Happenings inbetween the race and Yukis homecoming

 

So Masaru decided to chop his hair, finally, for his mission. He had his rugby buddies cut it for him. I think it looks good and am happy that he’s finally got it done. 

Beautiful pictures of tablerock. I always love this hike. Short, hard and to the point. 

Funny picture of me and my siblings. None of us look good at all. It’s so funny. 

Yuki at the school football game with her homies. I’m glad she goes to stuff like this. 

Cool picture of Shannon that she gave me. 

Masarus hair. 

A new blanket I brought cause I love blankets so much. 

Catching a quick nap in the sun. It felt so good. 

I got my rugby World Cup jacket in the mail and love it. 

The cats are doing their jobs and catching mice which is awesome. 

Jug Mt race

 

This was emikos best race yet coming in at 23 out of 27. She loved the course and the race. 

Takeshi also did his best race coming in at 21st and he scored a medal on behalf of a team mate 😂 

Yuki did the best she’s ever done as well coming in third with an epic battle for third place at the end. 

My kids do well at Jug. I’m not sure why. But it’sa fun place to be and to camp and bike at afterwards. 

Masaru and takeshi went with some of their homies the next day to have fun on the mountain. 

They had a great time. 

With Luke, Ben and Cade. 

Crazy if you ask me. I can’t believe they have  the guts to do it. 

Yuki getting her medal. 

Camping that night 😂 kids stayed up soo late. They had fun. 

Start off the race. 

Epic finish

Masaru getting big air. 

Me giving TesS a big hug cause this was her first race she raced and I was soo proud of her. 

Emiko with her mates. 

Great shot of Takeshi. 

I can’t believe he can bike in those glasses. 

Yuki

Emiko with mates the next day. 

Takeshi. 

Emiko and Lynnon. 

Staying warm. 

Beginning of emikos race. 

Takeshi standing in. 

We did Masarus hair for the day. Yuki set up a tent at the girls NI CA tent to do their hair. Soo anyone who came to the tent got tinsel or beads put in their hair. It was pretty awesome and worked out great. Yuki gets free NICA fees for being a part of the girls program. Soo it’s good for her. I helped out as well and we did both boys and girls hair all morning. 

Masaru looking great. 

This was the epic view the night before. 

The pre ride was just beautiful. I did it with Emiko. 

Yukis medal. 

The three amigos at the feed station. 

Ready to ride. 

And pooped from the weekend. Just as it should be. Love how fun this is. But we’re all tired. 

Yuki turns 16

Yukis birthday always falls on the busiest time for us. So she was ok with not doing anything for it. But it was her sweet 16 and I couldn’t do nothing!!!! So between the busy, I organized a surprise party for her with her friends. 

I got them all on on board and it turned out pretty great. We made up an awesome story that she fell for, then surprised her with all her mates. She has a wonderful time and I’m really glad we were able to do it. 

Me spending some sun time with Goban the cat. Great companion. 

Here’s the surprise

Here’s the birthday wishes. 

We played a few games and left them to celebrate. Very different 16th party than Masarus that’s for sure. I trusted all these kids and it was a good night. 

These 16 years with yuki have been a blessing in my life. She’s pretty great. I love who she is and the standards she upholds to. She’sa great example to me in my life. I’m glad I’m her mother and I hope her 16th year is a good one. 
 

One day turn and burn to Utah

 

So my friend Doana (on the left) is from my childhood. Her and I grew up with each other for years. Probably the first 15 years, almost, of my life. She was a huge part of my life. She was such a good influence on me and was an amazing person. But when I moved to CCNZ I basically didn’t see her again. 

Fast forward about 30 years and she contacted me on Facebook and said she was coming into town with her husband for a big work trip. They’d traveled to different places and one was Utah. She asked me if Boise was close and I told her sort of. It was right in the thick of mtb races and Yukis bday but I really wanted to see her. So Monday morning, super early, I drove to see her. 

Turns out she’s good friends with Tia, who I also know from CCNZ and my mission. We lived in the same dorms and we served in the same mission. So it was a wonderful opportunity to see her as well since I hadn’t seen her since the mission. 

I got to spend about five hours with them. We caught up and did a little shopping and eating together and shared a really special day with each other. I loved catching up and hearing about things that had happened in both their lives. It was worth the trip. I then turned around and came home around 10pm. Long day, but a great one. 

Skunk and soilder.

Pooped after racing. 

Next race was one we’ve never done before. It’s called soilder mountain. Brutal climb and mega fun DH. 

Emiko and her homies. 

Look at this awesome rat pack. 

Yuki with her homies. 

For the first time ever Yuki made the podium. It was a brutal race and she came in 5th. She was absolutely exhausted and so proud of herself. I love this shot of her brothers helping her. Im way back in the background. 

Here’s Emiko the day before, trying out the trail. She didn’t wanna do it 😂 

She’s all smiles here for her coach. But once she saw me she wasn’t having it 😂 

Here’s yuki racing. 

Her friends cheering her on. 

She made this friend in her race. They climbed and defended together the whole way. They hugged each other and cheered each other one. One girl quit. I was so proud of Emiko for getting it done and making friends on the way. 

Cheering on the varsity kids. 

Waiting for yuki to get her medal. 

There she is. 

Her and her team mate and their medals. 

Takeshi did the best he’s ever done getting 25th out of 100. Way good. 

The rest of the Nakayas hanging out in the feedzone. 

Emiko. 

Masaru helping yuki. 

Takeshi at the end of his race. It was a sprint finish. 

Random pic of my ride the next week 👀 

Emiko. 

How cool are these pics of Takeshi. 

The wolf pack. All three of my kids are in this picture. 

Yukis podium. 

The crazy skunk 

 And there’s me taking a shot of yuki 👀 😂 

We packed up and came home that night. It was exhausting and great as usual.