Getaway Day

For Valentine's Day, I gave Mark the thing he always wants most - a day away. We didn't go on Valentine's Day because it was just too crazy. We got to go this past week because it was a week off of school. Cody stayed with Jayce, and we went to Del Mar (15 minutes away) for a mere 20 hours.

We arrived at our hotel in time for sunset-

Then we went to the Fish Market in Del Mar for dinner. I love this place! I love to eat yummy fish, especially because I rarely cook it at home.

In the evening we watched two movies and had a fire in the fireplace. It was dreamy!

In the morning we took a walk along the bluffs above the beach - 

We're so blessed! 

We are blessed to have each other. 

And blessed to live in such a beautiful place!

A Whole Lot of Love

Remember that line from the movie Cars...

"There's a lot of love out there, you know, man?"

Love can be a painfully wonderful thing, or a wonderfully painful thing. Love hurts when someone I love is hurting or is far away. Love is joyful when I reflect on how grateful I am to have so many to love and who love me. This week we had some of each, the pain and the joy.

Last weekend, Pennie, our little dog was super sick. She wouldn't use her back legs and it seemed like it was painful to her when she tried. We took her to the vet on Saturday, got medicine, but then we were back on Monday for x-rays. The doctor didn't see anything, but she recommended we see a specialist right away. She feared it was a neurological problem that could get worse rapidly. So, I saw a veterinary neurologist (didn't even know they had those) with her on Tuesday. We left with more meds and a hope she'd get better on her own. The next option was a dog MRI (didn't know they had those either) and we didn't want to spend that kind of money nor is it warranted yet. The good news is she seems to be doing much better on the medicine. We'll see how she does after she is done with the medicine.

Tuesday was Valentine's Day, of course! Jayce had a fun party and the Park Village jogathon. I didn't get to stay because of the vet appointment. I usually have a fun dinner or something, but we were just too busy. I did get flowers, though! And I made cut out cookies! And we heart attacked the house, as usual. And Jayce gave us sweet Valentine's. It was a fun day!

Cody has been fighting a terrible sore throat and cold. He doesn't get enough sleep to kick it. I've been really struggling to keep up with all of my school assignments. It's been way stressful this week! Luckily we're off ALL next week, so I'll have more time to work on school. And Cody will be getting his wisdom teeth out, so I'll be able to take care of him.

A few thoughts on love...

I am madly in love with Mark.

I love my children so much it hurts. I hope such great things for them.

I love my little dog. She worships the ground I walk on and she never talks back.

I love the understanding I have about the purpose of life. I'm glad there is something grander than the life we live now.

Wrestling

I have decided I don't like wrestling. It is way stressful to watch. I watch Cody and I feel like I'm going to throw up or wet my pants for the entire six minutes he's on the mat. I've tried yelling out my frustrations while he's wrestling and Mark says I break his concentration. And Cody says I shouldn't yell stuff if I don't know what to yell.  All I know is I'm about to explode when I watch him wrestle and it's not a good feeling. I'm not as bad when the other boys on the team wrestle, but I'm still all tense. I think I burn as many calories watching a wrestling match as I do running four miles...

Here are the latest wrestling pictures -

If they make you squirm, I completely understand. It's wrestling and it takes some getting used to.

This week we had a dual match against Torrey Pines. It always starts with a little dancing around...jockeying for position...seeing who can get the best shot for the leg.

This guy kind of missed his shot on Cody...

 Cody says he should've grabbed his chin/head and pulled it in. Whatever...this sport is so confusing!

 And before we knew it, the guy was in position to turn Cody over.

It was a disappointing loss since it was his last match.

Last Saturday he was at the County JV tournament at Mt. Carmel. He won his first match, then lost the next two.

This was a big match. It was against Ramona. They bale hay and carry cows over there. This boy is the brother of a girl Cody knows from the dances. And we know their family. The girl was even there...talk about pressure!

 I'm not just saying this because I'm the mom...Cody really dominated this match.

 The boy worked hard, but Cody was in control.

 With ten seconds left in the third period, Cody had him on his back. Why didn't the ref blow the stinkin whistle?!!

This match went the full three periods and Cody lost by points 17-16!! Unbelievable!

So, he's just finished his second season of wrestling. I totally see him improving all the time. He doesn't see it. He's so frustrated he ended the season 6-8. But he won a lot more this year than he did last year and he is learning. I'm very proud of him for working so hard. This is a ridiculously hard sport. I had no idea.