2SCD Photo Challenge

The challenge posted by Julie and Kate was to create a self-portrait and use the artsy Photoshop filters on it. Here's mine.... I love this! My wrinkles don't show! Hahaha!

I'm getting a bit of a cold. My son has been sick all week. His cross country coach said that this would happen to a lot of the boys because of the high physical stress.

So no running for me yesterday or today, and I'm taking Cold-eze like crazy! I'm trying to get over this before we leave for the Colorado River on Friday. We are going river rafting through the Grand Canyon!

Book Reviews - "Lightning Thief" and "Snow Spider"

Lightning Thief is the first book in a GREAT new series! Turns out that the old greek gods are alive and well (they are afterall immortal).... AND having kids! This book is about a modern day New Yorker named Percy. Percy never knew who his father was. What a surprise when he enters 6th grade! He vaporizes his pre-algebra teacher, learns his best friend is a satyr, and is almost killed by a minotaur before his mother manages to get him to the safety of Camp Half-Blood--where he discovers that he is a demi-god. There he's sent on a quest to recover Zeus's master lightning bolt before the gods start a war! Fast, Fun, and a great read!

Snow Spider is the first book in a trilogy by Jenny Nimmo, the author of Charlie Bone. On Gwyn's 9th birthday, he learns he's a magician. With the help of a magical snow spider, he works to bring his missing older sister home. Charlie Bone was a fun well written series. I was expecting more from this book, it is definitely written for younger elementary reading. I won't be reading any more from this series...

Book Review - "Faerie Path" and "Silverwing"

Welcome to the "Princess Diaries" with a fairy twist. In "The Faerie Path," Anita finds out that she is the long lost fairy princess, and she has the special power to travel back and forth between the mortal world and the land of Faerie. As she tries to stop the evil fairy, Lord Drake, from taking over Faerie, she finds herself forced into marriage to him. As in all Fairy Tales, all ends well; but there is definitely going to be a sequel as Anita heads off with the dashing Eric to find the missing Queen. This book is predictable, as most kids book are, but with enough romance, action, and suspense to make it fun! I recommend it to fairy loving girls 5th grade and up.

We switch from Fairies to Bats! In "Silverwing," Shade, is a small Silverwing bat, self-entrusted with the quest to find the meaning of the metal bands worn by some of the bats. These bands were given as "gifts" by humans... but what do they mean? Are they a good omen or a curse? With the help of a "banded" Brightwing, Shade battles the freezing cold, villain owls, military pigeons, rats, and evil jungle bats (escaped from a zoo), as he tried to catch up with his migrating colony... and draws closer to the truth about the "bands." This is a fun read with lots of suspense and action! This is another book with a sequel. I recommend this for boys 4th grade and up.

The way I see it....

The best way to keep going, is to never stop!
- Cobi Jones

Let's ATV

We had such a fun time! It started with a night in San Diego and an early morning drive down to the border. The tour group, "Let's ATV" picked us up at the "Last Exit USA" and drove us down to Primo Tapia (that's about 10 miles south of Rosarito), in a cushy, air-conditioned van.

All the ATVs and riding gear were waiting for us right on the beach. The friendly guides made sure we all knew how to operate our ATVs and set us loose in the sand dunes. That's my husband in the photo above with the ocean behind him... what a beautiful spot!

That's my daughter (17 yrs) in the photo above riding across the sand dunes. The guides were always watching, making sure we were safe. They were also assessing our ability to make sure they felt confident enough to take us trail riding in the afternoon.

That's my son (14 yrs) in the photo above. He asked me if I noticed that the guides always seem to be watching us when we get stuck. Hahaha!... and we got stuck a lot! Me more than anyone else in the family.

After an entire morning on the beach, we drove into Primo Tapia to a great little taco stand! The guides took our order and brought us food.

The tacos were huge, and tasted great! There was a whole selection of toppings for the tacos... YUMMY! Here's us feeling silly after filling our stomachs.

We passed the beach ride of the morning and graduated to the coastal trails. This place is called "The Cross." Our guide, Marco, told us that local ranchers used to gather here for mass before hitting the trails.

That's me! Actually, I'm not moving, but it makes for a nice photo anyway. You can also see part of the trail, that we came up, behind me.

We had some great views! Look how far we came! We started all the way down there by the beach!

Our last stop was a riding track, with turns and bumps to jump over. I think this is our guide Marco. It's hard to tell... everyone looks kind of the same in the riding gear. LOL!

I think this is our other guide, Alberto. Marco lead the group and Alberto had the unglamorous job of bringing up the rear, through all that dust.

I didn't ride the track... my hand and thumb were so tired I was having a hard time holding the throttle lever. But, my son gave it a go! Look, he got his front tires off the ground!

We highly recommend this tour group! They are very professional and very friendly. If you are looking for an ATV tour, visit: http://www.letsatv.com/