather that day. We still had a nice walk through another tunnel to get to that part of the beach. This one was decorated with all kinds of ocean-themed art.

Late in the afternoon, we went to Pelican Point to see some tidal pools at low tide. Crystal Cove has quite a few good places for tidal pool viewing, but a ranger said this place would be the best. I think she was right. I thought we'd be freezing and uncomfortable, but the excitement of seeing anemones and hilariously walking hermit crabs (and the possibility of spotting something super cool) warmed us up, I think. We accessed the beach via a boardwalk and then a steep hike down the bluff.

When the tide recedes, tons of rocks show up and sea creatures sometimes are safely stuck for a while between them.

We spotted a sea lion or otter or something out on that rock. It's hard to see in the photo, but he was moving all around like he was waving at us.

Matthew doing some karate kid moves.

Wednesday was a really cool day at the beach!

Overnight the rains came, and in the morning they were still falling. It got pretty wet. Even the Airstream was soaking up some water. Nothing was dripping, but some water was seeping in through the seams. Luckily, we were able to lap it up with towels easily, but we do need to figure out how to fix that leak.

Since the weather wasn't really beach weather, we took our time eating breakfast and then decided to drive to Long Beach to tour the famous and historic ocean liner, the Queen Mary. You can't just go on it an look around; you have to buy some sort of tour package. So we got the passports that let you board the ship, do a self-paced audio tour, take a guided tour, and watch a ten-minute movie in their 4D theater. Though pricey, it was a good rainy day activity, especially since the rain stopped when we were outside on the decks. The audio tour was decent, but the guided tour was more interesting. Our guide was very passionate about the Queen Mary and also, quite possibly, an actor of some sort so he was very animated.

The Queen Mary is docked in the harbor. It's very close to the port so we followed lots of trucks in and out of the area. Many ships were being loaded and unloaded, and that's probably what it's like every day there.

The audio tour took us to all kinds of places, even a viewing area to see one of the propellers.

All in all, we had a fun vacation to California. It was hard to leave on the morning of such a beautiful day at the beach, but we had a 7-hour drive ahead of us so we managed to get out of there by 10:30 am. Sad to go, but we look forward to going back sometime.