Veteran's Day in Yosemite

Going up to Yosemite for a night and hiking the next day before driving back has become a fun thing to do on Veteran's Day.  We had extra motivation to hike at altitude this year as we prepared for our Peru hike coming up in a month and a half.  This would be our first chance to check and see how we are doing.  Well what we came away with was that the boys were in fine shape and we needed to do better.  So we purchased backpacks that were weighted for walking around in our neighborhood.  Hopefully that would help us be ready.

An MCP game prior to the trip to Yosemite.

A beautiful day for a hike in Yosemite.

We should eat some good breakfast first.

Starting the hike up the Four Mile Trail.

This is our elevation training for Peru...well we will get up to 6500 ft...not quite enough.

We worried about our kids being in shape, but they dusted us.

Take a break for a snack.

What a cute looking lady on our hike!

Brett almost on top of the world?

Griffin looking down into the valley.

Getting a look at Half Dome from our lookout.

Exhausted after arriving back home and falling asleep with Qi'ra getting warm.

 

Golf Outing for Conditioning?

Since we committed to the December hike adventure, we needed to start doing more things to maintain our shape.  So walking the 18 hole golf course in town and playing the holes over 4-5 hours together figured to be a good add to our increased nightly walks with weighted backpacks.  We also started out the day playing frisbee golf which added to our 20, 000 steps for the day.

 

Sharks v Redwings

When the NHL schedule came out and it was revealed that the Redwings were in town for a 5pm Sunday afternoon game, Brett just had to get tickets on a day when we wouldn't get home around midnight.  What a blessing.  It was a great game, close and contested throughout the night.  We got to see overtime and a shootout.  The Sharks did lose 3-2 in shootout.  We also saw a first as rookie defenseman Sam Dickinson scored his first NHL goal to tie the game up.  Afterwards, we had a Panera dinner which required two stops, the first one was temporarily closed.

Our seat from the west half of the arena.

Sadly Bryce was not with us, but the four of us were clad with purple scarfs.

Sitting as a couple talking about past Sharks-Redwings matchups...

Make a funny face?

Face-off in the Sharks attack zone.

Enjoyed the new scoreboard with the player pictures of who was on the ice and their ice time.

Celebrini circles back in for his shootout shot against Cam Talbot.

The Sharks huddle up before the face-off.

#71-Celebrini in the face-off circle with #2-Will Smith to the right at the top of the circle.

 

Halloween

The chosen theme for the porch light party in Castro Valley this year was Minecraft.  The block shapes were inviting to build our own costumes after purchasing the head pieces.  So Hello Fresh boxes of various types became our thorax and bodies.  Some spray paint and artistic squares glued on finished off the costumes.  That was just the evening activity.  

In the morning, Brett and Joy dressed up with the theme of Harry Potter for our clinic.  Brett was chosen as the Harry Potter and Joy was a Gryffindor student.  Our clinic took third place in the county voting.

Helmets off group picture.

Griffin as a Snow Golem with Luke.

Brett as a Creeper.

Checking out the Simpsons flavored house down the street.

Eric and Brett eat "eyeballs"

Bart Simpson as a carved miniature.

Garrett as a Skeleton (minus his head) with Grace a Chicken Jockey.

The Admin theme was Addams Family and Joy was "Wednesday."

FPHC theme-Harry Potter featuring Brett and Joy.

Some of the Minecraft creations for the Porch light party.

Gryffindor students.

Harry Potter, scar on the forehead and all.

Wand to control the lights on the ceiling.

 

ICC RTS Conference

The first in person ICC conference in California since 2017 occurred at Christ Community Church new location on Pelandale Rd.  Bryce was on-line live simulcasted to California and Maryland.  Garrett was in person as the success coach.  Griffin was a Student Instructor (SI).  Brett and Joy joined in on the parent/coach track.  Afterward, Brett and Joy ended up at the Ornelis-Cruz house for a spontaneous dinner celebration with some great food.  We hosted Caleb and Luke for a few days.

Garrett participates in the debrief after the conference rooms were cleaned.

Griffin in his own room for the debrief.

Bryce was live from the training center in Tennessee.

Griffin and Jonathan worked together.

Garrett had multiple speaking roles.

 

October Events

 We had some fun events and celebrations this month.  Joy won the Equal Rights Award from the county for her work with the refugee population at the clinic.  Griffin got his driver's permit.  Marvel Crisis Protocol was played and characters were added.  Joy played Villainous, not once but twice.  We attended a Christian Concert night in Stockton with four bands.  Our church finished the park project.  And our cats spent lots of time around us.

Taking a picture with the man whom the award is named after--Dale Butler.

Board of Supervisors Members Manny Grehwal and Buck Condit congratulate Joy.

Willie introduced and praised Joy in all she has done for the county.

Griffin passed his permit test!

Leanna Crawford sung on the opposite stage while the stage got reset.

Up first:  Ben Fuller started it all off, telling good stories of salvation.

We sat in one of the last rows of the balcony and relaxed in Stockton.

Sabine gets curious with the food on the counter...too curious.

Qi'ra watches Marvel Crisis Protocol from the box.

Golfing at Creekside, almost completed 18 holes before we had to call it a day.

Griffin driving for the first time after Driver's Training, heading to Kyle's house.

Sleeping happy kitties.

Qi'ra curls up and finds a quiet place.

Sabine waiting to attack the next cat that comes around the corner.

It is getting cold enough for Leia to want to be in doors at times again.

Qi'ra looks over Griffin's shoulders as he does his work.

Joy and Qi'ra enjoying a sunny weekend morning.

Joy plays Villainous as Darth Vader for the second time and wins!

Marvel Crisis Protocol on the bar table.

Mark, Ira, Garrett, and Griffin play spike ball.

First day with the new playground at our church and the older kids spent time after the youth cleared out.

We the Kingdom was the largest band of the night.

Zach Williams rounded out the evening.