Home Cooking and Horse Racing!!!!

 

Time to go surfing!!!

  This week I come to you from home again.  After a wonderful week spent in Solana Beach with Cecelia's parents, we have returned to continue the process of getting our home back in shape and settle back into a regular routine.  We had a wonderful time down south with friends, home cooking and the horse races.

  After sharing with you last week in which we went to the beach and visited with cousins, we had an outstanding time with Mom and Dad the rest of the week.
  Claire and I took Dad to the local executive golf course.  Dad had not played golf in a year and a half.  It was great to see him walking up and down the hills feeling confident in his balance.  He hit some good shots and really spent the time easing back into the game.  Being on the golf course with him is always a time that I cherish.  I guess you could say that it has been our regular man time together.  Having Claire with us didn't take away from our time together, it actually enhanced it.  Claire and I had a match against each other and she was playing well, so grandpa had a great time watching her and giving her encouragement when the match came down to the finish.  Claire beat me soundly and I had to pay up by taking her to Jamba Juice.

I'll Race Coach

  Over the weekend, we went to Church with Mom and Dad at St. James Church.  It was nice to return to the site of so many lovely Sundays and the home of our wedding.  The service was excellent as usual and we met some friends that we had not seen in a long time.  One of those friends was Joan Bear.
  Joan Bear has been a family friend for many years.  She and her husband, Ted were very significant people in our lives when we met and dated.  Ted was the Deacon that did my annulment so that we could get married at St. James.  He and I had many heart to heart discussions about faith, love and family.  He was an outstanding man and I am the better man for our meeting.  Joan and Ted always treated Cecelia and me like we were family.  We have loved every opportunity to spend time with them.

  Anyway, after seeing Joan at the Church she invited the girls and us to come and see her new race horse the next day.

 The rest of the day was spent watching the Open Championship in Scotland.  It was great watching Phil Mickelson win his first Open Championship.  He is a great family man.  I really appreciate the way he opens up and shares how he feels about family and winning.  It is nice to know that there are people out there that still value winning and appreciate the hard work and effort that goes into being successful.
After that, we finished with a nice meal at a local fish house that Mom and Dad love to go to for fish tacos.

Cecily

Aw, that's a good boy

  On Monday, Claire, Taylor, Mom and I spent the day at one of my favorite beaches.  It was the best weather of the week and we had a wonderful time swimming, surfing and boogie boarding together at a place called Pipes.  Pipes has always been one of the places that gives me the feeling of being home.  When I was a high school student going to school at San Dieguito High School, I used to walk the two miles to Swami's and then run down the beach and back to this spot where I would sit and watch the waves.  It was always a great place of peace for me.  It isn't as popular as Swami's, but has the same incredible view.
  Cecelia had appointments with her brother and sister to take care of orthodontics and osteopathy.  She did have time to come and have lunch with us.  It was a great time and went a long way to helping us transition back to reality.
  The next morning, we awoke and went to the barn with Joan.  Even though her new horse did not arrive, we had a chance to spend some time in the stables with the race horses.  Matt Chew, the trainer from Chew racing spent quite a bit of time with us.  He was outstanding and answered all of our rookie questions.  He even put Claire and Taylor up on the back of an old race horse called "Freckles".  They posed as if they were Jockeys.  We even had a chance to meet one of the Jockeys that races for his team.  Her name was Cecily Evans.  She had just come to Del Mar after winning her first race at Hollywood Park.
  We then departed the barns and headed for home.  We had a quiet afternoon and were going to have dinner with Joan, but she got really bad allergies from being in the barn and had to pass.

Can you understand why I like to visit my hometown!!!!

    On Wednesday, we had a nice quiet morning before going to the races with Joan.  The kids went over to the cousins and Cecelia and I visited with our long time friend Cindy Reiner.  Cindy and her family have kept in contact with us ever since we moved to Oakhurst in 1996.  I used to teach her children when I was teaching in Del Mar and she was a big part of helping me to propose to Cecelia before we got married.  She also helped with the rehearsal dinner.  We have always considered her and her husband to be role models and family.

"And Their Off!!!!"

  We met Joan at 1:00 pm to go to the Horse Races.  Joan has a box at the Del Mar Races and really spent the time to show us the ropes.  After showing us her box, we then went to the preparation paddock and watched the first horses come in to prepare for the first race.  These animals are truly athletes.  They are sleek and beautiful.  One of the comments that the girls made from the day before was that when they patted the horse, no dust came up into the air.  Unlike the horses that they are used to riding up here, these horses are bathed once a day and brushed three times as well.

Dad and Claire studying their racing forum.

  After viewing the horses, we headed back to Joan's box and placed our bets for the first race.  The Jockey that we met the day before, Cecily was racing in the first race so we bet on her.  We made a couple of other bets as well.  The excitement built as the trumpeter sounded out the beginning of the first race.  The next thing we new the announcer was calling out the tell tale "And Their Off" call.  It was an exciting race and Cecily did very well but unfortunately finished one spot outside of placing.  The rest of the races were equally exciting and the girls had a wonderful time running down to the paddock and picking out a horse that they wanted us to bet on for them.  At the end of the day, Claire was the big winner.  She picked a winner and then was part of the Exacta we all picked during the last race.  With here winnings and then paying back mom and dad for her investment, she netted about three dollars.  We all ended up about even, which isn't bad for a bunch of rookies at the track.  But, it wasn't really about the betting that made it exciting, it was the time spent with Joan and the family.  It was a great family time.

Let's Get Ready to Race!!!!

  The next day I met with a couple of friends for early morning coffee and Cecelia got fitted for her new retainer.  She got a new retainer, because she has been struggling with headaches at night for the last year or so while she sleeps.  We thought it might have been stress from teaching, but it turns out she clenches her teeth at night.  Anyway, we hope this is the fix for her problem.
  After our various appointments, we jumped in the car, said our goodbyes, and headed for home.  The drive was nice, but we still had to deal with traffic on the way home.  Some things just never change.
  The best thing about our trip was that we spent a lot of quality time with Mom and Dad.  It also allowed us to get into a good sleeping pattern and finally get over the jet lag from our return home. Cecelia and I could also relax without thinking about things that we need to do at home.  We were refreshed and ready to tackle home.
  Finally, the girls had an opportunity to have Grandma's great homemade refried beans.  The one thing that you can't get in China is good Mexican food.
  Next week I will give you an update on how we are progressing toward getting ready for school here at home.