Work hard; play harder

This is adding up to be a pretty fun summer! My boss has been very okay with me coming in a lot later than usual, so I get to lounge about with the kids in the morning, and since John is telecommuting a couple of days a week, it usually means my folks can get a bit more of a break. In other words, they can sleep in a bit as well, and plan their own days more often. Still, I can tell they miss hanging out with the kids on the days the kids stay at home!

So this weekend, we decided to ride the trail between Ventura and Ojai. I had never done it before, but the boys had years ago, with my sister and my folks. I didn't know John had recently purchased his own mountain bike (yes, sometimes we have little lapses in our communications), and by the time I found out, it was too late to reschedule with all the others. So we went on Sunday, while he was at work. What a beautiful, fun day! The weather was gorgeous, and it is very liberating to be riding on a paved trail and not have to worry about street traffic. It was 24 miles round trip. Yes, twenty four! Luckily, the trip back from Ojai is mostly downhill! My mom took the city bus into Ojai, with her bike, and met us for the trip down, so she didn't have to do the uphill trail. And, this time, my cousin Danny and his wife Debbie joined us! I was very proud of myself! And, very proud of my girls, since they still don't have bikes with gears! They are so strong and don't complain one bit. The whole day took much longer than we expected, with stops to repair flat tires (Viviana had four!), and even take a dip in the river....this mom never refuses her kids a chance to swim in a swimming hole! The car ride home was the quietest ever...everyone was quite worn out! But I am not sore at all, not even my bum! I had a nice saddle on my bike this time! I can't wait to do it again, with John in tow!

Here are some pictures:


Stopping to visit the alpacas!

Fixing a flat...

Swimming hole!

Rest break at Foster Park, plus fix another flat!


We are gearing up for another cabin getaway in the Western Sierras at the end of the month, I've already got the hikes all mapped out! I can't wait!!!

Dyl and Zack are going to Tennessee in August! I am pretty nervous about it, since they have quite a few layovers, and I'm not sure they know what a terminal or a gate is...so we are going to have some "practice" runs around here. I keep trying to prepare for anything that could go wrong; it just feels so uncomfortable to send them off and know I can't get from here to there (Chicago!) in an hour! What if they miss their plane?; what if the flight gets canceled and they have to spend a night somewhere? what if they need ID (all they have is their school ID)...what if they actually had a great adventure together, and then they all grew up and didn't need their mommy any more!?! Yeah, deep down, I think this might just be the kind of thing they need, a shared experience without mom or dad around.

Happy 1st anniversary to Miles and Julie...yay!

And if you haven't been following along with Jess' and Malin's incredible adventure, be sure to check out their travel blog: www.travelpod.com/members/jessandmalin