Hitting the Jackpot!!

sweet photo of Lance doing Mia's hair

Blended families do work.  In fact, they can work even better or more beautifully than ‘original’ families.  I don’t like the word step, because in some instances (not all), it infers a secondary role, and with Lance, he doesn't take a back seat.

Lance is so involved in the day-to-day activities of Dylan, Brandon, and Mia.  He attends their Back to School nights and parent/teacher conferences.  He attends their sport activities.  He even coaches their basketball team.  When Dylan couldn’t coach, Lance committed time to being head coach so Dylan could have the opportunity.  He spends time with them.  He teaches them values. He has taken the time to tutor Dylan with math.  He attends their awards ceremonies at school.   He disciplines them, which is not an easy task, because who wants to be the ‘bad guy?’  There are times, I admit,  that we disagree in our parenting techniques.   We have had some arguments, but overall, I think we are almost always on the same or close to the same page.  Our family is not perfect, but I absolutely love it.

Pushing little Brandon on the swing.

Lance has run many 5ks to support Mia

horsing around with Dylan

swim time

I oftentimes overhear Lance talking to others, and when he references Dylan, Brandon, or even Mia, he does not say, “my stepson or stepdaughter….” He simply says, “my son or my daughter”.  He knowingly removes the word ‘step’.  He doesn't think I notice but I do, and I don't think he realizes that when he does that, it's making a huge statement...not only to me, but to these kids.  He treats these kids like they are his own. He supports them financially, spiritually, and emotionally.  Every action he does may not always be perfect but it is the actions of a full parent.  No grey lines.  He is 100 percent committed to those kids.

 

I remember attending Dylan’s 8^th grade IEP meeting.  There were several of Dylan’s teachers at the meeting, and after they learned that we had only been married a few years, they expressed their surprise and began telling Lance that Dylan talks incessantly about him.  They commented that he really looks up to Lance.  It surprised Lance, but in my opinion, it only defines and reconfirms what a great parent he is.

The kids spend Father’s Day with their dad, and there isn't anywhere else they should be.  We had our Father's Day celebration to honor Lance the weekend before.  We took Lance out to Buca Di Pepo and feasted on Italian entrees.  Of course during the meal, I embarrassed Lance and the kids by making them each say something to him.  We take turns at the table, and they (all four of them-including Lance) immediately start groaning and saying, “do we have to?” And yes, they have to because it is so important to tell each other how we much love, appreciate, and value one another.  Dylan started followed by Brandon and Mia while Lance listened with discomfort to each of their loving comments. 

 

the GIANT brownie sundae

The following weekend was Father’s Day so when Lance returned home from San Diego, I had a candlelight dinner waiting for him. I could NOT do nothing on Father's Day.  I ordered Mexican food to go.  I bought him some wine.  Fortunately, I chose a good wine.  Having me buy wine is like having a blind man pick out paint colors.  We had lemon cake and his favorite ice cream for dessert.  Lance received a pair of brown shoes for work and a very nice hiking, trail running, water proof shoes.  I hope he felt appreciated, because he deserves nothing less. 

 

Father's Day Dinner



Lance's new waterproof trail/hiking shoe

When I married Lance, I was so swept away by him.  I fell deeply in love with him, and every moment we are together, I fall more in love with him.  He is a great husband and a truly AMAZING 'dad' to my kids.  He gives so much of his time, energy, and his self to us.  My kids are lucky. They have two Dads.  We hit the jackpot when he became a part of our family!

 

Happy Father's Day, Lance.  Thank you for all you do for our family.  We love you unconditionally.

 

It is strange to not have my Dad here on Father's Day.  I was driving in the car on Father's Day when the song A Thousand Years came on, and I just started crying uncontrollably.  I miss him, and I would give anything to hold him one more time.

 

 

A Date with My Husband: Hike to the Hollywood Sign and a Wedding

Lance often refers to So. Cal as a concrete jungle, and though he is right in many regards, there are also many, many nearby places to hike and explore. I’ve always wanted to hike up to the Hollywood sign, but I’ve been reluctant.  There are so many trails, and many of these trails have turns that could lead you on a detour far from the sign.  When I learned there was an 8 mile run to the Hollywood sign, I quickly signed myself up.  I then called Lance to see if he was interested and surprisingly, he said yes.

 

This was a small YMCA sponsored race.  I’m becoming increasingly attracted to the smaller races.  It’s so much easier logistically.  The race started at the old LA Zoo. We were able to see the old bear dens, which was actually quite cool.   

 

at the start

 

At the start line

at the old LA Zoo--start line



Old LA ZOO

 
It was brisk in the morning with light sprinkles.  Some of our running buddies also joined us, but of course, they ran the challenging course.  We did more of a hike, and let me tell you, this was not easy.   It was a steep climb.  It was 4 miles to the top and a four mile return back to the start line.  Not only did we have some amazing views, we were able to talk, take photos, and just enjoy the air and scenery.  I finally (for the first time) was able to use my water camel back pack that Lance gave me for Christmas. 
 

My camel backpack.  Good for hikes--not so good for running

Of course, the hike was not without complaints.  Lance started to complain, which quite honestly, stresses me out.  Being around someone who is not having a good time frankly ruins your time, but he got over it at mile 4.  Thank goodness!   When we reached the top and the turnaround, I was excited to see that giant Hollywood sign, but ugh….what a disappointment!  Clouds completely covered the sign. We stood there waiting for ten minutes—hopeful that the clouds would disperse, but again, we were disappointed. We did get a glimpse of the “O” and the “D”.  Though climbing to the sign was on my bucket list and though technically I did do it, I still don’t feel that I can cross it off my list.  Basically, we are doing this again next year. In the midst of the physical anguish of the hike, Lance complained but when it was all over, he really enjoyed himself and admitted that we should do this more often.  In fact, he wants to do it again next year.  They did give out medals.  They weren't 'great', but hey, any medal is better than no medal at all.

along the trail

I love my selfie stick.  haha.



We met up with our friends. We were still hiking up and they were running back. 

One more mile to go

At the finish line showing off our medals.

Later that evening, we attended the wedding reception of our good friend Delia.  Several of our running buddies who did the Hollywood sign run also attended the wedding.  We had such a great time, and most importantly, Lance danced, and he danced A LOT.  He slowed danced with me and he fast danced with me.  I absolutely love to dance so it was nice being able to dance with my husband.  A real rare treat! It was such a perfect day. 

 

Posing with the new bride, Delia.  This is our old Napa Valley Running Van minus one guy. 

ladies from work

 

A New Job

After a lengthy recruitment process, Dylan is now officially an employee of the City of Fountain Valley.  He is a Recreation Leader I.  In this capacity, Dylan will help manage and implement  the city’s recreation programs. 

 

Several weeks ago, with my guidance, he completed an online application.  I tried to prepare him for the interview by giving him some sample questions.  Dylan was interviewed by a panel, and I was so surprised at the quality of his responses.  None of the questions I quizzed him on were asked so he was left to his own resources, and his answers were well thought out.  Following the interview, they called each of his references.  He then had to go through a pre-employment screening that included a TB test and a criminal background check.  After several weeks, he was officially offered the position.  This is a GREAT job for a high-school student because it is with the city.   No fast food or retail work.  Additionally, there is such room for growth within the city should he decide to pursue other areas while in college. 

He had to go to the city’s HR department to provide information, and Dylan called frantically asking me for his social security number.  I told him I did not know it.  He has me on the phone and I overhear him talking to the HR representative.  He asks her, “I don’t have it. Can I give you my mom’s?”  I just started laughing when I heard this because it reconfirms how ignorant he is in daily life and also how truly young he is…..The lady looked up at him in disbelief and said, “No.” 

After he was hired, we went directly to Chase to open up a checking account.  Dylan has had a savings account since birth, but not a checking.  He was so excited to have his own checking account that also included a debit/mastercard and checks.  His naivety showed again when he said to me and the bank lady, “I’m going to take a photo of my card and send it to my friends.”  We both quickly said, “No!”  He doesn’t realize the consequences of identity theft.
 

Lastly, I am taking 20 percent of his wages effective with his first check to begin depositing them into a Roth IRA.  Yes, I opened him up a ROTH IRA account.  I wish someone would have shared with me the importance of compounding interest at a young age.  Dylan will be making monthly deposits into his ROTH IRA.  It is never too early to plan.

My boy is growing up.  He has so much to learn, but he is slowly becoming an independent young man.  His first official start day is today.  I can’t believe it.  It is also his last day of school.  I wanted to take a photo to commemorate it, but he was irritated and grunted, “no.’ 

 

He has a job and IRA account before his 16^th birthday.  I am proud of him.

 

 

Getting Down and Dirty

 

On October 18, 2003, I did my first official race.  It was a 10k mud run.  Dylan was only 4 years old, and Brandon and Mia were not even born yet.  For the next eight years, I continued to run the Camp Pendleton Mud Run.  It was my race.  They held it in June and October every year, and I loved the course, the mud, the cause, and everything about the race.  This was before I was into ‘bling’, because at the time, you received no medal for completing the course.  It was a very challenging course that was run on trails up hills with difficult obstacles.  I don’t think I ever was able to run it without stopping to walk once.  Some areas of the course, you are doing a bear crawl to make it up a hill.  The Camp Pendleton Mud Run was the first of its kind.  It started over 20 years ago, and following its popularity, many imitations arose.

 

my very first official race.

 

 

I use to take the kids with me to the run.  They grew up being a part of the festival and waiting for me to cross that finish line.  In 2010, I completed my first half marathon, which would change my direction in running.  I was no longer into the mud runs, and in 2011, I did my last mud run.  Lance and I were just married, and he attended that race as my support.  I took four years off from mud runs, but this past Sunday, the kids and I did our first ever Camp Pendleton Mud Run TOGETHER.  It was sentimental considering all the mud run races they watched me run and knowing this was my very first official race.  Camp Pendleton transformed their races series, because it grew so much in popularity.  They opened up a kids run and a 5k in addition to the 10k.  There are age requirements.  You must be 13 to complete the 10k and 9 to run the 5k.  I know Mia is not quite 9, but she had enough experience in running to do it.  (After running the course, I do understand the age requirements. It is not easy, and there are some physically challenging parts that even intimidated Mia – i.e. the cargo net crawl).  There used to be a reservoir that you had to cross, and sometimes, the water was so deep that you had to swim.  It could be almost 6 feet deep.  This was very frightening for someone like me who isn’t that great of a swimmer, and moreover, have you ever tried to swim with shoes on? Very difficult.  The reservoir is now a long crawl, which they set it up so you are crawling to a helicopter.  There are 5 feet walls, tunnels, and the very famous 100 feet mud pit at the end.  There are also Marines shouting at you at the end to do 10 pushups putting your face in that mud. 

the resevoir you had to cross from years ago.  There were areas up to 6 feet deep.

I told the kids that this race would be about fun. We would enjoy ourselves.  We would play.  We would take photos and videos.  I purchased a new camera.  Yes, a new toy! It is an active Olympus TOUGH  TG-4 camera that is shockproof, waterproof, dustproof, freezeproof etc.  You can take it underwater up to 50 feet.  The camera was not cheap, and after purchasing it, I realized how nice it was, and how could this nice camera possibly survive a tough mud run?  I decided I wasn’t going to bring it.  There is no way.  I went to the store late that night to buy a disposable camera, but then I realized why am I doing this?  The camera is supposed to be tough so I took the risk, and to my amazement, the camera really is TOUGH.  Dylan and Brandon insisted I purchase a Go Pro, but quite honestly, I didn’t want to carry a Go Pro because who would be taking photos of me?  Plus, my camera does RAW photos even though I don’t have a clue how to do that, and it has Wi-Fi capabilities.  I sent the camera pictures to my phone.  It also has a GPS, and takes 16 MP photos and HD videos.  Lance is excited to take what he now refers to as his camera to the boat.  It will be good for dinghy rides and our elephant baths in India.

 

 

the camera that survived the Camp Pendleton Mud Run! Talk about rugged!

just picked up our bibs.  This is us "clean".

Heading to the start line.

I love that American flag!

Posing with some seriously tough Marines.

at the start line.  We met up with our good friends Jorge and Raul.

Let's get excited! We are about to get dirty!



and wave 3 at 930 a.m. is off.  Do you see Brandon and Dylan?

The first 1.25 miles of the mud run were straight trail running. You run by a fire hose and do some basic lunges, but there was no mud.  Mia complained shortly after we took off, and I told her, “If you complain then this will be your last mud run.” She immediately shut up.  Brandon loved to just take off, but Dylan stayed closed behind because he wanted to be videoed.  Brandon was irritated because he wanted to run competitively and not for fun.  He did not like running with Mia.

 

Dylan and Mia running along the trail.
 

The kids loved being in the mud.  The first dip in the mud pit was just gross, but then when you are completely drenched in it, you start to have fun.  One word of caution though—mud burns the eyes.  We tried to wipe it off but our hands were muddy and our clothes were muddy.  The Marines were great.  They always are…..I hear them shout, “This isn’t a mud WALK.  This is a mud RUN! Move it.”  The 5k is not challenging enough.  Dylan wants to do the 10k next year, and I have already made Lance commit to doing the 5k with Brandon and Dylan.  The 10k is a real challenge!

 

One of the obstacles.

Kids underneath the low crawl.  This use to be the resevoir.
 



Does it look like we are having fun?

Brandon enjoys his mud bath.

a great view of the lake.

hard to see us because everyone looks the same.  I am bending down underneath th"RD" on the sign about to get into push up position.  Dylan is already in push up position, and Brandon and Mia are behind me near the "RP" on the sign.

The medal sucked. In fact, it is the worst medal I have ever received, but surprisingly, I’m ok with that.  It is just a 5k, and secondly, to be truthful, this is probably the only race that I would do without a medal.  Running with the kids on Sunday, I realized how fun this run was and how much I missed it.  What made me stop? I don’t know, but I’m definitely doing it again next year.  The kids want to run again too.  I love those kids so much, and I absolutely love that we can race together.  I will always be one of those moms that goes on adventures with her kids. 

 

Showing off that medal.

Mud, mud, mud...

Lastly, here are some short video clips from the mud run.