Last month, I participated in the most challenging running event of my career — Ragnar.  It’s a team relay race stretching almost 200 miles, broken into 36 different legs.  The traditional Ragnar team has 12 runners, each covering 3 of those 36 legs.  I did that last year and it was amazing.  This year, we took the challenge and craziness to a whole new level, doing it as “Ultra” team, which means we had only 6 runners covering the 36 legs.  So, we each had 6 legs to run.  My legs ranged from 4.7 miles at the shortest to 6.9 miles at the longest, and all told, I covered 34.1 miles for my team.

Teams start early in the morning on a Friday and don’t get to the finish line until Saturday afternoon.  Our team took 34 hours to cover the nearly 200 miles through SoCal from Huntington Beach to San Diego.

The fun (or crazy, maybe?!) part is that your team is responsible for getting each runner to and from the exchange points.  So, you rent a big van and after your runner takes off, you drive to the next exchange to get the next runner ready.  Repeat that 35 times, non-stop, throughout the night (along with over 600 other teams!) and you get one crazy fun event!

Runners are a fun, spirited, encouraging group.  And we’re a little wacky.  Ragnar is not complete without goofy team names, decorated vans, tracking “kills” (other runners you pass during your legs), fun outfits (like tutus and costumes), and more.  It’s kind of like a good-spirited, fitness-minded college frat party (minus the booze — that’s not til the finish line!).

Before we get to the finish, though, we have to start.  Our team start was at 6:45 a.m. on Friday morning.  I had the pleasure of being Runner #1 for Team Hexagon[e] (a nod to our 6-person Ultra status, and that we’ve “gone” a little cuckoo for attempting it!).

Our lovely team captain and driver made us some pretty sweet tutus to sport. . .

And we chugged through the miles in good spirits and with no injuries, even in the scorching afternoon heat of Corona!

The going gets tough once the sun sets.  The fatigue of the miles you’ve already covered sets in and with darkness all around, you just want to curl up and fall asleep.  But, there are miles ahead and mile to tick through, so you deliriously chug on. . .

And once the dawn comes on Saturday, it brings a renewed hope that you’re through the tough part and that you will actually make it to the finish line!

But you still take every chance you can to catch some zzzzzz’s.

When you hit your last leg, it’s a crazy, exhilarating, humbling, and joyous experience.  Proud to have not let your team down, proud for pushing your body to the limit and proud to have done it with such an awesome group of people.  One last hug to send our final runner off on Leg 36, bringing it on home. . .

Alas, 34ish hours later, we reached the finish!!!!!

We enjoyed some pizza and beer, headed back home, slept like babies and woke up the next morning with Ragnar withdrawal. . . wanting to pull on those running shoes and pink and blue tutu for just a few more miles!

Now, head over to Spokane Photographer Creatively Yours for a little more “10 on 10″ excitement!

We spent a day on the downhill slopes, but our true love is cross-country skiing.  It’s a perfect family activity and something my boys have already grown to love.  Seeing them out there on skis fills me with joy!

California Spring skiing is the best way to do it.  Nearly 50 degrees with gorgeous sunny skies. . . don’t forget the sunglasses!

Our old lady dog, Maggie, is 13 years old and still going as strong as (if a bit slower than) she used to.  In her younger years (when she was our only “kid”), she came along on many ski trips with us, so it was great that she could join us on this one.

Even though this is “10 on 10″ I’m sharing one bonus image for the day, the only family picture we got during our trip.  We skied to Minaret Vista for a picnic lunch and enjoyed the stunning view of the Sierras, feeling like we were literally and figuratively on top of the world!

It’s not a true “10 on 10″ without a little sharing, so head over to see what Spokane Photographer Creatively Yours by Kelly Q has for this month!

One thing we didn’t count on when we arrived was the wind.  We brought our bicycles and had planned to ride along the beach promenade, but nearly 20 mph winds deterred us. 

Even though we weren’t on bikes, we still easily got to the Santa Barbar Pier, also known as Stearns Wharf, home of the Ty Warner Sea Center.   

My just-turned-6-year-old is an ocean animal lover and has declared he wants to be a marine biologist when he grows up.  When we told our boys we were taking a trip to Santa Barbara for the weekend, the first thing he asked was, “is there an aquarium there?”  When I told him there was, he demanded it be our first stop upon arrival into town!

With his ocean animal quota filled, we walked further along the promenade, just soaking up the sunshine and gorgeous views.

We watched the sun set through the palm trees, had a fantastic dinner, then turned in early, ready for more adventure the next day!

 I love participating in this “10 on 10″ challenge with some other extremely talented photographers.  Go check out Spokane Photographer Kelly of Creatively Yours next for another fun 10 on 10!

Uh oh, gotta keep your eye on the ball!

Now, go have a peek at Milwaukee, Wisconsin photographer Melissa Schuett‘s 10 for this month!

My 10 this month come from my family’s recent trip to Yosemite National Park.  Right after the calendar turned to a new year, we loaded up the winter gear and skis and headed toward the mountains.  We may live in Los Angeles now, but our hearts are still in Montana, more specifically in the snow and mountains.  We can’t always get back to Montana, but thankfully California has some pretty impressive mountains of her own.

We stayed at Tenaya Lodge, just outside the south side of Yosemite.  Besides being a nice resort (we had a cottage room!), it’s situated on beautiful grounds with miles of snowy trails for hiking, sleigh rides and sledding.  And that’s just what my boys wanted to do as soon as we unpacked!

Another family discovered the same sledding hill as us, and at first I wasn’t too excited about sharing it.  But he offered to take a family picture of us and, well, I think you’ll see why I quickly forgave him and was more than happy to share. . .

It’s not often that the photographer actually gets to be in the picture with her family!

A horse-drawn sleigh passed right by our hill. . .

And the glow of the sun setting through the trees was the perfect metaphor for our trip.

The next morning, we awoke and headed to Badger Pass Ski Area.  It’s the “original Northern California Ski Resort” and is the perfect low-key spot for families to come ski.  Another unique thing about it is that it is located within Yosemite National Park.  So, needless to say, the scenery is beautiful.  This is the first time my 3-year-old got to try out alpine skiing.  My 5-year-old was able to take a lesson and we just worked with my little guy on his own.

Both boys had a fantastic time on the snow!  They also had a fantastic time in Play Care for a couple of hours in the afternoon so my husband and I could do a little fantastic skiing of our own!

The next 2 days we returned to Badger Pass, but this time with our cross-country skis.  To the Shertzer Family, when you say, “ski” we think “nordic”!  This is the 4th season my oldest son has been on skis.  While he’s still getting the hang of the alpine gear, he’s a natural on the nordic skis!

This is the third winter my littlest guy has been on nordic skis.  It’s such a wonderful feeling to pass on our love for the sport to our kids!  He was so proud of himself when he started shushing along. . . he kept yelling, “Hey, Hayden!  Look at ME!  I’m SKIING!”

We had such an amazing little trip, doing some of our favorite things. . . I can’t recommend a winter trip to Yosemite more!  Badger Pass gets 2 big thumbs up as a great place to ski with beginners and young kids — affordable, low-key, no-stress and FUN!  And with alpine skiing, nordic skiing and snowshoeing right on site, there’s something for everyone!

Now, go check out Spokane Childrens Photographer- Creatively Yours Photography for her take on 10 on 10!  Just a warning: it’s not the 10th and I have no guarantee about the number of images she’ll have to share

I must have been quite a sight, because the animals couldn’t get enough of me. . . eye contact from almost every single one of them (except for my own two little monkeys, of course, they wouldn’t even glance my way!)!

First stop was the meerkats, where one stoic pup stood sentinel and my two boys hoped to catch some meerkat silliness.  

The flamingos were housed right next door.  A large flock was huddles on one side but this particular bird, who kept diving for a snack, really stood out against the dark green foliage.

The orangutans are so soulful. . .

And Mr. Giraffe was curious about me, but not so much to stop eating.  He just kept chewing and chewing and chewing.

I’ve always loved the elephants, who seem to possess a certain grace, despite their size.

The chimpanzees were a bit feisty on the day of our visit.  We’d hear a loud ruckus with hoots and hollers from quite a distance away.  When we were close enough to see them, they had worked out their differences, but I bet they’d make quite the reality show!

My youngest and his grandfather sure thought so. . .

The baby tigers aren’t quite so “baby” as a year ago, but impressive none the less.

Mr. Bear was having a relaxing little siesta.  Since it’s hibernation season, that didn’t surprise me too much.

The California Condor’s size is as impressive as his facial coloring.  He was nearly 3 feet tall!

And this little guy gives me the shivers just looking at the picture again!  Green mamba has such beautiful coloring, but I would not like to run across him anywhere other than safely behind this 1″ thick glass!

My youngest son took a spin on the carousel, which gives riders their choice of transportation.  Benjamin chose a dolphin, but he could have picked a peacock, cheetah, bear, butterfly, tapir, okapi or one of 40 other animals!

Now, go check out that last 10 on 10 for 2012 of Spokane Childrens Photographer, Creatively Yours!

We are an outdoorsy family.  We love to hike and camp and just get outside!  While having kids has slowed our pace down a bit, we still like to get out for a camping trip at least once a summer.  This past summer, however, we just never found the right weekend.  The perk to living in Southern California is that the weather is warm enough (and probably even better!) for camping in the fall.  This trip marked a first for us, however, with the rental of a pop-up camper.  We have been 100% tent campers up until this point.  But a few months back, my husband got an itch to put a hitch on our mini-van, knowing that it would make it look tougher AND that we could pull a camper!  So, we rented a little A-Liner for the weekend and headed to Ventura County.  My boys were in heaven!

It was cloudy where we camped, but we headed north through Ojai into the mountains.  We went over one pass and then the sky was completely clear blue.  We hit a fun trail that crossed a stream numerous times, which was quite the adventure for my little hikers.

As we got back to our car my husband says, “Well, we did it!  We found a place near L.A. that we didn’t see another person for over 2 hours!”

As we drove back toward our campground, you could see the clouds oozing over the mountains.  As we drove back up into it, it was so cool to see the exact line of 2 completely different weather systems colliding!

In my opinion, the downside to camping with a camper or RV is that most of the campgrounds feel more like parking lots than actual camp sites.  The perk of going in October is that the campground was only about 30% full, so we had plenty of space to stretch out and the other trailer pads made a great spot for bike riding and casting practice.

It’s not camping if there’s not a little relaxing, right! 

And my absolute favorite part about camping is the smores!

We woke up on Sunday and drove out of the mountains toward the ocean.  We found a fabulous little park and picnic area at Sycamore Cove in Ventura for our picnic lunch.

We had time for a little more casting. . .

Running our toes through the water. . .

Playing in the sand. . .

And we even had a little visitor, right off the beach. . . a sea lion!

When I get caught up in the hustle and bustle and crowds and rat race that is Los Angeles, it’s so nice to have a weekend like this to make me truly appreciate the beauty of California and the good fortune that we get to spend a few years living here!

Even though this was more like a “22 on 10,” I still do this as part of a project with some other fab photographers.  Head on over to check out what Chicago Photographer Britt Anderson has for this month!

As a runner myself, I was eager to go cheer her on, camera in hand, of course!

The race started with a 1 mile swim at Venice Beach.  We arrived at dawn to a beautiful and peaceful scene, the full moon still hanging low in the sky over the ocean.

As the sun came up, the waves of competitors started.  Emily was in the wave with all the women, which was the 8th or 9th to start.

Throughout the morning the waves kept coming, in, well, waves.  It would be relatively calm for a few minutes, then these enormous swells would come in.  As luck would (or maybe would not) have it, just as Emily’s wave started, the swells got huge.  At this moment, I was pretty darn glad I was on shore as a spectator!  But, Emily is a great swimmer and the waves didn’t get her down.  She charged through and came out of the water as one of the top swimmers from her starting wave!

Next, she hopped on my borrowed road bike for a 24 mile trip to downtown Los Angeles.

I hopped in my car to get there and due to infamous L.A. traffic, she actually beat me!  I did make it in time to see her smoking the 10K run (in 36:42!).

She did amazing!  And her efforts earned her a 5th place finish in her age division, which meant special recognition on stage and a nice shiny medal to take home!

As always, you can check out what some of my talented female photographer friends have been up to with their take of “10 on 10″ by following our blog circle.  There’s no better place to start than with Milwaukee Photographer Melissa Schuett!

Before school went back, my good friend and I took a midday trip with our kids to explore this historic part of Los Angeles.  The kids loved searching for treasures at all the stands!

While the adults just soaked in all the culture and color!

The kids made a wish in a fountain. . .

And we checked out some food options.

We settled for a sit down lunch, which had to include a margarita!

I love playing “tourist” in our city, and a trip to Olvera Street was a great way to spend an afternoon!

Now, go take a peek at  Milwaukee Wisconsin Photographer Melissa Schuett’s site for another take on “10 on 10″!

After driving up the canyon, you’re first greeted with a view of Hyalite Resevoir, which never disappoints! We drove around the north side of the reservoir to reach the trail head for Hyalite Peak.  We have yet to make the entire 7 mile hike to the Peak, which follows a creek past no less than 8 gorgeous water falls, but thankfully, you don’t have to hike far to reach the first set of falls — Grotto Falls.  This beautiful spot is only a little more than 1 mile from the trail head!  So we set off on the trail toward our destination. . .

We had happy little hikers and when we got to the Falls, we had the place to ourselves (I love Montana!)!

And thanks to our friends, we actually have a family picture (including me!) at our spot.  Yay!

The aptly named Grotto Falls, has such interesting color and texture in the rocks.  With the sun creating light areas, the shadows, and the glistening, dripping water, it’s such a pretty scene.

The little boys weren’t quite as mesmerized by the pretty sights as me, they were more interested in working on their rock throwing skills!

And rock scrambling skills. . .

On the hike back down, this little orange butterfly followed us along the trail, politely stopping to pose for me. 

After you’ve soaked up some of Montana’s beautiful summer, head on over to Milwaukee Photographer Melissa Schuett Photography  for her take on “10 on 10″ this month!

The touch tank was super fun, even if my 3-year-old was a little intimidated to actually put his hands in the water!

One of the coolest features was the aquarium you could walk right into the middle of!

Once we had our fill of sea creatures, we walked across the parking lot to Cabrillo Beach to play on the sand.

We also watched the action in Long Beach Harbor, as the large container ships made their way to Ports o’ Call and some sort of filming was going on from those 2 helicopters.

I couldn’t help but soak up the beauty of the bright blue sky with the half moon showing its face during the day.  It was a fun trip and I’d definitely recommend the stop!

Now, head on over to Beth Philcrantz, New Hampshire Family Photographer to see her 10 on 10!

Abalone Cove is known for its tide pools, but we didn’t time our visit very well.  High tide was coming within an hour of our arrival.  So we didn’t get to search for little ocean critters, but we still had fun exploring the narrow rocky beach.

I ventured around the south cliff of the cove and found several daring fishermen risking rogue high tide waves for the perfect catch.

And while we didn’t have tide pools teeming with sea creatures to explore, we were still treated with some wildlife sightings.  Including birds circling overhead. . .

. . . and this guy, trying hard to hide in the crevice of the rock.  He was about as big as the palm of my hand.

After exploring the low side of Abalone Park, we headed back up a trail to the south cliff, aptly named Inspiration Point, and caught a glimpse of Sacred Cove.

From our high viewpoint we also caught a glimpse of a playful little guy down below.  I was mostly happy that I had opted to bring my wide angle lens in lieu of my zoom on our trip that day (which enabled me to get most of the images above), but I was definitely missing it with this guy!   Still, it was a fun treat to cap off a fun trip.  Abalone Cove is definitely on our “Favorite Things In SoCal” List!

10 on 10 is a blog hop project with a talented group of photographers.  Be sure to head over to North Canton lifestyle photographer, Louder Than Words Photography by Heidi Roberts to continue the loop!

As soon as you come up from the parking garage, you’re greeted with art.  I love any scene with palm tree and the dynamic lines and color of the building are a nice contrast to the trees.

More pattern and line and color greets you as you walk the corridor between some of the museum’s halls.  That’s my 5-year-old leading the way. . .

Our main draw for the visit was to see the Metropolis exhibit by Chris Burden.  The boys had been before, but it was my first visit.  It’s quite the impressive city scape of racing cars and trains.  Any little boys dream, really!

As it turns out, art doesn’t have to include cars to interest children.  The enormous Band by Richard Serra had twists and curves and secret cubbies, perfect for exploration.

The dedicated children’s area, the Boone Children’s Gallery, gave the kids (and adults!) a chance for some hands-on art.  With a friendly staff of helpers, fresh paints and supplies, soothing music, and inspiration all around, it was a great place to work on our own masterpieces.

We headed out to a courtyard and were greeted by the installation Penetrabile by Jesus Rafael Soto.  I shared this image for Fine Art Friday a few weeks ago:

But thought I’d add a few more for some perspective. . .

We strolled through the sculpture garden, walking right through a painting (so it seemed),

and explored Urban Light by Chris Burden, one of the museum’s most iconic pieces.  The old fashioned street lamps reach toward the sky so majestically.

And are a delight to run through for a 3- and 5-year old!

 There is so much we didn’t explore, but I think the key to having a great time for the kids and adults is to pace yourself and not try to cram it all into one day.  And with our NEXGEN passes, thankfully, we don’t have to!

It wouldn’t be a “10 on 10″ if I didn’t have a link to another fabulous photographer, so go check out Beth at BMP Photography, New Hampshire Photographer now!

Our first stop — after a few pitstops along Palos Verdes Drive to soak in the scenery — was the Point Vicente Interpretive Center, with views of the Point Vicente Lighthouse.  You can spy Catalina Island off in the distance.

And while coming back for a sunset view from this scene is now on my bucket list, the harsh midday sun does brighten the crashing seas below to a beautiful shade of turquoise.

The Point Vicente Interpretive Center is a whale-watching hub.  There’s a beautiful (and free-of-charge) museum to explore and volunteers are set up on the balcony outside to watch for migrating whales, which travel the channel between here and Catalina.  My youngest son was on the lookout and we actually spotted a couple of whales while on watch!

Although, we had a better view of the life-size models inside the museum!

Some wildlife above the waves put on a nice show, too.

Heading south around the peninsula, our next stop was Abalone Cove Shoreline Park where we enjoyed more fantastic views and a picnic lunch.

Our last stop was Wayfarers Chapel, a small, beautiful church made of glass and stone with beautiful gardens and beautiful views.

Certainly a place of peace and reflection, it was also a fun place for a 5-year-old and 2-year-old to run and be silly.  We had pushed our outing right up to naptime and were in danger of going past the point-of-no-return.  Before complete melt down mode, I managed to get a few pictures of my 5-year-old, and this is one of my favorites:

There you have it, 10 images of one of my favorite places.  If you ever find yourself in Los Angeles with a few free hours, you have to go explore Palos Verdes!

Be sure to visit the other photographer’s taking part in the “10 on 10″ challenge for this year.  Hop on over to North Shore and Lake County, IL Photographer, Britt Anderson’s blog to see 10 fabulous macro images, a perfect welcome for spring!

I was quite pleased with my haul from this week and had set up these pictures before I even realized what this week’s theme was — finally, an easy week for me!

So, here it is, what $25 buys you at the El Segundo Farmer’s Market:

As always, you can follow along with several other talented photographers in the Photo-a-week project for 2012. Here’s here’s the list!
Michelle, Heather, Jenn, Heather. Rhonda, Tracey, Stacey, Andrea, Jessica, Amanda, Sarah, Janet, Lesli, Carla, Lena, Rose, Naomi, Tracy, Heidi, Veronica, Amy, Kristin

We love the little Roundhouse Aquarium at the end of the pier, watching the surfers, and sometimes locking up our bicycles and heading up the hill to the central plaza.  A couple of weeks ago, with my Sister-In-Law out for a visit from Pennsylvania, we treated her to a day doing some of our favorite things!  The bonus is that it was a Tuesday, the day of the weekly Manhattan Beach Farmer’s Market!

We enjoyed the warm February day on our bikes, watching the waves, picking out some organic produce, and feasting on some tasty bites. . . definitely a perfect SoCal day!

Please check out Savannah Photographer Britt Anderson‘s Ten next!

Since my oldest son, Hayden, turned 5 on January 31st, I thought that was a perfect day to document with 10 images.  He had a birthday party on the weekend prior to his official big day (which happened to fall on a Tuesday), so it was a pretty low-key day, with one addition — his Uncle Doug flew in for a visit!

Here he is, my birthday boy, fresh out of bed and looking like such a big kid!

He had some pre-breakfast Lego play time with his uncle and little brother. . .

And then we headed to one of his favorite spots — the Los Angeles County Museum of Natural History (a.k.a. “the dinosaur museum”).

After some scientific exploration, we stopped for lunch at In-N-Out Burger.  That was a request of his visiting uncle, but it seemed like a good birthday lunch.  We ate at the restaurant just outside LAX, so you get a very loud, and very close up view of the landing aircraft!

While his little brother took an afternoon nap, Hayden had a very special surprise with Uncle Doug — his first ever viewing of Star Wars (the original movie, Episode IV)!  For months, he has been obsessed with all things Star Wars.  The thing is, he had never seen the movie.  One turn on the Star Tours ride at Disneyland last August (along with some very eager Star Wars fans for friends) and he’s been declaring his love.  Doug has been a fan since he saw the original movie come out in theaters in 1977, when he was just a little more than 5-years-old himself.  So he thought it would be great to share that first watching experience with his nephew.

When his Daddy got home from work, he opened gifts from family and long distance friends, truly delighted with all the special things he got.

And after a dinner of chicken and brussels sprouts (his favorite vegetable — actually the only one he’ll eat, besides carrots!) we had chocolate cupcakes and a special candle.

It was a delightful day and a delightful way to celebrate my special 5 year old!

Be sure to hop on over to  Britt Anderson, North Shore Photographer next for her take on 10 on 10!

We were a little late getting organized for a post on January 10th, so I ended up taking all of my images on January 11th.  We agreed that February 10th will be our first official posting (with links to the other group members’ images), but I’m a stickler for order.  And I can’t imagine letting 1 of 12 months sit empty.  While I’m a stickler for order, I’m not necessarily a stickler for the rules.  So for my first month, I’m slightly bending the rules.  I’m posting 10 (and actually technically, it’s 11) images on the 13th.

For February I’ll play by the rules, linking you up and posting on the 10th.  But, for now, this will just have to do!

1.  Picking out the breakfast dishes.  He insists on very specific cups and a very specific plate and he insists on getting them himself.

2.  He is master of silliness in this household!  While his older brother still sleeps, Benjamin eats breakfast at the bar chatting and making silly faces at me.

3.  The downside of having a smaller house is that I share the same bathtub as the kids.  This means my morning shower is shared with a pile of toys.

4.  Maggie dog, just chilling on her bed.  She’s an old lady dog (12 years old!) so she spends lots of time just chilling on her bed.

5.  She also has a love of bread.  I took my older son to preschool and came back 10 minutes later to find that Maggie had pulled a loaf of bread off the counter and helped herself.  It’s especially sad because this is my favorite bread!  Bad dog!

6.  We’re still adjusting to the flora and fauna of our new state.  For the last 7 years, mid-January means a landscape of snowy white.  Now we get treated to rare and beautiful blooms of color.  This is some crazy looking plant in our yard that burst forth with these pretty blossoms right before Christmas.

7.  Daddy’s home!

8.  After dinner dishes.  Yuk.  My least favorite household chore.  Thankfully, my husband is a wonderful dish washer and does them most nights!

9.  Kitty sighting!  This is Oscar.  He spends 90% of his day in a box under my bed.  The other 10% is spent on top of my bed.  I happened to catch him there and stopped over for a close up!

10.  Tucking my kids into bed at night is one of my favorite parts of the day.  While it is nice to have some peace and quiet in the evenings to work or spend with my hubby, I really love bedtime for the sweet snuggles, stories, and kisses.  I have sung “You are my Sunshine” to my oldest son, Hayden, since he came home from the hospital.  He’s almost 5 and I love that he still snuggles up with his Bubby and lets me sing his song before flipping out the light and saying goodnight.