Happy Holidays
It's funny how the older you get, the more you crave the times when you have no where to be, nothing to do, and nothing to stress over. I mean, that really never happens entirely, but we did our best to create that environment for ourselves this holiday season. We didn't want to deal with hectic travel plans, tired kids, or feeding 25 people. After a VERY long year, we just wanted peace. What a perfect Christmas gift to ourselves! But let me back up a bit.
October seems to be race month around here. I usually have some sort of triathlon or foot race going on and it's also when Bart's second Daytona race of the year happens. This year was no exception, except it all happened to fall on the weekend of the 19 which was also Bart's birthday weekend. Erica and I had a sprint triathlon in Orlando which was exciting as it was Erica's introduction to the triathlon world. I pretty much felt like a kid on Christmas morning! I was so excited for her to see what she is made of, and hopeful (and confident) she would get bit by the tri bug and this would be the first of many sister triathlons to come. As bad luck would have it, it turned out to be one of the hottest October 20th's on record. And because we were the sprint race, we didn't start until 10am. So it was HOT. Not a cloud in the sky, sun beating down, and maybe a slight breeze. This made the swim and the bike quite enjoyable but by the time we hit the run, I thought Erica might punch me (and everyone else) in the face. I couldn't blame her - it was pretty miserable! BUT....she persevered and we crossed the finish line together. It was a very proud moment for me knowing the hard work she has put in to better her health and set new goals. Way to go, E! And I was right. The tri bug bit and she'll be doing her first olympic distance in March! Lord willing, I'll be joining her assuming my back fully heals in time to train. Either way I'm pretty sure she'll be leaving me in the dust!
While we raced, Bart spent the weekend in Daytona doing what he does best. We got to go out for one of the days so the kids could enjoy him in his element. It's always nice when he races at Daytona because it makes it so easy for us to pop over for a few hours. It always reminds me so much of our days spent in the desert and at the speedway when we were growing up. Racing is so ingrained in our families on both sides and seeing that tradition carried on is incredibly special. I'm grateful I didn't marry a chess player. ;) Bart did well and placed in a couple of races. One TST team member had a nasty crash and ended up in the ER but was ok! On the whole the TST race team has had an awesome year with many podium finishes and a whole lot of growth. I know Bart is VERY excited to be starting the year off with a new bike - one that has fewer unicorns poking holes in the engine - so he can spend more time on the track and less time fixing mechanical issues!
Since Bart's birthday weekend was packed with racing, we celebrated his birthday with a few different things throughout the month. I surprised him with a wine tasting at dinner at the Chart House, we did a family dinner out with a home made cake by Gracie, and had a little weekend getaway to our favorite Daytona beach house. As we moved into the holiday season with Halloween first on the list, we started our low key plan off right with trick or treating and a little parade at Gracie's school. She made the sweetest Princess Sophia ever and Summer rocked the family hand me down pumpkin costume. Gracie is still not a big fan of walking up to scary strangers and asking for candy, but we'll count that as a win. :)
Since we knew we didn't want to travel for the holidays this year, we took a trip out to California in early November to see the family. Sadly Bart couldn't come along but I think he got a much needed break. :) As usual it was so wonderful to get to see the kids play together. I remember time with our cousins so fondly when we were growing up so it just warms my heart to see our kids forming those relationships. We also got to celebrate Summer's first birthday while we were out which was a nice change. It was the first time the CA fam has been apart of one of the kids' birthdays. Of course she had the typical second child birthday with a recycled balloon and a quiet dinner at Peppers but hey, it's PEPPERS!
Our Thanksgiving was about as relaxed as they come. Erica and I started the morning running the local 5K turkey run and finished up our active morning with a boxing class. Then we cooked a feast for 3! I could feel mom laughing from the west coast as we prepared our tiny little portions of mashed potatoes, creamed corn, stuffing, and coleslaw. We slaved in the kitchen for all of an hour, tops. I did make the mistake of buying a 23lb turkey but what was I supposed to do? It was on sale!
We wasted no time getting our Christmas tree the weekend after Thanksgiving and got all of our decorations up as well. Gracie quickly became excited by all of the "big lights" and soon we found our Christmas season tradition: seeking out various "big light" displays in the area. A few nights a week we would visit different locations I had gotten tips about and we ended up finding some GEMS! We definitely got our fill of Christmas lights (and music) this season thanks to Gracie. In fact, it's the end of January and she still sings Christmas carols all day long. I don't mind. :) December had some other memorable events as well. Erica and I sang in the annual CFCArts Christmas show Let There Be Joy! which was so fun, as usual. And I got to run a 10K at the Daytona Speedway! It was SOOOOOOO cool to get to run on the speedway where so many legendary races have taken place, and where we have watched Bart race so many times. This time he and Gracie got to watch ME cross the finish line. ;) An experience I will definitely never forget.
Christmas Eve and Christmas Day felt almost like any other day except that we were all together as a family with nothing to do but enjoy each other and the gorgeous, warm weather. We relaxed, took our inaugural ride on our new pedal boat that Bart refurbished for us for Christmas (so awesome!), and made a simple dinner of pierogies and Borscht (aka blood soup). Oh, and of course, big lights. We kept gift giving minimal and tried to focus on togetherness. I think we did a pretty good job of creating the atmosphere that we hoped for this year. For New Years we kept with our 8 year tradition (sans last year) and made pizza! What made this year super fun was getting Gracie in on the pizza making experience. This tradition started when our good friend Amanda suggested we do it back in 2011 when we lived in Menifee. For whatever reason, it stuck, and now we're carrying it on with our kids which is kinda neat. We did try setting off some fireworks but neither of the kids were a big fan of that. Pretty sure the mortar about gave Summer a heart attack. It was pretty hilarious.
As we enter into the new year we are preparing for many new chapters to begin, probably the biggest one (hopefully) being our house build. It's still all a bit up in the air but we have some high expectations for this year, that's for sure! It's also crazy to me that we started 2018 with a toddler and a newborn and we are starting this year with a toddler and a little girl. Time moves fast. I think my biggest goal for this year is to try and savor it a little more. We don't get this time back. And as hard as it is being in the trenches with two little kids, there is so much beauty and joy there when we choose to see it that way.
HAPPY NEW YEAR!
October seems to be race month around here. I usually have some sort of triathlon or foot race going on and it's also when Bart's second Daytona race of the year happens. This year was no exception, except it all happened to fall on the weekend of the 19 which was also Bart's birthday weekend. Erica and I had a sprint triathlon in Orlando which was exciting as it was Erica's introduction to the triathlon world. I pretty much felt like a kid on Christmas morning! I was so excited for her to see what she is made of, and hopeful (and confident) she would get bit by the tri bug and this would be the first of many sister triathlons to come. As bad luck would have it, it turned out to be one of the hottest October 20th's on record. And because we were the sprint race, we didn't start until 10am. So it was HOT. Not a cloud in the sky, sun beating down, and maybe a slight breeze. This made the swim and the bike quite enjoyable but by the time we hit the run, I thought Erica might punch me (and everyone else) in the face. I couldn't blame her - it was pretty miserable! BUT....she persevered and we crossed the finish line together. It was a very proud moment for me knowing the hard work she has put in to better her health and set new goals. Way to go, E! And I was right. The tri bug bit and she'll be doing her first olympic distance in March! Lord willing, I'll be joining her assuming my back fully heals in time to train. Either way I'm pretty sure she'll be leaving me in the dust!
While we raced, Bart spent the weekend in Daytona doing what he does best. We got to go out for one of the days so the kids could enjoy him in his element. It's always nice when he races at Daytona because it makes it so easy for us to pop over for a few hours. It always reminds me so much of our days spent in the desert and at the speedway when we were growing up. Racing is so ingrained in our families on both sides and seeing that tradition carried on is incredibly special. I'm grateful I didn't marry a chess player. ;) Bart did well and placed in a couple of races. One TST team member had a nasty crash and ended up in the ER but was ok! On the whole the TST race team has had an awesome year with many podium finishes and a whole lot of growth. I know Bart is VERY excited to be starting the year off with a new bike - one that has fewer unicorns poking holes in the engine - so he can spend more time on the track and less time fixing mechanical issues!
Since Bart's birthday weekend was packed with racing, we celebrated his birthday with a few different things throughout the month. I surprised him with a wine tasting at dinner at the Chart House, we did a family dinner out with a home made cake by Gracie, and had a little weekend getaway to our favorite Daytona beach house. As we moved into the holiday season with Halloween first on the list, we started our low key plan off right with trick or treating and a little parade at Gracie's school. She made the sweetest Princess Sophia ever and Summer rocked the family hand me down pumpkin costume. Gracie is still not a big fan of walking up to scary strangers and asking for candy, but we'll count that as a win. :)
Since we knew we didn't want to travel for the holidays this year, we took a trip out to California in early November to see the family. Sadly Bart couldn't come along but I think he got a much needed break. :) As usual it was so wonderful to get to see the kids play together. I remember time with our cousins so fondly when we were growing up so it just warms my heart to see our kids forming those relationships. We also got to celebrate Summer's first birthday while we were out which was a nice change. It was the first time the CA fam has been apart of one of the kids' birthdays. Of course she had the typical second child birthday with a recycled balloon and a quiet dinner at Peppers but hey, it's PEPPERS!
Our Thanksgiving was about as relaxed as they come. Erica and I started the morning running the local 5K turkey run and finished up our active morning with a boxing class. Then we cooked a feast for 3! I could feel mom laughing from the west coast as we prepared our tiny little portions of mashed potatoes, creamed corn, stuffing, and coleslaw. We slaved in the kitchen for all of an hour, tops. I did make the mistake of buying a 23lb turkey but what was I supposed to do? It was on sale!
We wasted no time getting our Christmas tree the weekend after Thanksgiving and got all of our decorations up as well. Gracie quickly became excited by all of the "big lights" and soon we found our Christmas season tradition: seeking out various "big light" displays in the area. A few nights a week we would visit different locations I had gotten tips about and we ended up finding some GEMS! We definitely got our fill of Christmas lights (and music) this season thanks to Gracie. In fact, it's the end of January and she still sings Christmas carols all day long. I don't mind. :) December had some other memorable events as well. Erica and I sang in the annual CFCArts Christmas show Let There Be Joy! which was so fun, as usual. And I got to run a 10K at the Daytona Speedway! It was SOOOOOOO cool to get to run on the speedway where so many legendary races have taken place, and where we have watched Bart race so many times. This time he and Gracie got to watch ME cross the finish line. ;) An experience I will definitely never forget.
Christmas Eve and Christmas Day felt almost like any other day except that we were all together as a family with nothing to do but enjoy each other and the gorgeous, warm weather. We relaxed, took our inaugural ride on our new pedal boat that Bart refurbished for us for Christmas (so awesome!), and made a simple dinner of pierogies and Borscht (aka blood soup). Oh, and of course, big lights. We kept gift giving minimal and tried to focus on togetherness. I think we did a pretty good job of creating the atmosphere that we hoped for this year. For New Years we kept with our 8 year tradition (sans last year) and made pizza! What made this year super fun was getting Gracie in on the pizza making experience. This tradition started when our good friend Amanda suggested we do it back in 2011 when we lived in Menifee. For whatever reason, it stuck, and now we're carrying it on with our kids which is kinda neat. We did try setting off some fireworks but neither of the kids were a big fan of that. Pretty sure the mortar about gave Summer a heart attack. It was pretty hilarious.
As we enter into the new year we are preparing for many new chapters to begin, probably the biggest one (hopefully) being our house build. It's still all a bit up in the air but we have some high expectations for this year, that's for sure! It's also crazy to me that we started 2018 with a toddler and a newborn and we are starting this year with a toddler and a little girl. Time moves fast. I think my biggest goal for this year is to try and savor it a little more. We don't get this time back. And as hard as it is being in the trenches with two little kids, there is so much beauty and joy there when we choose to see it that way.
HAPPY NEW YEAR!
Heading to the Chart House for Bart's birthday. "Take a nice picture with me!"
I joined the Mom's Club board this year and we put on a fun event for the club at a local Mexican Restaurant. I'm really enjoying making new Mom friends and coming out of my shell a little bit!
Welcome home flowers from Bart. :)
My 5K personal best!! 27:01
The Thanksgiving boxing crew!
LOMO Brunch!
Gracie decorating gingerbread houses with her friend Nina.
Let There Be Joy! Christmas Show with CFCArts
The TST Industries Christmas Party
Gracie had a few friends over during Christmas break. For 3 hours I had 4 little girls!
Picking Oranges at VoLasalle Farms
Christmas on the boat!
Bart and Erica did a presentation at a local elementary school for an organization called Racing to Read sponsored by Daytona Speedway. Erica read a book to the kids and Bart talked all about what it takes to be a sportbike racer!
Goodbye 2018!
Family Photos - December 8, 2018
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