Happy 18th Birthday Cameron!

Cameron turned 18 on the 2nd of May.  We had family dinner on Sunday complete with cake.  Hannah and I were just getting back into town, so Chuck was in charge of dinner.  He made lasagna which I am not sure Cameron requested.  But on Monday, I made "hamburger pizza rolls" which are his favorite.  On Tuesday (his birthday) he skipped school but didn't do much.  We had lunch from Cafe Rio and then the whole family went out for dinner at the Mongolian BBQ.  So, probably not the most exciting birthday but May is such a busy time of year, and like Hannah said, "We have been celebrating Cameron all year."  And the May celebrations were just beginning.  

At 18, Cameron is 6'1 and weighs 183 lbs and has dreams to weigh more.  He has never been a big eater, but recently, he has been eating more, snacking a lot, and making shakes after his workouts.  He tried a weight gainer powder for a while, but just could not get himself to drink it most days.

Cameron doesn't spent as much time playing video games like he used to but he still spends plenty of time on his phone and watching TV.  He loves to snack while he watches TV (I am always telling him this is not a good habit) with his favorite snack being otter pops.  He likes to be in people's business and always wants to be around other people, which drives his siblings crazy.  The only time I would find Cameron in his room was if he was building Legos.  He bought and completed the world map, which he did in his room.  He also bought and completed the Titanic, but he did that one in the living room.  He still hasn't figured out a way to play nicely with his siblings.  I keep hoping one day they'll get along.  He loves to buy random stuff... lock pick set, soccer yellow and red cards, laser pointer, etc.  He still fiddles a lot and is always making noise with something.  But he did stop biting his nails.  He said his fingers would hurt when he would snap because his nails were too short.  

Cameron is hard working (but only when he wants to be), reliable, trust-worthy and smart.  It has been a blessing (but not without challenges) having him in our home.  We are so excited to see what Cameron does once he leaves the nest.  I have faith that he will continue to make good choices and set good examples.  

Spring Sports

Cameron decided not to play baseball this year.  He would have had to play varsity and we haven't loved, or even liked, the varsity coach, and he knew he wouldn't get any playing time.  I was disappointed because I love to watch him play baseball but I supported his decision.  (As it turned out, just about the whole varsity team was unhappy with the coach.). But after about two weeks of not having anything to do after school, Cameron was going crazy and decided to play tennis.  He caught on very quickly.  He won his first couple of matches but his opponents were not very good.  He lost quite a few matches but played really well against those who were better than him.  The tennis environment is the complete opposite of football.  The coach was amazing!  It was the coaches first year at MdN.  He was organized, communicated well, was supportive and encouraging.  Cameron is pretty competitive and for the most part, he has outgrown his fit throwing. But there was one match where he was not playing well at all.  I was telling him to calm down and take a few breaths.  Then he really started making a fool of himself, kicking and hitting his head on the fence.  I told him to get it together and he yelled at me and told me to leave.  So I did.  That will go down as one of the four most embarrassing moments of my life (Cameron is responsible for two, both of them sports related).  That evening Cameron came home with an orchid for me and an apology.  He asked if I would go to his match the next day.  So I did and then the coach very nicely told me not to talk to him during the match.  I hope there's not a next time, but if there is, I hope he can keep from making a fool of himself.  I am so glad I didn't see his fit going viral on the internet.  Cameron was the only Senior on the tennis team, so there wasn't really a Senior Night. But they did have an informal end of the season dinner and award ceremony.  I was out of town, so there are no pictures, but Cameron received the Joe Sellah award.  

Christian made the JV baseball team again this year.  He was excited to make JV because his friends were playing JV and he wasn't sure he would like the varsity coach.  It was not the best season, with only a couple of wins.  Christian played many different positions and got to pitch more than he ever has.  

Spring Break

For Spring Break we went on a Royal Caribbean 7-day, Cabo, Mazatlan & Vallarta cruise aboard the Navigator of the Seas.  We were joined by Jonathan, Kami and all their kids as well as Camera, Jomo and Melody.  

We drove to Los Angeles Friday morning and boarded the ship that afternoon (in the rain).  

By far, the best part of the cruise was the food.  For breakfast and lunch we ate in the Windjammer.  It was buffett style with just about anything you can imagine.  For dinner, we ate in the dining room.  Each evening had a theme complete with appetizers, bread, main dish and dessert.  After our evening show, we would head back to the Windjammer to sample all the other desserts that were offered at dinner.

The second best part of the cruise was the entertainment.  Each evening there was a show/performance.  We saw a comedian, juggler, dancers, singers, and ice skaters.  Activites included ice skating, laser tag, swimming pools, hot tubs, water slides, flow rider, pickle ball, basketball, and more.  The activities were probably the third best part of the cruise.  But because we went during Spring Break, there were a lot of kids on the ship, so there was a lot of waiting.  Sarah and Christian ran around by themselves most of the time.  The teen girls mostly wondered around but Hannah would get bored of that, so I would take her to do an activity.

The first day we were at sea. The second day we stopped in Cabo.  We got off the ship and started to make our way to the beach since that is what most of the kids wanted to do.  We were told we could only get there by water taxi.  So we paid $15 each for a short ride in a boat to the beach (seeing the "sites" on the way).  The driver said he would pick us up at the appointed time. I am pretty sure the devil lives in Cabo.  The beach was crowded.  There were a lot of people there making bad choices.  Every few minutes (if not more frequently) a local tried to get us to buy something.  The kids did buy their fair share of bracelets and fake Oakleys. Some of the vendors were selling headbands and shirts that had sayings on them you did not want to see and definitely did not want your kids to see.  After a couple of hours, we were ready to get out of the devil's playground.  We went to where we were told to meet the taxi and they weren't there.  We started walking back to the port and lo and behold we found the boat that had dropped us off, only not where they had said they would pick us up.  I think they did not plan on coming back to get us and were surprised to see us because they were at a different location.  But we jumped on and we did not give them any more money despite them asking for some.  Darien stayed behind and Cameron tried to get me to let him stay, but there wasn't a chance in hell (because that was where we were).  

for $5 you could take a picture holding a lizard

the sights

buying braclets

The third day we dropped anchor in Matzalan.  We had researched things to do and one of the "must do's" was a "hike" to a light house that wasn't even functional.  We took a taxi to get closer to the beach because it was too far to walk.  The beach was crappy but not too crowded.  We stayed for a couple hours then started to head back to the ship.  We walked by an old cathedral that wasn't open, did a little shopping, then walked thru parts of town where we feared for our lives.  Although we weren't approached by anyone, I have never been in such a ghetto neighborhood.  Thankfully we made it back to the ship before Darien, who purchased some Xanax in Cabo and drank while we were in Mazatlan, proceeded to nearly pass out and get really sick.  That made for an interesting night for the Palmers.  Needless to say, we were not impressed with Mazatlan.

On day four, we stopped in Vallarta.  We had quick access to the beach.  This beach was the nicest one we had been to but still with too many vendors.  The kids played on the beach for a couple hours but soon became restless.  We hadn't planned to do any excursions because the consensus was everyone just wanted to spend time on the beach and we didn't want to spend too much more money.  But the beach didn't keep them entertained for long and everyone wanted to go back to the boat.   Cameron become frustrated because he wanted to "go on an adventure".  He had heard about a suspension bridge, so on the way back to the boat, we asked a taxi driver about it.  He said he would drive us there and that it would take about 1/2 an hour.  So for $80, which was all the money I had, Cameron and I jumped in a cab and feared for our lives as we were taxi-ed to the suspension bridge.  The traffic and driving was like nothing I have ever seen, not to mention, we were in Mexico.  The bridge was at a venue where there was zip-lining, horseback riding, 4- wheeling, etc.  Normally people would 4-wheel across the bridge and spend time on the other side drinking.  Cameron was allowed to walk across the bridge for $15 and the taxi driver was okay with me deducting that from the $80.  So Cameron walked across the bridge and we took a few pictures.  I was expecting it to be beautiful because we were in the "rain forest" but it looked like it had not rained in a long time.  It was dry and brown.  As we headed back to the ship, we drove thru extremely ghetto towns.   Places where you just can't imagine people living.   The driver wanted to drive us around downtown, but we politely declined.  I am not sure it was worth $80 but it was an adventure.

The next couple of days we were at sea.

Overall, I can't fault the cruise.  The food was amazing, the entertainment was fun, and the service was exceptional. Although small, the accommodations were comfortable and everyone slept great.  Spring Break is probably not the best time to go on a cruise with kids and Mexico is definitely not somewhere we will ever go again.

Mesa Half-Marathon

We can't remember the details, but at some point,  Hannah made a comment about wanting to run a half marathon, so I signed us up for the Mesa Half Marathon. We put in the miles and raced on February 4th, 2023.  

We picked up our race packets the day before (because you were charged extra if you didn't) and had Chuck drop us off the morning of the race.  I was originally going to drive to the bus loading zone but because Chuck wanted to be at the finish line (or maybe he was there because I said "You don't want to be at the finish line when your daughter finishes her first half marathon?"), I thought it would be easier if he dropped us off, parked and rode his bike while we raced.  That was a smart move because traffic was so backed up, that we ended up jumping out of the car and walking a 1/4 mile or so to the buses. But I had to go to the bathroom which were another 1/4 mile away (and in true race fashion, I barely made it to the bathroom), so we walked there and then back to the buses. We got on the bus at 5:15am, which was scheduled to be the last bus, but there were still so many people needing to get to the start that I can't believe they weren't loading people on buses for quite some time after 5:15am.  We got to the start line very early, so we ate breakfast, went to the bathroom, tried to keep warm, etc.  I convinced Hannah to leave me and once the race started, she did not hesitate.  I knew she wanted to get under 2 hours and I knew she could if she left me. I wanted to finish in 2:20.  I felt great the whole race and was just a few seconds over 2:20 but I did slow down a bit the last few miles to run with a 15 year old girl, named Lorelei (yes, named after Lorelei from Gilmore Girls) who was starting to struggle a bit.  I am not a fan of the big races and it wasn't the most scenic race, but over all it was a great day.  And I was super impressed by and proud of Hannah.

MdN Soccer 2022/23

Both Hannah and Cameron played soccer again this year.  The girls only had one team, so Hannah played on Varsity and played about 2/3 of the time.  She played mid-field and wing.  Cameron played a few minutes per game, playing any position they asked him to.  The girls finished the season with no wins but they did score a few goals.  The boys had a decent season but they did not make it to play offs.  At Senior Night, Cameron's coach had great things to say about him.  He is dedicated, a great leader, a hard worker, etc and then he went on to say but he is NOT a good soccer player, which I thought was a little rude and inappropriate.  But he did win the Susan Buckley award, which can be described as the heart and soul award.

* I don't take a lot of pictures during soccer season.  You're just so far away, it's hard to get any worthwhile shots.