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!!!!!!

Last Two Weekends

There is no such thing as sleeping in for me, even on the weekends.  The last two weekends have been overfilled with must do activities for the kids. 

The Long Beach Aquarium of the Pacific 5k took place on Saturday, October 10 in Long Beach.    It was a beautiful course along the city’s shoreline with breathtaking views of the Queen Mary and lighthouse.  Runners also had the rare opportunity of running through the aquarium.  All of the kids ran the race, including my nephew Jayson.  Jayson is becoming a wonderful runner.  Though technically, Jayson is no longer related to me since my marriage to Jacob ended.  However, just because a marriage ends does not necessarily mean the bonds you establish have to end.  He is my nephew regardless. 

at the start line

Inside the Aquarium

Dylan ran with Brandon and averaged a 10-min mile.  I ran with Mia.  Mia did horrible.  It was actually the worst race she ever ran.  We were tired, and the heat in Southern California has been in the high 90s and even the low 100s for the last few unbearable weeks.  Following this 5k race, we headed to the expo to pick up our half marathon bibs.  Jayson, Dylan, and I were running the half marathon on Sunday.  Yeah, for the three of us, we were running 16.2 miles over the weekend.  After spending a brief time at the expo, I spent the rest of Saturday afternoon sitting out in the awful 99 degree heat watching Mia play softball.

Queen Mary Behind Mia

The half marathon was scheduled to commence at 730 a.m. on Sunday, October 11 but because of the heat, race officials gave runners the option of starting at 6 a.m.  We eagerly accepted that option.  The first three miles of the race were run in the dark, and by 6:30 a.m., I was HOT, HOT, HOT, HOT!  I ran smart and stopped at every station to hydrate.  It was already in the mid 80s by 7 a.m.  Jayson finished in 2:15. I followed at 2:18, and Dylan’s time was even worse.   I woke up at 3:45 a.m. for this race, and on Saturday, I was up at 5 a.m. for the 5k.  Ugh. 

5k completed

at the expo

At the start line about to run in the dark

Bling!

 This past weekend was also just as busy.  Mia participated in a Halloween softball tournament.  It was her second time playing in this weekend long tournament.  She played on both Saturday and Sunday, and on both days, I had to be up between 6 a.m. – 7 a.m.  The weather had cooled down, which was a welcome blessing.   Mia’s team played three times and lost two of the three games. She played second base for all the games.  I am really impressed with her hitting abilities.  I’ve seen such dramatic improvement.  Last year, she only hit two pitches from the kids.  This year, she has been up to bat 13 times and hit 9 times. She doesn’t always make it safely to first, but that is not as important right now as her connecting with the ball.  She doesn’t have the strongest hit, but I think she is one of the most dependable hitters on the team.  The girls received goodie bags and were able to wear festive Halloween themed socks.

her treat

Mia stops a groundball

trying to stop a steal

softball cheer

Mia also hit her first homerun ever during the tournament!  She hit the ball out to leftfield which ensured a double, but then the other team overthrew the ball, and Mia was able to run home.  I am really proud of her.

Two weekends of early, early starts.  Unfortunately, this weekend is only a continuation of what is becoming habitual early morning starts on the weekend.  Brandon is scheduled to go to a Boyscout camping event.  He also has a basketball tournament.  Yes, we are trying to juggle both.  Mia has softball, and Mia, Dylan, and I have the Surf City 10k race.  

And this is why I work out.  It is so I can keep up with this schedule.  

Bow Restoration

Lance has almost finished restoring the bow of Tide the Knott. Having a boat is a costly luxury, but we are able to save since Lance is able to perform the labor.   He has to complete the finishing touches, but it already looks completely different and amazing.  It is time consuming, but he should be proud, because I am.

BEFORE

AFTER

First Homecomming

Dylan with our neighbor, Abby.

Homecoming for Fountain Valley High School was this past weekend.  It was Dylan’s very first formal dance.  Instead of going on official dates to Homecoming, several friends from his wrestling team went as one big group.  The dance was held at the Discovery Science Center in Santa Ana.  

I was excited for Dylan.  He did not rent the full tuxedo, but just a suit. He wore his school colors.  The group met at one of the friend's grandma’s house for dinner.  When I drove Dylan to the house, I insisted that he allow me to take photos.  He complained that I would embarrass him,. I told him that I would not let this event pass without any photos.  Ultimately and reluctantly, he agreed.  I was very conservative and did my best not to embarrass him.  They all looked wonderful.

The pictures only show one girl, but several more met up with the group later.

teenagers and their phones

He didn’t come home until after 2 p.m. that night.  I’m glad he had a great time, and I hope when Prom arrives next May that Dylan has the courage to ask a girl on a date.