What Could Go Wrong?

A few years ago, I was appalled that the Arizona State Legislature passed a new bill allowing firearms in bars. I remember watching the news and thinking, Guns in bars? That makes absolutely no sense. I'd understand if the bill did the opposite and banned guns in bars, but they just made it legal? Why would anyone believe guns in bars is a good idea and fight for that? If you think it's a good idea, please enlighten me.

Surprisingly, Arizona is not alone. In fact, all but one state allows guns in restaurants or bars that serve alcohol. Only Alaska says no to mixing guns and alcohol. Is that not the most ridiculous thing you've heard all day?

Well you and I aren't the only people who think so. Thanks to Everyone for Gun Safety and Rachel Dratch, now everyone can see the stupidity of allowing such careless laws (or lack of laws) regarding firearms. Watch this video. Laugh. Be appalled. Then talk to your legislators or vote for new legislators who stand for common sense.



What could go wrong? Oh, honey, there isn't enough time in the day for me to answer that question.

Wait. What?

Those two words together make my blood boil, and after spending two days subbing in sixth grade this week, I've had about enough of it. Especially when it flows out of their mouths sounding more like, "Way. Wha?"

Over the past two years, I've found my subbing niche to land nicely in the second to fifth grade range, and specials like music, library, and PE are also enjoyable. Kindergarten and first grade are difficult because the kids are so needy and tattle-telly and germy, so I don't take those jobs unless I'm feeling confident and chill. Even then I last about twenty minutes before realizing, "Oh geez. This was a mistake." 

Six graders, on the other hand, feel they don't need a teacher at all, don't tell on anyone because they're all in it together, yet usually know how to cough and sneeze into their elbows. They are mostly difficult to spend a day with because so many of them have really poor attitudes. It wears on me even after only a few hours, so just as I don't understand how someone can walk into a kindergarten classroom every day, I don't know how sixth grade teachers put up with those kids day in and day out.

What is nice is that the older kids travel to different teachers in blocks, so I teach the same lesson three times. Usually by the third time around, I have it figured out. Yay me! Today was no exception, and as I explained the assignment to the kids I noticed about half were listening. So I stopped and said, "Okay listen. I've given these instructions twice today and, without fail, someone has exclaimed, "Wait. What?" almost immediately afterwards. If any of you don't listen to these instructions and say that to me, you'll have to ask a friend to explain it to you because if there's one thing I hate--and you can ask my own kids about this--it's repeating myself."

You could have heard a pin drop in that place. I spoke. They listened. And they worked hard on exactly what I told them to work on. It was glorious.

Then a kid threw a pencil across the room, two other kids were having their own private cranberry fight, and another kid kept falling off his chair on purpose. Yeah. Second to fifth and specials. That's my niche.

Naturally

Why is it that, any time I try to run a quick errand, the world is against me?

Hang on, Matthew! I'll be the last parent at running club. So embarrassing.

I'm Still Here.

Not that anyone has missed me, but life got pretty busy this week with all our out-of-town guests. Brian's parents, his brother, and his brother's girlfriend came to Phoenix, so we did a lot of visiting and entertaining. It was fun, but with all the busyness, something had to go and it was this blog.

His parents stayed with us, and Mike and Abby stayed in a friend's vacation home in Scottsdale. Mike is a golf pro at a country club in Indiana, so he has some friends in high places. Like at Wells Fargo. He and Abby stayed in a large house on sprawling grounds and even had a car to run around in while they were here. That was a large Infiniti SUV. So yeah, imagine the house.

We had everyone over a few times for dinner, visiting, and games. We went to dinner a few times, too. I took them hiking while Brian and the kids were at work and school on Friday because Abby had never been in the desert before and was impressed by the cacti. We hiked the ambitious Siphon Draw, and although it was a tough climb I think they enjoyed it because they're still talking to me. Bob and Sue turned back early, but they didn't mind. It was a gorgeous day for a hike. Perfect weather.

We also got sporty at Top Golf one afternoon, and on Sunday we went up to their Scottsdale house to enjoy the pool, the grill, and at least one of the football games. Bob and I ran in a 5K on Sunday morning, too. I think I might need a separate blog for that. :)

I'll try to stay on track this week.

Eye-Opening

I've heard many compare buying a gun to buying a car. I've done it myself. I wholeheartedly agree that it should be more difficult to purchase a gun than just about anything else that is for sale. Please take less than five minutes out of your day to watch this video. By the end, I believe you'll be appalled and frustrated by the stupidity of our state and federal laws regarding gun sales. Then it's my hope that you will vote for politicians who support common sense laws to prevent gun violence and not those who put receiving money from the NRA above all of our lives.

Race Day

A few of my running buddies were racing yesterday so, similar to Saturday, I was in support and cheer mode. Aimee, Jessica, and Jessica's brother Alex were running the 10K at the Rock N Roll Arizona Marathon. They needed a ride to the start, and I guess I needed something to do. :)

We left Chandler at 6:45 a.m. and headed to the start next to Tempe's Mill Avenue. Aimee's sister (who's in town from Montana) and I dropped off these guys, wished them a great race, parked, and then walked to a coffee shop about a quarter mile into the race course.

We had about an hour before our peeps started their race, so we took a leisurely walk among fifty thousand people, enjoyed the sights and our coffee, and positioned ourselves to cheer and get photos of our runners when they passed by us.

Except do you know how difficult it is to find a needle in a haystack? It's hard, y'all.

We ended up missing Jessica and Alex, but my pal Kathy (who was running the half marathon) ran past screaming, "Sara! Sara! Sara!" I'm glad she saw me. Geez oh man. I soon realized that we must have missed Jessica and Alex and said to Lynne, "Unless Aimee jumps up on this sidewalk, I'm not sure we're going to see her." About five minutes later, Aimee runs to us yelling, "Where are my cowbells?!" Oops! We rang our bells like crazy and laughed all the way back to the start line. Sorry, Aim!

Along the way, we saw Barefoot Elvis. 

And two tacos. Looks comfy to run in for two and a half hours, doesn't it?

Lynne and I headed towards the finish and got there about thirty minutes before our runners came through. Runners are much more spread out during this part of the race. We stood atop the Mill Avenue bridge and cheered them on whether we knew them or not. It was a blast!

Right on schedule, Alex and Jessica came running over the bridge. They were looking happy with big smiles.

Then I spotted Aimee who finished strong and happy, too. I was grateful to be there watching her go!

We met up with everyone at the finish line party. Jessica's mom and husband were there, too, so they rode home with them, while Aimee, Lynne, and I went back up to the bridge to cheer for some more friends who were finishing their half marathon.

We cheered for Kathy. We cheered for Brett. We cheered for Heather and Kyle. And then we cheered for our friend Heather who was completing her first half marathon. She did it! I really wanted to be there because she was one of my marathon supporters. If she could spend five hours tracking me, I was going to wait for her to finish her race! I was so proud of her. I know what it means to do something so difficult for the first time, and I was pleased that she was looking so fresh and smiling at the finish. I think that girl's going to do a marathon one day. Mark my words.

As for me, I thought I might get to the start line and wish I was running. That didn't happen at all. I felt no pressure, had no anxiety, was warm in my fleece drinking my coffee, and I felt excited to cheer on my friends. I did feel slightly lazy, but I got over it. It's not my time. I might come back. I might not. I'm really happy running at the park by myself knowing my friends are somewhere out there with me. That's where I am now. And pathetic but true, my elbows were sore today from ringing the cowbells. They'll come around.

So. If you ever sign up for a race, need a ride to the start, want me to cheer for you and take photos of you, meet you at the finish so I can tell you how awesome you are and then drive you home, all you gotta do is call and I'll be there.

Crewing for our Chief

Friday afternoon after school, we loaded up the Airstream and headed for the hills--Fountain Hills to be exact. Brian had his first official mountain bike race at McDowell Mountain Regional Park, so we turned the experience into a 24-hour trip. We camped with some mountain biking enthusiasts and were in the middle of the action all day on Saturday. When we arrived around 5 p.m. on Friday, we located a prime spot, backed up right along the course, and set up.

We had some dinner then sat outside under the stars by our campfire. Thank goodness Santa brought us a portable fire pit this year. While out there, the lights from others' campfires cast a suitable shadow onto our shiny Airstream. Look closely. Can you see it?

In the morning, the parking lot filled fast with cars, tents, and tons of people. The patch of land adjacent to our trailer became Team Octane's headquarters for the day. Brian is not sponsored so in race terms he is "unattached," but his pal from work has two high school kids who race for their school and another team. So when they arrived, they took over the place and we looked super official. 

After a quick warm-up, Brian headed to the start for his 10:55 a.m. wave. He was excitedly nervous.

We weren't the only Airstream there. That Bambi is vintage and sells coffee!

Brian works with Mike. Dayson is Mike's son, and his wave began ten minutes after Brian's. They were both suffering from a healthy case of nerves.

There's Mike. He always reminds me of Phil Dunphy. In the best of ways, of course.

It was pretty exciting at the start. There were a lot of guys in Brian's division which was Beginner Male 40-49.

Just before he started, another of his friends from work came up to me along the rail as he had just finished his race. John is a bit of a mountain biking aficianado; he has twenty bikes. I'm not exaggerating. He finished in the middle of his pack, Intermediate Male 50-59.

Then Brian's wave took off and we cheered like crazy.

That's a lot of bikes. Being in that pelaton would be my worst nightmare.

Then it was Dayson's turn. We cheered him off, too. I think there were twenty kids in his group.

Brian did one ten-mile loop on the competition track before he rode right past the trailer. So convenient! Then he started on his second loop which was three miles on a sport track.

The kids and I waited for him at the finish. I wanted to hike back farther into the desert, but I also was afraid of getting yelled at. So we found the best spot we could. We waited about ten minutes before we saw him behind a neon green helmet. I had a feeling he was chasing this guy.

I also had a feeling he was going to catch him.

He did. On the outside even!

Brian also beat that guy's teammate who was coming off his long loop. The kids were really proud of their dad. We all were. He ended up placing 8th out of 49 in his group! Beginner? Hmmm.

Shortly after Brian's finish, Dayson came through. He did really well, too, and finished in the middle of his pack.

Next up was one of Brian's usual riding partners, Carolyn. This was her first race, too, and she opted for the Intermediate Female 50-59. She's number 199.

Finally, at 12:40 p.m., Mike's daughter Maya and her friend and teammate had their turn.

Maya is adorable and really inspired Elizabeth.

Here's Carolyn finishing her first loop past the trailer.

Then Maya wasn't far behind. She's finishing her race right here. She did awesome and came in second in her group! She was over the moon and might still be wearing her medal right now.

Brian, never worried about getting yelled at, hiked into the desert for nice race photos of Carolyn's finish.

After everyone was finished racing, we hung out at camp a bit, and our kids had a chance to hop on their bikes and try out the little pump track. Maybe someday we'll be watching them race, too. 

It was a full 24-hours of mountain biking excitement. Beautiful views, cheering, and athletes of all shapes and sizes and abilities surrounded us. It was a really fun experience. We do it all again in two weeks at Estrella. Can't wait!