Catching Up

It's kind of funny that when you supposedly have tons of time on your hands, you really don't.  So there has been a lot going on around here.  I have been adjusting to a new job, in a new industry, with an actual commute.  Being spoiled at my previous job, being home by 4:30 and being able to ride my bike to and from, getting home just after 6PM and having to deal with traffic for the first time in 12 years has been a bit of a change, to say the least.This, combined with getting over an extended three month "vacation", it has been a challenge blogging lately.

So, that said, we have been making most of the shortened days with the kids.  The last two weeks have blown by, with me able to have Friday's and Monday's during their break.  And we have made the most of it.

We discovered a new trail in the Marin Headlands.  The Matt Davis Trail trail head is in Stinson Beach and climbs 1400 feet over the Pacific Ocean.   It has beautiful views of San Francisco, Devil's Slide, and John Muir Beach to the south and Point Reyes to the north.   The biggest challenge is the 1,000 ft. elevation gain in the first 1.2 miles.  The kids loved it though.  Emma and Sophie ran up and down most of it.   Coming down, we saw a beautiful sunset.

We also did a run through Golden Gate Park.  The goal was to do our normal run, play at the beach; however, it has been unseasonably cold so beach time lasted 20 minutes.

Yesterday we decided to take a local hike, combining our Shell Ridge hike with our Castle Rock hike.  We and our friends the Bulkoski's started in Walnut Creek and followed the Ridge trail and Briones, Mt. Diablo trails to the Castle Rock Regional Park.  Five miles in total, again, Emma was running any time she could.   The showcase to this hike is Buckeye Ravine.  This ravine drops quickly with the Castle Rocks in full view.  The kids love running down this trail.  

So, you will notice that there are other posts.  I do send this blog out in e-mail form to some of the family.  That said,  I am sorry if you did not receive the last couple of posts.  For some reason, Blog-spot deleted my emails.  You will always find the most updated posts on Beth's blog.  And of course you will always find our picture site updated with the most recent pictures. 
 
I've included these three pictures to sum up things you might have missed on previous posts.  Instead of starting Myles in kindergarten this year, we opted to keep him back. He actually would have been 4 when he started (his birth date is September 9th).  So that he is ready, we have been getting him involved in activities that will help him. So he has had soccer class with his best friend Sawyer.  He also was in Gymnastics.
 
We ran Long Beach,  me doing the Half-Marathon and the kids and Beth doing a series of kids runs and 5K's.  With that, we got free admin to the Long Beach Aquarium as well as free harbor cruise.

We took a trip to Santa Cruz and saw the Humpback whales off the pier.  That was awesome!!!!
 
Finally, Emma ran her first 10K here in Walnut Creek.