Snowboarding at Mammoth Mtn

We left on Saturday the 16th. We drove 355 miles through the city, the Desert, and into the mountains. We were invited to stay with some very good friends, who had a condo in the village of Mammoth. We had some cold weather gear, but what we didn't have, we borrowed, and we were very comfortable. The first morning when we checked the temperature, it was 2 deg, by the time we got the the mountain, it was all the way up to 7. By the time we got our tickets, and Sydney's rental, it was 12. Amber, Sydney, and I (Eric) had a very abreviated lesson in snowboarding. The girls and I spent the rest of the day falling, and bruising our bodys all in the quest to learn how to snowboard. We were so sore from our first day of falling, that the second day, Sydney and I started the day off with skiing, and Amber stayed back at the condo.
Sydney showed me a very determined side of her. She went back to snowboarding for the last half of the day. She really wanted to learn.
The third day, we were all back on snowboards, and Sydney was in a lesson. Mammoth gets a lot of southern California traffic, as it is the only place that has snow, and it is a great facility. We saw a soup star named Rena Sofer, and Justin Timberlake was spotted on the mountain.
By the end of the day, we all had a pretty good grasp on snowboarding. I collected a few pictures for you, and a video clip. here you go:


Here is a picture of Amber doing her best not to pull a Sonny Bono:














Sydney:

Christmas party

Every year we have a Christmas party with the same group of people, and this year we added the Young family. The party was hosted at our house. There was a gift exchange, and a gag gift that shows up every year.
We had good food, and a few drinks, and some laughs. Thank you all who attended.

Engine maintenance on the dirtbike

I wanted aAmber to do the top end on her dirtbike. I wanted her to see how easy it is. I got things started by draining the coolant. She pulled the carburator off, removed the coolant hoses, took off the head. I helped remove the cylinder. We pulled out the piston, and gaskets, replaced them all with new parts, and put it back together. she learned a little, but I think every little bit helps, in life. I think it helps eliminate fear of the unknown. It builds confidence.

Out to the dunes

We put a paddle tire on A's bike, and a "whip" ( flag) on both our bikes. It was definately a learning experience. She rode some dunes, got some air, climbed some hills. Her bike ran out of gas, and while we waited for our team to bring us some gas, we played around, and I let her ride my 450. She did pretty well, and zipped around pretty good on it. see the links to the left, and click on the discription to view the videos.








The group we went with led us around the park, and we made our way to the canal which has fresh water in it. After the kids jumped in, we were told we could get a ticket for it. yikes. So we got out of there. There was a golf cart in the group. and the kids drove it around camp, endlessly. We made our first overnight camp of the year. it got a little cold so I lit off my propane heater, at 4:20am, and we were back in bussiness.

Amber is getting tall

Today I took a picture of Amber standing next to Kim to show how tall Amber is getting

Wedding in Arizona

Kim went to a wedding of a fellow worker of ours From our days at Allegiance Telecom.
Here is a picture of Kim, Heidi and Virgie.
Also, She had her picture taken with all the girls from Allegiance.
Kim drove to Phoenix with Kimberly, Virgies daughter.

Air show

We had the pleasure of having the "Blue Angels" flying over us for the San Diego Air show. The sky's are rumbling from Friday to Sunday, the Blue Angels are the best. The pictures don't capture it very well, and sometimes they go by faster then i can take the picture, they are sometimes right over the house maybe 300-400 feet above.

poker

played a little poker over the weekend, I am in the cutoff sleeves.
You can get a look at some amatuer poker faces to get a feel for our level of play.
Sydney sat in until our fourth player showed up. She was ready to go shopping with all the chips she had.

Soccer

Sydney had a very good weekend in Soccer. she played offense and had several chances at making a goal, she also has no problem getting physical. As a matter of fact I am beginning to think that is her favorite part. here are some pictures:

Sydney and I took apart the trailer.
We borrow a trailer from a friend, and the boards of the trailer were falling to pieces. Last night we cut the rotten boards out with a saw, and pulled the bolts out that held them down. Sydney backed out somescrews with the cordless drill, and cut off some stubborn bolts with the 4" grinder. The deck and bolts are now removed, and next we will weld on some expanded metal decking. Sydney is alway ready to help with little projects like this, and she loves to paint. I will keep you all updated.

The girls both had games this weekend.
Sydney had soccer, and Amber had a double header in Softball.
Sydney is doing very well in soccer as it is her first season.
She is competitive, and aggressive. She has been known to knock a few girls down.
She is pictured in the pink (Redhead). Sydneys team tied 2-2.
Amber pitched the first game of the doubleheader, and they won. She played shortstop in the second game which they also won. Amber had a smash out to left field that was barely caught. She also laid down a couple bunts.

Lake Elsinore brush with greatness.

Today we went to Lake Elsinore mx park, and rode the dirtbikes on 4 different tracks.
The main track is mostly for the advanced, but I put Amber on it because it was groomed the best. It was just Amber and I , and Jeff Ward. Notice the simliar riding styles.

Well the girls are safe and sound, back from Ohio.
Although I think at least one of them wants to move back there.
Everything was very green, and the girls went to a High School football game.
They also got to see the woods, hills, creeks, and misquitos.
Here are some pictures of their trip.

The girls went to Brandons Football game Friday night, and Brandon did well, as usual, but as a team they came up a bit short, and West Holmes won the game.
Here are shots of Brandon.











Kim and Sydney in the crowd.

I went dirt bike riding last night, and could not keep up with most the riders. I need to attempt more of the jumps (doubles, mostly).
I am very sore, and I need to ride more to build up my stamina, and skills.
I have been sitting here most of the day wishing I had another chance. I would sack up and jump that double.
I carpooled, and rode on the track with a gentlemen I met from the MX forum that I frequent.
He is a very good rider, and nice guy to talk to. Thanks for the company, Cody.


I found a picture of Amber pitching.







I also found a better picture of Kim.

My newest dirtbike was missing a rear brake caliper plastic gaurd.
I decided to make my own out of Aluminum. First I made a cardboard template, then I cut out (of some 5052 aluminum, .063in.) a bracket, and bent it into shape.
I had the bracket anodized today, but haven't taken a picture of it yet.
Here are some pictures of the template, and bracket.

Ohio.
The girls are in Ohio, seeing the cousins. It is pouring rain in Ohio right now, and Sydney forgot her jacket. Looks like there will be a trip to Walmart.
When Kim made a stop over in Newerk NJ. she could see NY City, and the Statue of Liberty. Great. Now she wants to take a vacation, and go to New York.
Kim took the digital Camera, so hopefully on Tuesday we will have some pictures to post.

Be sure to check out the links to the right.

I just sent out this link to some friends.
I am trying to find some recent pictures of all of us,
Amber, and Olivia.

Olivia and Amber


Sydney:

Eric



Kim in Vegas

I just spent the last 30mins trying to log in to this blog. I had forgotten the user name. I have more user names and passwords, than I know what to do with.
I did a Blogger search on "Ratza", and found a Matt Ratza, and a Mike Ratza.
They are probably from MI.
Kim and the kids leave tonight for Ohio.
They are going back to see Brandon play football. Brandon is Kim's nephew.

The kids have started their prospective sports for the fall season. Sydney is doing soccer for the first time. Amber is continuing her passion for softball. Amber is now on the Mira Mesa Magic softball travel/rec team.

In between all that, I will try to keep them riding their motorcycles.
Amber:













And Sydney:












I will post some pictures of the girls playing softball, and soccer, when I get a chance.