Almeida Adventures: September & October 2015

In the beginning of September we created another really small river from our rocks and it turned out good.

Look how dirty my legs are!

Patriot Day & Kids Fest – September 12th

We attended Patriot Day & Kids Fest in the town of Rocklin. This event is to honor those who serve our country and community. Everyday our men and women of public safety and the military act as selfless protectors of society who endure many heroic events that go unmentioned. Without our public safety and military we would not have the freedoms of our society.

It was a wonderful day filled with Opening Ceremonies by public officials, a high school marching band, color guards, batonist, and the National Anthem.

These beautiful horses were also in the opening ceremony.

There were lots of police officers showing their cars, motorcycles, and SWAT vehicles. It was hands and you could go inside and ask as many questions as you wanted. It was really cool to see up close and personal all the detailed gear & equipment they have in their vehicles.

This SWAT vehicle is super expensive and is shared by several cities in Pacer County. It was interesting to find out that it is deployed often, for example, a bank robbery, a shooting, etc. The SWAT officer said they never know how the situation might escalate so they send it out.

This is a bomb robot to defuse bombs.

This is inside a police car. There was so much equipment in the cab! Check out the Superman next to the rifle. The officer said his son gave it to him to keep him safe and he always carries it with him (for protection of course)!!

There was a helicopter landing (which we missed), a fire truck, and a demonstration of the Jaws Of Life.

K9 was there and did demonstrations to get the “bad” guy. I would NOT want to be attacked by those dogs… they do not let go!!

Babysitting 4 of our grandkids – October

Our kids went to Tahoe for a date weekend and we wanted to babysit the little monkeys. Oh what an epic adventure weekend with our youngest grandkids!! We had a blast with them and we were busy every minute.

Out of the hundreds of pictures I took, it was hard to select just a few, but here’s enough that you’ll get an idea of some of the things we did. One of the things I like to do is prepare crafts for them because I know they love it so much. This is their work station ready for their arrival.

Lizzy is the “animal lover” so I gave her this bear dressed as a duck… too darn cute!

On Saturday we were off to our first adventure… THE ZOO!!

The kids got to pet a turtle, snake, and armadillo.

The kids sat while the armadillo ran back and forth under their legs… they love it.

We took them in the drive through car wash which they thought was very cool.

We made sure we left time for Home Depot Saturday Craft Day because it’s always a hit with the kids.

On Sunday we took the kids to the Discovery Museum - Science and Space Center in Sacramento. This place is totally hands on and they LOVED it.

The biggest hit for them was the space shuttle. They played in that for a long time, pretending to fly into space. It was so cute how they each had their “job” in the shuttle and how they communicated with one another to ensure they landed on the correct planet.

Sunday morning chocolate chip pancakes to start off the day.

On Sunday we went to Bishops Pumpkin Farm, another really fun place for kids. They played in hay, crawled in/out/over all kinds of stuff, fed and pet the animals and lots more.

There was even a pig race… too cute!

They each got a bag filled with fun stuff.

Here they are with their Super Hero arm bands that they made.

Short weekend and we’re all tired, winding down for bed on this Sunday night.

Downtown Lincoln Beautification Project

This project has been underway for several months. Streetscape improvements include new sidewalks, curbs, planters, benches and a mural.

We attended the Ribbon Cutting Ceremonies on October 17th. Quite a few people showed up on that cloudy & rainy day. They had a parade, car show, and lots of local vendors.

This was the unveiling of the mural.

One of the things we love about living in a small town in the country are sights like this. They had 6 cattle running down the street… LOL.

These horses were amazingly coordinated as they went down the street prancing to the music.

This little baby horse was soooooooooo cute because he was also prancing just like the big horses and he was really good!!

My latest fitness update and photos from the last couple of months.

On September 12th after our Power Hour Saturday workout the coaches surprised us with a plank off challenge (as if we didn’t work hard enough for an hour!!!). Out of these strong and beautiful women, Karen and I were the last ones planking.

I lasted 5 minutes 7 seconds and Karen went 3 more seconds than I did. My whole body was literally shaking and perspiring… it’s really a work out to just hold your body in plank for that long.

This photo is from September when I started working on this handstand. I have it down pat now.

Some of the Kaia girls ran in the Hot Pink Fun Run on September 27th to support breast cancer. Most of them ran the 10K, but this was my first official 5K run.

I can’t believe I metaled, I earned First Place in my age group and received a cool metal. Michele and Jen both ran the 10K and metaled. Michele received 2 metals for first woman to cross the finish line as well as First Place in her age group. Way to represent Kaia FIT Roseville!!

Here are my stats from that day.

Kaia Dream Team Selected – October

The challenge was nation wide at all Kaia locations. For the Fit Test (which took place a week prior to the competition) we had to do a minute of each exercise, 30 seconds rest, and repeat that 3 times (i.e. push-up, rest, push-up, rest, push-up, rest, then on to the next one): Push-ups, sit-ups, pull-ups, jump rope double unders.

I felt I did really good on the test and my numbers were good enough to get placed on the "Dream Team". There were 6 women at each Kaia location that were selected with the best numbers to represent their location.

Each person was at a station doing her exercise while the runner (squat thrust/dash) was the actual "timer". When she finished we all rotated to the next station.

My personal numbers for the Dream Team competition Score Card:

Station 1: 5 squat thrust/100 meter dash/5 squat thrusts/100 meter dash/5 squat thrusts = 1 min 59 seconds
Station 2: Burpees 21
Station 3: Push-ups (on toes) 18
Station 4: Double unders 25
Station 5: Plank Jacks 103
Station 6: Sit-ups 48
Overall Dream Team Score Card (6 people):
Burpees 130
Push-ups 147
Double unders 115
Plank Jacks 510
Sit-ups 208
|Overall squat thrusts/dashes 9 min 52 seconds

We felt we did really good and proud of ourselves that we were selected for the Team, but our team/location only came in 13th place out of 20. The women that won 1st, 2nd, & 3rd places looked to be in their 20's. So we didn't feel so bad because our team consisted of 30's, 40's and yours truly 60. All in all we had a blast working together as a team.

Here we are after the competition.

Check out this Power Hour Saturday workout in November. We did the exercise associated with the spelling of our name. I got through “Kathleen Mary Almeida”. It was a riot because there were about 35 woman doing different exercises.