Treat Of A Trip: 2018 Cape Cod, Massachusetts

Cape Cod, MA

June 30-July 2, 2018

With Khloe's intense schedule from Fall to Spring, end of the school year is always that refreshing breather for our little Rivera Family. It has been my goal to always try to plan something for us, especially for her. She's been bringing us so much pride the whole crazy year, that she simply deserves a good vacation.

And because of that, I searched high and low for good ideas to where we can spend the long weekend. As a rule, I try not to go back to where we've been before. For that, I decided to check-off MY hidden bucketlist - - this year, it's Cape Cod in Massachusetts.

Why Cape Cod? Why Massachussets?

Cape Cod is one of those places on my bucketlist that a lot of people I know would never think of going. Hence, I am going. Keep in mind - - I don't do 'norm'.

Massachussets, on the other hand, is home to Harvard University. That Ivy-League school everybody wanna check out.

So, longdrive we did.. and Massachussets we hit. This year, we were with my bestfriend's little family. Khloe had a blast as she was with her bestfriend. Helps a lot with the driving part, multipled on the fun part.

We left Friday night and arrived at Cape Cod early in the morning. Traffic slowed down when we were entering Cape Cod. As our check in is not until the afternoon, we checked out the beach. Nauset Beach is where we headed. The shoreline seems to stretch out forever, and Atlantic Ocean just seems so powerful. 

The girls enjoyed splashing with waves.. despite the cold sea water... and tried their best to beat the waves from destrying their sand fort and castles. With no luck, the high tide crept in.. and we decided to hit our resort.

Town N Country Family Resort

With reasonable rates, close to almost everything, this resort boasts an indoor and an outdoor pool that the girls enjoyed so much. The hot tub is haven for us, tired moms. The best part, it has an outdoor public grill that we can use. We peruse this amenity and had sumptuous meals all the time. 

Smugglers Beach

The boys (dads) decided to pick up fishing supplies and wandered for hours. After dinner, they brought us to this beach and try their luck on fishing. As the girls just got off from the pool, they decided to stick with fishing and forego the beach. It was a beautiful evening. Unfortunately... the fishes didn't bite. 

Kid's Fishing

We decided to get to a boat and try fishing. We opted out of whale watching as the boys are really not into it. Kid's Fishing is so reasonable and accessible, even for last minute plans. For 90 mins.. we enjoyed fishing for baby sharks and carps and even crabs. I even caught a teen-shark, a first catch of that size as per our guide.

Cape Cod Inflatable Park

As this is a kids treat of a trip, we indulged the two with a treat to this Inflatable Park. They had a blast at H20 water park and the Challenge Park. This inflatable idea is something new... and the girls just enjoyed themselves immensely. 

Harvard University

While we are in the state already, we took a sidetrip to Boston/Cambridge and took The Hahvahd Tour. Our guide gave us a 60min tour of the university. He shared a lot of history, informative facts and interesting features of the university that made our Khloe got so interested. It was reasonably priced and easy to book. I recommend it to anyone whose on the go.. and just want a glimpse of this oldest university in the U. S. 

It was a good trip. We had fun. We collected beautiful memories. I wonder what I can come up with for next year. 

Support What They Love

As parents.. we try our best to give our kids the best of what we can provide. We work hard, strive more.. and aim for more, as long as it brings home "a lot of bacon".

This is, with all hope that our kids would take note of all our efforts and will do their end of the bargain. All hope that they will study hard.. and do good for their own future.

Hopefully.

Most of the time... I'll tell our Khloe that we will support her, on her every heart's desire - - within our budget (or lack of it). This has been my goal as a mom ever since. That we will raise Khloe.. a happy kid, and try to keep up with her every skills or talents.

Khloe is not a dreamer. She is more of a realist. A VERY cautious realist. She never dream to be anything. She just wanna try to do what she thinks she can... and go from there. But one thing is for sure.. She is a girl of many tricks.

What we did, as her parents, was support her. We let her try  things that she want to try. We encouraged her when she got cautious. We cheered for her when she doubted herself. And it was not easy. Since she was 3 years old... we never stop supporting her with what she loves. It may be time consuming, whacks our budget(or lack of it) or never in our plan, BUT we still let her explore her skills. Her talents.

And on anything she do well, she shines. She gets recognized. She gets encouraged. And with our support, she finds her niche. And in this most comfortable state, she shines some more. She delivers. She finds where her heart is.

And she get confident of herself. Of her skills. Of her talents. Of her academic excellence. She fights bullying with her silent defiance of its shallow intent. She was taught to speak up for wrongdoings, and ignore the pettiness of dramas. She knows the good deeds...and she is always reminded to give credit to where credit is due.

This is what our love and support made her - - a strong little girl, who can fight her battles, and knows where she belongs.

We hope for her not to crave for attention, because we instilled in her everyday, that humble people will outshine a room full of fancy intentions.

Support what they love, and they will appreciate the beautiful gifts given to them.

That Surprising All-aroumd!

Jr. Jungle Challenge

3rd/Last Competition for WAG Level 2 Age 9yo +

It's been an interesting journey, as our little gymnast faced this WAG Level 2 stage of her gymnastic life. The first competion, Chinese New Year Challenge (Home), was gut-wrenching --as it's our first time for this level. The second competition, Milton's Springer Challenge, was a confirmation of her skill set. And the third competition, Jr. Jungle Challenge, was a test of her strength and weaknesses. These are her Level 2 scores for all three competitions.

This competitive world is a revelation to Khloe, and even to us, her parents. It's a totally different environment from the PreComp last year. All these kids are still young to feel the pressure and the tension of competing, yet, it's already there. It's in the air, no matter how much the parents would deny it. And it's still surreal for me and my husband, as we are still in this oblivion that we are still in here for Khloe's joy. 

But still, reality bites. The other parents could actually drag you into this competitive mode. Then,  you find yourself checking out the real-time scores online. Then, you find yourself holding your breath everytime they start the dismount. Then, you check out the standing online. Then, you get scared of that 9.800 because somebody could still do better. Then, somebody beat that score and you lost hope on the over-all. Then your athelete screwed up on the bars. Fell off on the beam. Screwed up on the floor. Messed up on the vault. And finally... you started adding up the scores. And realized -- she hit that 37.000 + threshold again!! And you prayed Thank You. For her safety. For her good scores.

This has been the story of our lives the past few months since competition started. We came into this journey all blind. No expectations. No clue of what Khloe can do. Then, she pulled out all these medals since Day1. Gold. Silver. Bronze. She even had a certificate for Most Confident on Beam. At first.. we thought it's just a one-time achievement. But she pulled another sets of medals for the next competition. And another set of medals for her last competition. And what she can't believe is garnering that Gold/First Place medal for All-around on her last competition. It was her best triumph for this year. She was pretty proud of herself. 

All-around is  a huge deal. We realized that towards the end. The score kind of define your skill set, of where you are on all of these 4 events. It made Khloe realized that consistency is needed from her. That she has to stay on her game on every event, and try her best everytime. And she proved herself once more, that she can do it, even if that means not being first place on any/if not most or all of the events

This journey has taught Khloe a lot. She grew up so much, not just as an athlete, but as a girl who is determined to stay on the top of her game. This is notwithstanding the other activities she's into: acro, ballet & Math Club Classes; and consistent straight A's on her report card. Her gymnastics strength balances out the sensetive Khloe that she is, emotional, tearful & soft-hearted. 

It's a humbling experience for her and for us. Whether or not she'll continue,  is all up to her. But one thing is for sure, there's no pot of gold at the end of her rainbow, if she cannot weather the storm, first and foremost.

Little Bestfriends

Khloe is one lucky girl who is surrounded with awesome friends.
She is comfortable playing with the boys, and hanging out with girls. She is friends to almost everyone, and appreciates each of them as individual. She doesn't pick one, nor fight with another.
She treasures her friends, just as how much she treasures her family.

But being lucky does not mean she gets spared of the daily harshness of these little graders' world. Of course, there is that bullying issue, the "where-i-belong" drama, and the "i-don't-wanna-play-with-you!" moments. Khloe is just like the other kids, she went through some of those moments. Howerver, she does not go home from school thinking about it and feeling sorry for herself. Most of the time, she forgot to tell me. Just goes to show how little of an issue it is for her to deal with. This doesn't mean she thinks less of bullying. She is just one strong girl, and knows how to deal with it her herself.

Strength in mind and heart.
Khloe is raised to deal with issues in school, by herself first before excalating it to us, her parents. Despite her weak demeanor, we tried to raise her to never let anybody deprive her of her rights and her choices. She may be a cry baby, but she is one strong girl. Hence, as much as she treasures her friends very much, she can actually put them on their places if they push her to a corner.
She knows her rights and her wrongs, and will gladly let you know yours as well. Say that one time her friends made her choose between the new girl (who is getting bullied) and them (whose been her friends since) -- Khloe chose the new girl. Why? Because she grew knowing it is her Christian duty to protect the weak. And she's been doing this eversince. That is one thing that we are very proud of her.

Friends are forever no matter what.
The only thing that breaks Khloe's heart is when her friends separate from her. As Khloe choses to protect the weak, she befriends most of them and connects with them sincerely. However, these kids do not stay long in the area. They have to leave, much to Khloe's dismay. But that does not stop her from making beautiful memories with them. In their own little way, these girls collect moments, share ideas and spend as much time as they could have -- knowing fully well that they will separate soon.

Tears are proof that you loved!
Khloe will cry again and again everytime she misses these girls.
My heart breaks watching her go through this everytime. But I am proud of her. I am proud of the kind of girl that she becomes. She might be broken for a bit, but the memories with them makes her a better girl. A better friend. A stronger friend.

Friends until the end.
A bestfriend is what Khloe is to her bestfriends. They are the ones who are always there, even if Khloe is too busy with her activities. They are always there even if Khloe cannot spend as much time with them. They are always there to understand her, to protect her when she needs protecting, and play with her when their mood sets in. This is the friendship that Khloe is so proud to have, be that with the girls or the boys, around her. She loves her friends and she treasures them sincerely


Photo credit:
https://www.pinterest.ca/pin/480688960199202771/

An Athlete's Mom

I am writing this as a poignant reflection of the recent bus crash carrying  #HumboldtBroncos Jr. Hockey Team, taking away 10 athlete's lives, their coach and 4 others. Our family may not be a hockey family, but we are in deep mourning of this tragedy. We are, first and foremost, a Canadian Family in part, an Athlete's Family and a family who loves hockey. We are sending our sincere condolences to all the bereaved family and friends. As a mom, I am sending all my spiritual strength to all the bereaved moms who are going through this loss.

I can't imagine the pain, the deep sorrow, the anguish of these athletes' moms, or of all the moms who went through a loss like this. Or of ANY mom who went through a loss of a child.

As a mom of a competitive gymnast for more than a year now, I still have trepidation everytime Khloe goes to train for gymnastics, or competes on a bar or the beam events. Same trepidation I felt when I saw that victorious smile on her face when she tried an assisted cartwheel at 3y.o. on her first gymnastics class. And I think most, if not all, moms can attest to this, that there will always be THAT feeling, be the child an athlete or not. Maybe, just a different level of trepidation for an athlete's mom.

For those travelling athletes,  whose parents cannot come with them all the time, that waiting-period of parents for their athletes to be home is always heart-pounding. A game's WIN is nothing compared to that heart-warming embrace a child can give to their parents. Knowing that they are home, in your arms, is the GOLD or the WINNING TROPHY  any athlete can give to their parents. And for those parents who are with their athletes during training or competition: the simple fact of bringing their athletes home, all in piece -- with no broken bones, is way, way more important than winning medals or trophies. As parents and as moms, this is our ultimate wish.

Personally, my bitter-sweet surrender for Khloe to go competitive is a journey by itself. As a mom, I was so torn on whether or not to sign her. The invitation for her to join the ODP program was so fast, leaving us a whirlwind of chaotic adjustments on our schedules and individual lives. All my trepidation was set aside, to let me focus on how to organized our crazy-enough scheduled lives. UNTIL competition hit. Until I saw her swinging on the bars. Up on the beam. That rotten feeling came back again. Got worst when after a year, she levelled up to Women's Artistic Gymnastic proper. When the swinging on the bar gets harder. When the choreography on the beam gets tougher. When the scoring is not about how pretty they are doing the skills, but by how many errors and deduction they would do instead. As Khloe's mom, I hold my breath everytime she is up on the bar, or on the beam. I might be holding my camera, but my heart is pounding and hoping that she won't fall and hurt herself. I am first and foremost her mom. And I will feel this way forever.

Hence, I have very HIGH respect for those moms of every athletes who do sports that have more physical contact with others, or more dangerous than Khloe's gymnastics. I always believe that what we all feel is the same. Our fears are the same. Our hopes and wishes are the same.

We just want our child to be safe, be that on triumphs and or losses!
We will forever support what they love!
We will forever pray for their safety!
We are a parent!
We are a mom!

An Escape @ 40th

Trying something new!

It has been our goal to try something new each time we celebrate something. I, personally, do not like doing what everybody seems to do. I prefer to do things my way, the opinion of others be "you know what!". 

When I turned 40 five months ago, we celebrated by having a night cap with close friends, at this Filipino Bar with a live band playing. It's been a while since I have done this, so it was really a treat for me. I only wished the band played more Filipino songs. But who am I to complain. Live band.. booze.. good company. Enough said.

For my husbands 40th birthday this February, I decided to try something different again. A novelty is always a good thing. Escape Room!

So back then, I have a different notion when I first heard of this 2-word activity. Then, at one time, when I was at work, a colleague explain what it is this room. And it just made me curious ever since. 

Escape Room, is not an adult-only room. It's way, way, way more fun and General Admission! Escape Room is actually a Game Room. In plain words, it's like coming in a room to solve puzzles and unlock locks -- and try to get out within the time allotted (1 hour, 2 hours -- varies with every room). So here's our experience.

I signed us up into a Team vs Team game for an hour, with the Theme: Classroom. At first I was thinking of combining each team with some Gen X and some Millennials. When we got there, the combination did not happen. The Millennials decided to gang up against us, WISER Gen Xs. There were 5 of them nerds and 5 of us wise people. Hah! They really thought they're way ahead of this game. Guess what -- ? They are not. Just 2 in-locks away from us. BUT -- both teams not able to get out! The kids claimed they were 2 locks away. And because we are the humble-wise-grownups, we claimed the truth, and that we are 4 locks away. Or maybe make that 5 locks? 

Overall, it was an awesome hour of celebrating a birthday. I will not get into the details of what to expect inside -- coz that is pretty much the beauty of this game. Just do not expect anything to escape. It's worth it.. and it's an experience you wanna do again and again. 

You can book it as a 3-person game. or a Team vs Team. It is not a walk-in kind of game. Be sure to book it ahead. And just be yourself. Bring some common sense. and Do NOT overthink. 

Credits Image from: http://escaperoom.org

A Taste of Gold

Our little gymnast.

This morning was Khloe's first competition for Women's Artistic Gymnastic, Compulsory A, Age 9, Level 2 . She exceeded expectations. She blew us away. She was incredible. Today is one for the books. 

She started this gymnastics journey with no clue of what a competitive world is like. All she know is that she loves gymnastics. She started at 4y.o. for a Spring and Summer session with Club Jump (Recreational gymnastics only). Just for a try. She was excited then, because that year, they don't offer Acro Class for her age, at her dance school. Gymnastics captured her heart. However, she chose to take ballet and acro for Fall. So gymnastics was pushed again for every Spring and Summer. 

Then, Gymnastics Energy, a club for both recreational and competitive gymnastics, moved closer to the heart of the city. This was in 2016, when Khloe was 7 y.o. I've been wanting to register Khloe here because of good feedback, especially with training. I wanna see how far Khloe will go. 

So Spring of 2016, she started in Gymnastics Energy. After her first session with Sr. Rec. Girls, she was advised to do the Summer Session to prepare for a test, so as to be considered for Mini Stars/Interclub, their feeder program for competitive gymnastics. Khloe took the Summer Session, and did the test. Just like that, she was asked to register for Mini-Stars (a younger group for 4-6y.o., as her skills are not as strong enough for Interclub). She started the Fall with Mini-Stars, and come October, she got invited to train for Pre-Comp as part of the ODP (Ontario Development Program) come November.

It was whirlwind. I was hesitant at first, because being part of the competitive program is double the hours of a recreational, and double the cost as well. It also involves parent-volunteer hours and fundraising campaign. We have to think twice. Khloe was nervous, too. The thought of competition scared the heck out of her. But it is such a sweet invitation. Khloe was so proud of herself to be invited, given that she's only been  with the club for 6 months. 

November 2016 started the whole parade of crazy schedules that left our lives up side down. The fact that she is not a strong athlete yet, and training so late, the first competition coming January 2017 is like a storm looming. But Khloe, the trooper that she is, trained like a pro, molded her skinny built into this rigorous world of gymnastics. 

Come January 2017 competition, ODP level, and she surprised us with an All-around Silver. Second competition gave her another Silver for All-around, and her 3rd competition finally landed her with an All-around Gold. This is depite preparing for a recital for Ballet and Acro, which happened two days before her last competition. 

And just because Khloe is into the competitive world, her outlook in life changed. NOPE. She still still the same Khloe. She even added swimming into our crazy schedule. She even managed to get the most coveted academic award in school year end -- Literacy Award for her grade. This is a back-to-back award for her every year end. She still managed to maintain her straight As. 

So as a treat, we had a weekend-getaway to the Big Apple, New York City. This is our treat for her, as she added the Eye of the Tiger Award for the Yearend Banquet of Gymnastics Energy on the top of her academic award. 

Only to come back for another 4 weeks of Compulsory Gymnastics Camp for the Summer. No rest there, indeed. But I think, once an athlete, always an athlete. The 2 extra weeks she rested away from training, which she filled with a STEM camp and a Robotics Camp. More brains, no training is NO good for a gymnast, that Khloe can't wait to be back for Fall. 

September 2017 Fall started.. and we ended up with this first competition today. No qualms, no expectations.. Khloe surprised us today with:

Gold - Vault

Gold - Beam

Bronze - Bars

7th - Floor 

Bronze - All-around!

Special Award - "Most Confident On Beam".

Totally surprised... it took us moments and back at home before it all sunk in. Our very own, Khloe Chantalle, got herself some GOLD!!

You gotta be kidding me? But surely those Gold Medals are real. 

We are so proud of this patootie.. and we are so happy to see that proud smile on her face. 

Aim high...hold on to your dreams.

That Podium, with no. 1 on it, was just once a dream for her. Today, she was on it..not once, but twice.

Can't be any prouder!