Sunday, September 16, 2007

Over Due

Greetings everyone, it has been quite some time since our last post & we’d like to apologize. However, a lot has happened in the time that’s passed & we hope you enjoy the great read & photos to follow.

June kicked off summer & the start of summer baby birthdays; Tam, his mother, Brenna, Aron (my oldest nephew), Sam (my step-father), Chenoa, Uncle Bill, myself, Linh, Christian (my youngest nephew), Karen & Jared. Man what a lot of birthdays, but that means a lot of parties and celebrations & what great way to spend it than with those you love. We even went camping at the beach w/my Linh, Jan, & Tam's parents, along w/the three of us. We were celebrating the start of the summer baby birthdays & Father's Day. The weekend was filled w/fun in the sun & sand.

During the month of June, I had the greatest pleasure of being a camp counselor for the Muscular Dystrophy Associations Summer Camp in Cuyamaca near Julian. For a whole week we got to be the arms, legs & in some cases a voice, for our campers. We participated in events like casino night; teddy bear foot ball (what fun, but look out for those w/wheel chairs); derby car racing; dance night; lama rides & pet therapy dogs. During the talent shows we had everything from skits to singing and even one camper presenting us w/math challenges. No matter what the talent, those campers made you forget that they were there w/neuromuscular diseases made their wheelchairs disappear. The most rewarding part of the whole week, at least for me was the military hide ‘n’ seek. Those counselors that were in the military were able to suit up in cammies and cammy paint and hide along trails that campers walked down. If they found you great if not, well that was fine too. But just being able to see them smile once you jumped from your hiding spot was and still is priceless.

In July, I said good bye to getting glasses shoved in my eye when playing w/Dominic & finally decided that I’d had enough of little finger prints on them as well. That’s right I braved the laser and had LASIK eye surgery, complements of Uncle Sam. That’s right ladies and gentlemen no more contact lenses or glasses for me, well except for sun glasses. Then it was off for some fun in the sun at Disneyland. Dominic had a blast especially at brunch w/the many Disney Characters.

August meant that summer’s coming to a close and most start back to school. Tam started online classes w/AIU (American Intercontinental University) in pursuit of his degree in Criminal Justice. That’s right he’ll retire from one uniform and suit up w/another. Baby, I am sooooo proud of you and will be there to help you throughout your pursuit. The beginning of August also meant that Tam & I attended leadership courses in Coronado which is a promotional requirement. Yes, the days were short, but that gave us the greatest opportunity for training for the ½ marathon. We also took a road trip to Eureka, Ca, where Jan is attending Humboldt University. She will be finishing her degree to become a History Teacher. Jan we are so very proud of you and wish you the best of luck. Just remember to send us pictures of those that live in trees. During our trip we also got to see the red woods. WOW! They are so tall and round, we even got to drive through one of them.
Towards the middle of August, Tam & I competed in our first half marathon, the 30th annual America’s Finest City Half Marathon in San Diego. For those who are wondering that’s 13.1 miles non-stop. We were amongst 7,000+ participants of which we placed 5,791 (me) & 5,794 (Tam). Tam finished just mere seconds after me; he was taking pictures of me crossing the finish line. It took us 2hrs & 56mins to complete the 13.1 mile course. Some of our good friends, Regina & Joe w/their daughter Isabelle & Tony w/our son Dominic, met us at the finish line. What an awesome feeling to have knowing that you have your very own cheering crowd; it most definitely helped push you through the miles. Yes, I will admit our bodies were rather sore and continued to be for the next day or so, but it was a great accomplishment of which we’ll do again. After the marathon we introduced our friends to our favorite Italian restaurant, talk about lots of great homemade food (including homemade pasta’s and canoli’s) for a cheap price. What’s next you may be wondering, a 26 mile bike ride in Long Beach, this time we’ll be able to tow Dominic along in his trailer. We just have to wait and see if our bikes will still be here or on their way to Okinawa.

Well soon we’ll be heading out for vacation to FL, where we’ll be taking a family trip w/Chenoa, Aron, Christian, my mom and step-dad to Walt Disney World. It’ll be our first trip together in about 7 years. Gosh we are excited. Dominic really had fun at Disney Land seeing all the different characters, so this should be a hoot. From FL, we’ll head to LA where we’ll visit w/the rest of my family and have yet another birthday for Dominic; he’ll be turning 2 on November 4th. After we leave LA then we’ll be back in CA for another week. Then the adventure begins, a new chapter in our lives awaits us in Okinawa.