Weekend Activities: Softball, Parade, Boyscouts, Basketball, and the Bow

Another quick update from this past weekend…..

Mia continues to play softball with the season over next month.   At last Saturday’s game, she played catcher.  It was her first time in a year playing this position.  I think she looked incredibly cute.  Mia is definitely one of the most dependable hitters on the team. She is the second batter in the line up, and she has hit/connected with the ball 11 times out of the 15 times she was up to bat.

Following the softball game, Mia and I had to rush to the Anaheim Fall Festival Spooktacular Parade.  Mia  joined a local cheerleading group, and she was one of 100s of cheerleaders who walked/danced in the parade.  They did a cute dance to Michael Jackson’s Thriller.  She walked over 2 miles in the parade.  They would do the dance every few mins as they walked through the crowds.  You may find this surprising, but this was my very first parade.  I loathe crowds (except during a race) so the last place you will see me is in a parade.  The parade had a small town feel to it, and I was fortunate to be able to spot Mia in the crowd of cheerleaders in matching uniforms.  I screamed loud so she could hear me. 

She looked incredibly cute. She was able to wear some blush and lipstick.  I know eventually Mia will have to decide if she wants to do cheerleading or softball in high-school.  I think softball would be better, but cheerleaders are just too cute!

Brandon was participating in the camp at Boyscouts with his Uncle Mike and cousin.  He was gone the entire weekend.  During this camp, they compete for ribbons in various competitions, and Brandon was critical to the success of his pack.  He is athletic, smart, and a natural leader.  We were debating on whether he should go to the camp or his basketball tournament, but because of his leadership role in the pack, we thought it would be more impactful if he attended the camp. Brandon had a basketball tournament all weekend.  He missed Saturday’s game, but was able to attend Sunday.  He is playing travel ball now, and it is so much more fast-paced.  His team consists of 5^th-8^th graders.  Brandon is one of two 5^th graders on the team.  I later learned the opposing teams were 7^th and 8^th graders.  I think there were not enough players to create a separate 5^th and 6^th grade team so the coach combined the players to make one team.  Brandon was playing against boys who were two to three years older and over a foot taller.  His team lost all their games.  However, I’m really impressed with Brandon and his confidence.  It would be much too easy to be intimidated by these older and larger kids, but Brandon continued to be aggressive and handle the ball. 

We woke up early Sunday morning to run the Surf City 10K race in Huntington Beach.  Because of boyscout camp, Brandon did not run.  Dylan’s friend Siri took his place.  It was a costume run, but most people did not dress in costumes.  Mia wore her Dorothy costume while I was a sailor.  It wasn’t the easiest to run in a costume.  Mia STRUGGLED the first two miles. She could hardly run for more than a minute without constant complaints.  I was irritated of which I felt horribly guilty afterwards.  Yes, I apologized to Mia.  I am very competitive, and I know her potential, and I want her to strive to reach that potential. The poor girl played a long softball game in the hot sun, walked over 2 miles in a parade and woke up early Sunday morning to run 6.2 miles.  She is only 8. . Mia, however, made up a lot of time in the last four miles.  I learned Mia is a conversational runner. She loves to talk while running so we conversed about everything, and I don’t think she realized she was running. She finished in 1:16, beating last year’s time by eight minutes. I’m proud.  Dylan ran with our friend Jorge and finished in 55 minutes.  This was Mia’s last race of the year.

Lance worked on Tide the Knott and installed the cap rail and safety rail on the bow.  The last two months have been difficult as Lance has spent more time down in San Diego. He is rushing against time to prepare the boat for the upcoming wet winter as well as our two week trip to India.  I try to be understanding, but there are moments where it becomes too difficult.  I’m way overbooked on the weekends to go down with him, but I miss him, and I know he misses me. 

I'm looking forward to this upcoming where I have nothing planned except Halloween.

I can R-E-L-A-X!!!!!!