Assistant Coach

Grace and I went to my brother's house for a quick visit and while there, Grace helped coach Mimi's soccer team during practice.  It was super fun to watch.  One of the girls walked up, saw Grace and said, "look mom we have a girl teacher!".  My nephew, Sam, helped too so he could earn community service hours.  I was fun to see Sam and Grace hip checking each other on the field!

Morning Brain Excercises

I like to give the dogs their kongs full of food because it keeps them busy and exercises their brains trying to figure out how to get their treat.  This morning Jim put left over chicken in them and off they went.  Here is how the super smart Labrador gets hers.  She doesn't need thumbs!

Painted Dogs

This is what happens when we have too much time on our hands!

Draft senior pic

Another sneak preview of Drew's senior pics.  Looking forward to seeing them all.

Pismo Tourney

These are pics from the tourney in Pismo.  Drew is # 8.

Shoe Day

Drew got his custom cleats in the mail today and Grace and I went shopping for school shoes and got her a pair of cowboy boots and a pair of combat boots!

Shoezapallosa!

LOVE the cowboy boots - I plan to wear them!  Grace is 6 feet tall in them and looks like a cowboy magnet wearing them with short denim shorts and a lace top!

Good Dog Morning

Ahi sunning her belly this morning!  Feels good!!

Cousins

This is a picture of Jim's cousin, Eric and his beautiful wife, Susan.  They live in Alaska.  Eric and Jim could be brothers -- they look a like, act alike and love the same stuff -- fishing, hiking, the outdoors....and cute blond wives!

Senior Year

First day of Drew's senior year of high school.  WOW - how time flies!

UP Update

I have been wearing the UP band since Aug 1 and it has been tracking all my exercise.  Here are my stats on day 12:

*  I have walked/biked 67.79 miles (it is actually much more because the biking isn't really counted mile for mile)
*  To meet the goal of 100 miles in this month, I need to maintain a pace of 2.21 miles a day....which is easy peasy lemon squeezy!
*  I am on pace to do 162 miles this month....but I have no intention of keeping this pace all month!

Stay tuned!

Snack Time

At about 8 pm Grace and I decided we needed some cereal!  We walked to the store with the dogs and came back with these giant boxes of cereal.  YUM!

Sneak Peek

Here is a sneak peek of Drew's senior pics.  He and Amanda went yesterday afternoon to have them taken.  Since Amanda was with him, the guy taking the pics wanted to take some with both of them.  I can't wait to see all the proofs because the sneak peek pics are super cute.

Real Life

Drew and a group of his friends all met at our house this morning to caravan to a funeral for the mother of one of their close friends.  The mom died last week unexpectedly.  The kids all got dressed in their nicest clothes (which for some of them was black pants, black shirt, black high top vans and a camo hat) and went off to face a harsh reality of life.

I supported them the best I could -- I ironed shirts and sent them off with a box of tissues.

Newlyweds!

It has been a big week for our TNDC family!  First it was baby news and then the Tias got married!

Tia Connie and Tia Tracy have been together for 15 years and were happy to take advantage of the ability to marry in California!  They got married at the courthouse yesterday morning and after making the announcement to TNDC we had planned an impromptu wedding reception in 10 minutes!  About 25 of us showed up with food and gifts -- ready to celebrate love, acceptance and diversity! 

The highlight was a surprise homemade rainbow cake!

Congratulations to the Tias and thank you for letting us share in your happiness!

A rainbow cake!

Wander Woman Tour 2013 - Pismo Trip

Avila Beach Pier

After a month in the mountains, we spent a long weekend at Pismo Beach for Drew's soccer tournament. Sand and sea water was a nice change from the dirt and trees!

We really liked Pismo and will go back again. 

We squeezed in as much as possible in a weekend:

*  3 soccer games (2 wins and 1 loss)
*  Driving on the beach
*  Bonfire on the beach
*  Tide pooling
*  Surfing
*  General sightseeing - we loved watching the sea lions at Avila Beach!

Tina and Marty joined us and we stayed in a hotel right on the beach.  We spent a lot of time sitting on our patio watching the people and dogs going by.

All three dogs were with us - it was their first time in a hotel.  They adjusted just fine and spent time sleeping on the beds and watching dogs going by!  They were all perfect hotel guests.

Daisy Mae waiting for her next walk

Avila Beach

Our hotel - RIGHT on the beach!

Ahi is not a big fan of sand!

Watching Grace surf

These pelicans just hung around waiting for  fish from a fisherman

Cool rock on the beach

Shell Beach

We were about 10 minutes from the fields

My truck sure has been around this summer

View from our room

Surfer Girl

Grace has been wanting to take surfing lessons for years and we finally found the time to do it when in Pismo this weekend.  She took a two hour lesson from a professional surfer and was standing and riding waves within 15 minutes in the water.  The instructor called her "a natural"!

We rented a board the next day so she could get some practice, but the waves were much bigger and a little intimidating!

BIG Announcement

Almost a year to the day after the wedding, we finally got the big announcement....Mari and Kyle are expecting a baby!  Baby Choch 14 is due in early March.

Mari told us at TNDC by telling us that her TNDC shirt is too small, so she got a new one....and pulled this onesie out of her pocket!  Next came lots of cheering, hugs and a toast by Marty.

Congrats to Mari and Kyle.  We are all so happy for you....and for us!

Book Review - Beyond the Bear by Dan Bigley

This book takes a place at the top of my all time favorites list.  Well, well, well worth the time to read it.  It will make you think about the purpose of life, how good your life is and how much good there is in the world.

Here is my review on Amazon:


I want to carry cases of these books around and hand them out to people who are negative and complain about their lives that are NOT hard.  This book is an easy to read, heart warming lesson on how to live your life - with humility, humor and love.  A nurse who worked with Dan shortly after the attack called him an inspiration -- she had no idea how truly inspirational he would become in the years following the mauling.  Thank you to Dan for telling this compelling and moving story.

UP band

I got an UP band thru work that tracks all your work outs, your food and your sleep.  This is day two and its interesting to see and great motivation.  Plus it's tracking all the employees who are participating so you don't want to look like a shmuck!  So it keeps you moving!


Learn more about the UP band

More to come!

Goose Patrol

I signed my dogs up to be Geese Patrol dogs at the cabin.  They get to wear orange vests and chase the geese off the beach.  It is the PERFECT job for them!