So as most of you know, I have always had a psychological block when it came to the month of November. It goes back to living in the Pacific Northwest and finding November to be one of the gloomiest months of the year.
In California, the month is typically bright and sunny; however is busy. Typically work is winding up the year, continued changes afoot there. The weather has been unseasonable cold and we have had a bit of rain; however, not enough to turn the hills emerald green but that should be coming soon.
We made the most of the weather. The kids even had fun making s'mores in the fireplace.
I say this because I have always focused these blogs on the positive and not the negative. And through this outlet, I can maintain a positive outlook on things instead of becoming overwhelmed by the negative things that try to derail us. We have been counseled so much the last couple of years at meeting to never allow the stresses and uncertainty of this system to revert back to our old personality, justifying that it is OK to be bitter or angry just because we have hit a roadblock (or wall).
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| Yes, he is a big boy!!! |
I say this all as an apology for not blogging in November. Not to say we didn't do a lot. We did. This is the summary of the accomplishments.
The month began with our third marathon of the year (4 in a 12 month period) in Fresno. Why Fresno? Well it wasn't for the excellent Mexican food, even though we found an really good restaurant.
No the reason we chose this race was that majority of the course is pretty much flat and it is a first run event. In Fresno? Yep. Everything about this marathon was done first class. At the end of the race we even got sweatshirts, sundaes, full breakfast (not necessarily in that order), fresh fruit, great medals, and messages.
That said, this was not our best marathon. We beat our San Francisco (a much harder marathon with all of the hills) time by only seconds. What this marathon helped us understand while we have been using marathons as what we have been using to keep on track health wise, our bodies is showing the wear and tear of doing 4 marathons in a 12 month period. We will continue to do marathons, however, only two a year. We will follow it up with more half-marathons and trail runs (the girls love these). |
| Beth and I ran 26.2 miles for a sundae? |
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| Me, just in a bit of pain. |
The weeks after the race were pretty much recovery. I cut back on my baking, with only 2 pumpkin pies made during that time.
So another accomplishment for the month is that Sophie can now ride her bike. This was a long process, letting her decide when she was ready. But once she was ready, she took on to it within 10 minutes. The next day she road 3 miles, then 5 miles, then yesterday 8 miles. She has become a professional bicycle rider (her words).
We also got up early for Black Friday. This has become a tradition for the kids, so while we didn't spend much (the kids got Toy Story, I got my first meeting shoes in six years, and Beth got a couple of tops on clearance), the kids got to say that they got up early. 
We also went on a hike with the Behren's in the Brionnes Regional Park. This was a nice hike with friends, finding salamanders, and seeing a very beautify view of the Diablo Valley. The kids loved it, especially since they could spend time with their friends. I think Emma and Sophie took the trails as a trail run because they never stopped running.
Another thing we did was build a headboard for Sophie. Sophie had designed this headboard on her own and asked us to build it. It was definitely a family affair. I was a bit apprehensive building it, not really feeling confident in my skills at building it from scratch and not wanting to let her down. However, it came together nicely.
So the month was pretty eventful. December is proving to be as much as a roller coaster as November, but I will write about that later.