Passover: 2013 Edition

Carter Family Passover 2013 is in the books and I will be the first to say that it was a huge success.  Yesterday morning I went to work bright and early for Athlete Warrior before practice started at 9am.  I helped out with the optionals until 11am and then went home for a run, shower, and to change.  By 1pm I was ready to head out the door to meet Alex at the Ford Center.  Once I picked him up we stopped in Town & Country for lunch and then were finally on our way.  The drive was very easy and even though we went a round-about way (I-5...not the prettiest highway) we arrived a bit after 4pm.  This was great timing in my mom's eyes because she had tasks for us to do before the other guests arrived.  First we needed to get the tables assembled and then set them with some of my Nana's dishes.  Alex took some time to try to figure out how to fold the napkins into the shape of the Star of David; it was a valiant effort but unfortunately didn't work.  However he was successful in doing so with the $20 bill my mom had ready for the person who would eventually find the Afikomen.

The guests, including neighbors and other family friends, came pretty timely and my mom led us all through a new version of the seder.  Everyone was very interactive as the story of Passover was told and because my brother wasn't able to make it Alex had the honor of being the one to ask the all-important Four Questions (as he was the youngest boy).  Many glasses of wine were consumed and finally dinner was served.  The menu included beef brisket (my favorite!!), chicken, mashed potatoes, green bean casserole, kugel (made especially for me my mom said), and a variety of condiments.  Many people were up and down for seconds and the table was lively with conversation the entire time.  Eventually we settled down again to consume the last glass of wine and finish off the ceremony in style.

After some of the dishes were done and dessert was served Alex and I made our exit because we still had the drive back in front of us.  My parents were thrilled that we could both make it this year and told us so multiple times.  It's nice to feel so loved!  The drive home was very interesting as a storm passed through on our way, heavy rain and lightening like we'd hardly ever seen before included.  Alex drove until we got to the Bay Bridge and then as we were waiting to get through the toll pass he decided he didn't want to go the distance so we did a Chinese fire-drill (where I got out of and ran around the car while Alex climbed over the seat to the passenger side) which was highly entertaining.  I drove the rest of the way and we were home by 11:15pm.

Today is Easter and I spent the entire day being lazy...as in I haven't even left the house and I even managed to get in a nap.  I'm still trying to fend off this sickness that's been hanging around for a couple of weeks or more.  With a very busy April coming up this is my last chance to really relax until the competitive season is over.  Coupled with the fact that classes start tomorrow and that now I'm teaching two sections instead of just one and my calendar is filling quickly!!

March Madness

Only two entries so far this month!?  Wow, I'm seriously slacking, for it isn't due to lack of things going on.  I've been sick recently and so I'll use that as my excuse.  Coupled with laziness and there you have it.

Since T's birthday and my trip to Malibu I tied up my first quarter as a Stanford professor (I use that term loosely because it makes me feel powerful, haha).  On the last day I gave my students their final exam where they had to perform the skill they were most proud of learning in the span of 10 weeks.  We had lots of front flips and handstands going around and it was fun to see how excited they still were about it all.  Next quarter I'll be teaching the same class again as well as the intermediate level; and for my efforts I get to continue my tennis lessons and other fitness classes.  It's definitely a great trade-off!

Our level 7's had a final regular-season competition in Novato on St. Patrick's Day.  It was pretty easy drive and because it was only one session it went quickly.  We were up against some stiff competition in CGA and we came in second.  Not terrible, but there is some cleaning up to do before State comes along in a couple of weeks.  We thought they really fought for the things that were off but it's all in the details from here on out.  When I got home from the meet Megan and I celebrated with pizza...always a favorite...and then I crashed.  I often forget how tired I am after meets...even one session of that type of emotional roller-coaster gets to me.

The next week of training was prep for the level 8 team because they had their state competition yesterday.  Held in Livermore, we had one kid in the 8am session and two in the 5pm session.  We decided to train through this competition in the hopes that the girls would make a good showing but not yet reach their peak given that they were trying to find their way to Regionals.  None of them had a problem with that, easily getting the required qualification score, but there were some hiccups along the way.  However, there were also some stand-out performances including my very first optional state vault champion!!  This girl, Avery, was in the morning session and her pike tsuk was good enough to earn a 9.425.  The score held throughout the second half of the meet and really I think I was more excited than she was.  Even better was that at the end of the day when the team scores were released I found out that as a team we ranked the highest on vault out of all four events.  Woohoo!!  Maybe I'm doing something right after all.

Sprinkled in to all these meets were other fun events, like Alex (finally) finishing up his Stanford degree!!  I give him a hard time because it's been almost 6 years now but of course he took the year off last year to train which requires such dedication that I feel bad about kidding with him.  His last Stanford final was on Friday and proved to be rather difficult, fitting of course given that we had more than our share of struggles along the way.  We went out to celebrate later that night and I had a fun time talking with everyone that came to Nola's for drinks.  Also in there was the Pac-12 gymnastics competition on Saturday night.  Carly and I drove up to see T's new digs (she's living in a "treehouse") before going into Berkeley to watch the competition.  T had called a few places and found one that was willing to show the meet, though upon our arrival the place was jam-packed given that Cal was playing in March Madness.  At first it looked like we weren't going to be able to watch it but the guy felt badly about the situation so set us up in his office at the back of the bar.  It was really great of him to do so though we were laughing at the whole situation.  Stanford could have performed better but hopefully what they lacked this weekend will fire them up for the upcoming regional meet.  They got seeded today and will be heading back to Oklahoma to vie for a spot at the NCAA Championships.

This weekend there's no competition but I'm going home for Carter Family Passover.  After that we have level 7 state (Leemore, CA), level 8 regionals (Phoenix, AZ), and this new thing USAG is doing...level 7 regionals (Las Vegas, NV).  Lots of traveling but it will all be over at the end of April which I know will come up all too quickly.

Meet In Malibu

Another weekend of adventure in the books.  Actually, a lot happened even before I left Friday afternoon:  I first found out that my friend from Wales, James, got his Canadian work visa approved and will be out this way for a year starting in a couple of months.  I'm really excited to see him as he's one of the few people from Australia I really connected with and still talk to.  Then on Friday morning the second baby for the Guth family and Alex's newest niece, Gabriella Christine, was born.  We were playing tennis when the news came and I was surprised it was a girl because I thought for sure it would be a boy this time.  I was the closest in the guessing game with the weight, only being 4oz off.  Then, yes there's still more, I got a text from Alex regarding the program in Germany he applied for...he got in!!  It's super exciting because I know how much he wanted it and how hard he worked for it.  He'll be gone for an entire year starting around the end of July and it's going to be like me leaving for Australia all over again but I'm reminding myself that it's an amazing opportunity and life event so I'm happy for him.  And it gives me an excuse to make a trip to Europe  :D

Megan was home and offered to take me to the airport which was nice because I was planning on taking the train again which isn't the most convenient way to go.  Once my co-workers and I made it through security and to the gate, we sat down and thought we were good to go until they made a "last call" announcement for our flight.  We looked around, realized there was no one else waiting, and jumped up and onto the plane.  Apparently United Airlines likes to start the boarding process much earlier than other airlines and even though we still had plenty of time before the plane was going to leave, they had gotten everyone else on board already.  It was a wake-up call and an interesting way to start the journey, but it all worked out.

We got to LAX, had some interesting times getting the rental car, and drove to Thousand Oaks where our hotel and the meet were.  We had some down time before the Friday evening session but soon found ourselves there and ready to work.  Xcel was competing and the Silver team came in second while the Gold team won!  I was just there to help Loren and Michaela because I don't coach those girls on an everyday basis; I was worried about getting in the way but we worked well together and it was pretty smooth sailing throughout.  It was late by the time we finished and we were tired from the long day so we ate dinner and went back to the hotel.  Michaela and I stayed up for awhile talking before we went to sleep, only to get up early yesterday to make it to the morning level 7 session by 7:45am.  Two optional team sessions later and we were finished, packed up, and headed back to the airport.  The optionals could have done a better job as a team but there were some highlights in there, including an all-around champion and a silver medalist.  There were some event champions sprinkled throughout as well but I think most importantly there were lessons learned for all of the girls that they can take with them into the post-season.  It was a fun opportunity for me because I was the only optional coach there for them...my first solo ride!

We almost missed our flight back to SFO because of the LA traffic but managed to once again run on before the plane took off.  T came to pick us up and to top off the weekend she got pulled over on the way home for a headlight that was out.  The police officer was nice and were just laughing at the situation, but I really also wanted to get home and get to bed because I was just exhausted.  I'm always surprised at how much competitions take out of me and I know it won't get any easier as time goes on.

Today we're celebrating T's 25th birthday (which is officially tomorrow) and enjoying the nice weather the Bay Area has graced us with.  Hooray for sunshine and relaxation, much needed as the days and weeks are only going to get crazier for the next month and a half or so.

Mrs. Shelley Jo Whalen

Another one of my former SWG teammates is off and married!  Following in the footsteps of Aimee ('08) and Nikki ('09), Shelley was married to fellow Stanford alum Ryan Whalen.  The ceremony was held in Shelley's hometown of Seguin, TX and then the reception was in San Antonio.  Carly, Tenaya, and I all managed to get on the same flight out of San Francisco and flew to Austin because it was much cheaper than somewhere closer.  We got a rental car (my first time driving one) and drove the 90 minutes to our destination.  We actually picked up an extra passenger at the airport, a Stanford kicker and fellow wedding invitee from the football team who didn't really think things through and needed a ride down south.  We jammed to some good music as we tried to stay awake and when we finally made it we just crashed in our beds.

Saturday morning CJ and I got up and walked around a bit to see the cool things San Antonio had to offer.  We got to see The Alamo which was actually a little underwhelming but we learned a lot about the history along the way which was cool.  T and I later took a run down the same way and it was nice to just be outside and explore.  Afterwards we all got ready for the wedding, the '10's piled in our rental car, and we drove the hour to the ceremony.  It was all beautifully done, short and sweet.  We stayed around to shoot some pictures but then it was back in the car to Sunset Station for the reception.  The place had meaning to the couple and it was a very grand and regal setting (definitely Texas-style).  The food and drink were good, the dancing and band were great, the bride was beautiful, and the couple looked happy.  Around 11pm they drove off and people began to pack things in, though some members of the SWG clan decided to head downtown to continue the festivities.

Yesterday we got up leisurely, got breakfast, and made our way back to Austin; we figured we would explore there since we had already done San Antonio the day before.  It was crazy for me to drive up and realize how familiar it all was since I had been there not too long ago for my Gymnastike interview.  There was a certain sense of comfort walking around even though I hadn't spent too much time there and it was fun to share that with CJ and T.  We finally got back to the airport, returned the rental car, and made it home (not without a delay in Long Beach though).  We're all ready for the next wedding and are placing bets on who the lucky couple will be.  Whoever it is, we're all geared up for a good time so it's bound to be fun!!