March Roundup

To say we were busy in March is an understatement!  With the visit of the Circuit Overseer, the Memorial season tract work, One Day Special Assembly day, as well as the Memorial, we were very busy spiritually.  We also managed to get some hikes in as well as a 30K for Beth and I and another race this past weekend for the entire family.

Not to say we didn't have much down time.  Myles has for awhile been asking for a fort in the backyard.  Beth came up with this ingenious way to create a Teepee and wola! Myles had his sanctuary of solitude.

The Memorial, as usual, was the highlight.  The kids are getting so old and there dresses reflected that.  Emma, because of her height, is now shopping in the women's section.  

As with previous years, we met with Lafayette and the kids got to see their friends.  The girls are playing fantasy baseball this year, as well as a couple of young brothers in Lafayette, so there was a little bit of trade and smash talk going on after.  On the way home, we swung by Burger King for $0.50 ice cream cones.  I had planned to get the sundae fixings; however, they preferred this.  We have awesome kids.

This past Saturday we did a run.  It was was great and was Goonies themed.  Myles ran the 5K with a sister in our hall.  Emma, Sophie, and Beth ran the 10K, with this being Sophie's first 10K ever.  I ran the half marathon.  Everyone did awesome.  One of the features of this run was that there were a couple of cameras streaming live video and a lot of the family jumped on and watched

Sophie has a big grin in every picture that was taken on the course by the volunteers.  And this was a tough 10K with over 1K feet of elevation climb.  We are really proud of her.


Before the run, the kids found a rope swing that, when swung on, would have a kid dangling 10 feet in the air.  It was Emma who came crashing down.  But she came out of it with the air knocked out of her, minor scrapes, and a sore wrist.


That pretty much closes March.  On to April!

May 2012

So May meant learning all about open access online publishing of scientific research.  I am really enjoying my new job, it is exciting, challenging, but something I really can relate to compared to the wine industry.

That said, we did a lot as a family this month.  

Click close to read the yellow sign, funny for a restroom!

It began with Beth, Emma, and Sophie running the Divas San Francisco 5k.  They were able to run with our friend, Mrs. Not That, a sister from the Menlo Park congregation, and her granddaughter.  Emma was a beast.  The problem was that the course was not well marked so she ended up running with others an additional .25 mile; however, finished respectably under 30 minutes.  Beth ran with Sophie and really had a good time.

The above picture is kind of funny, especially when you don't realize that it is for the sewage treatment plant near the starting line.  That said, why run a race that begins and ends at the plant?

Beth learned how to make tutu's from scratch so everyone truly was a diva for the day.

This led to a race I was looking forward to, the Wildcat 10K.  Beth would run (walk) 5K with Myles, Sophie ran the 5K by herself and came in a respectable 1hour 1 minute.  This 5K featured 1K feet of elevation change so they did a wonderful job.

Emma and I ran the 10K.  This featured over 2,000 feet of elevation gain.  She did wonderful and completed a little over 1:30 minutes.  In fact we caught up and passed Beth and Myles on the 5K course.

The following weekend we took the kids and Kona up for a hike nearby at the Castle Rock Recreational Area.  It was a hot day, and there was still water in the creek, so the kids took full advantage.  The trip was pretty uneventful until we got home and we heard a scream from the bathroom.  Emma had found a tick on her leg.  I then found another on her shoulder.  Kona had an additional 8 ticks.  The great news was that the were dog ticks and had not begun feeding.  I latter learned that this is going to be a really bad tick season.

Last weekend we went to Shasta Lake.  We have never been on the lake during this time (and will probably be the last).  The lake level was 5 feet from the tree line, so this would have been ideal "tieing up to the trees" if we were in a houseboat.  We love camping up at Shasta; however, we typically go in August when the fishing isn't the greatest.

The campground was a bit noisy at night; but that is to be expected when you realize that people who go camping that weekend are compacting a week of vacationing into 2.5 days.  The big issue we faced was the downpour we had on Saturday.  We were fishing a couple of minutes away when it began and we raced to batten down the hatches back at camp.  This meant that it took until Monday before the fishing returned to normal.

Emma did end up catching two bass (her first) and I caught one.  Sophie didn't catch anything, which was a disappointment for her since she prides herself as being the one who catches the most.  Overall though it was a short trip and made us look forward to our longer summer trip.

One of the highlights of the trip is also going to the amphitheater at the campground and learn about the different things at the lake.  Last summer it was about the mines located at the lake and the caverns.  This weekend featured a lecture on bald eagles.  Sophie volunteered to demonstrate what an eagle was like, which required her to dress up as an eagle.  Always up for the roll, Sophie really enjoyed herself.

 

That basically sums up last month.

For more pictures check Beth's blog here.

Or our picture site here.

Diablo Trails Challenge



Courtesy of Brazen Racing



So running has definitely become a family affair.  This past weekend was no exception.  Emma and Sophie love trail runs, and the latest Brazen Racing race was on a trail we are very familiar with:  Castle Rock Regional Park.  This is only 10 minutes from the house and was a very fun 5K (3.1 miles) for the family.

Myles got to spend time with his best friend Sawyer and went out in service.  We braved the rain (the rainiest day of the year) and set out.





Now, there is not enough to say on what a first rate operation Brazen Racing is.  It really made the difference in what could have been a challenging day.  The course crossed several creeks, out and back and it was very muddy.  But extremely fun!!!!  Emma and I started off at starting line.  Beth and Sophie started in the middle of the pack.  My goal was to run enough ahead of Emma so that if the creeks were too deep I could help here across.  No problem there.  The girls were such troopers.  They slopped through the mud and crashed through the creeks. 

I don't know any kids that have so much determination. Both of them bested there other 5k trail run times, even with the challenging conditions.

After all was said and done, Brazen Racing and the Save Mt. Diablo group provided a wonderful BBQ.  It was cold and wet, but you couldn't erase the smiles on the girls.

Rocky Ridge 5K

So today, Emma and Sophie got to run a trail run with Beth.  Emma and I  ran the Rocky Ridge Trail 5K last year, so this year Beth got to run this year.  It is a 5K, but is pretty challenging with a 800 foot elevation gain.  the cool fall air combined with the falling oak leaves provided for a beautiful morning.

  

Emma really loves trail running. Beth and I have tried several companies; but have settled on the races organized by Brazen Racing.  They are very well organized and they really go the extra distance to make sure everyone has fun.

Emma ran this race by herself and did it in a wonderful 42 minutes.  This is their toughest 5K course but she ran the entire thing like a trooper.  Sophie and Beth completed the course in an hour and they had a lot of fun.  Beth really enjoys being to run with the girls and this has become a family activity we really can enjoy together.

Myles and I stayed behind and played.  It is fun watching him play.  He looks at everything with such awe.  First he and I went looking for salamanders and scorpions in the fallen logs.  We looked at the bugs.  And we watched the runners come in.

After the race, Emma, Sophie, and Myles enjoyed ice cream from the relief station as well as other goodies.  I asked Sophie what she thought.  She said it was really tough (she had fallen a couple of times and is sporting a nice bruise); however, she really wanted to do another one.  Emma is sold on trail races. Just being able to run through the trees and seeing the deer make for a great time.