April With Mat After Bringing Him Back To CA

This is a quick post about April after I was able to bring Mat back to Cali.  Athena wouldn't let us take Avi and kept us broken up for the summer.  This time Athena listened to Mat though when he said he wanted to go back with me to Cali and to finish his school year.  I was lucky to have had Rod's help to get out to UT to challenge Athena's abducting the kids.  Unfortunately when she lied to the court, they overstepped their authority for some reason (the usual UT legal B.S. and exactly why I don't live there!!) and granted her temporary custody until I could get the case moved back to CA.  I was SO glad to at least have brought Matrim back, but we missed Aviendha like crazy!!  Sending Matrim back was the first thing Athena did that I appreciated post abducting them.  It's what he wanted and what was the right thing to do.  I hoped it would lead to more good choices and us being able to work thru the mess...

Oh and until I get a new digital camera for my birthday I am stuck using my phone camera.  It isn't too horrible but I fell to 2 megapixels for awhile.

Athena took the car with her so Mat and I turned to walking, biking, and busing.  I still try to do as much of that as I can even having a car.  It was really great getting so much fresh air and exercise.  Mat and I had a great time working together to get places and it made things more adventuresome.  :)

The course is changed up since back then.  They gave it an overhaul not long after this pic.  This is the Manilla course that is right by the bay and ocean.

Rod was staying with us for a bit to get in a visit after our run to UT.

Haha! And this is the grass in our back yard.  It takes so much less time than you would think to get this long!  This is about the longest it has gotten, but it is what happens during winter where we get lots of rain but it is still warm enough to not inhibit growth.  I am finally adapting and getting better at keeping it under control since I moved to this rain forest from a mountain desert.  Here I never water and the grass grows crazy, but in UT it was water all the time and mow once in awhile.  :)  I alway say that my lawn here gets 5 o'clock shadow.   Mow it in the morning and by evening it's ready again!

That's the mower back there behind Mat.  :)

My Last Day Folfing With The Kids Before The Abduction

So the other night I found myself crying unexpectedly.  And it was from watching Mrs. Doubtfire of all things...!  I hadn't seen it since it first came out but I thought I remembered thinking it was pretty funny despite the need to suspend reality to have Robin Williams playing an old woman and none of his family recognizing him.  I got the movie channels for free for a day for some reason, so I decided to save Doubtfire to watch after dinner.  It was a hard watch, to say the least.  I had forgotten much of the show and it was crazy just how close my story of the past couple years matched the movie.  First his wife decides to focus on his weaknesses, faults, and quirks and not the positive and potential side of him and their relationship.  He knows things aren't as good as they could/should be but is blind sided when she decides they should divorce instead of buckling down to give fixing things a chance.  She then proceeds to follow up the divorce announcement with a court battle over custody of their kids.  In the court battle she takes advantage of the courts favoring moms, his quirkiness, and twisting the facts just enough to get everything given to her.  She abuses her court awarded powers and takes the kids (which are more important to him than anything, EVER!) and completely abuses him and the kids and their rights to have relationships and equal access to each other.  She only sees her point of view and doesn't even care when on the one day he gets the kids that she is busy trying to do too much and brings them to him late and interrupts dinner to pick them up early.  He meanwhile does his best to deal with all the B.S., missing his kids, her lack of keeping the kids apart from her negative ideas about him, etc. and still tries to stay positive about her (especially in front of the kids).  Then while still finishing figuring the whole situation out, she starts to date and to replace him with his kids.  He spends his time fixing his faults and improving himself and his quality of job being a dad which she doesn't seem to see or care about and still is primarily concerned with "holding all the cards" because she had the kids who are his heart.  

So much of this was familiar to me and I couldn't help crying, I miss my kids SO very much (and my wife and my family unit being whole)!!  Unfortunately it seems the odds of Athena wanting to give us a good try, even with me being new and much improved and my promise that all the things she claimed to be leaving me for would be gone and all the good things increased to take their place and Athena calling all the shots, are not high.  I do wonder why Athena has involved the kids and done some of the things she has done by going out of her way to hurt me rather than trying to make it work in a situation where she would have no more complaints and could call all the shots?  Or barring that then why not work together just to do our best we can for the kids.  Why try to use an ever changing list of mean tactics to try and get "control" and to hurt me?  From claiming I abuse the kids, then that I would take my anger with her out on the kids, then that I neglect them, then that I starve them, then that I am a criminal/drug dealer over medicinal marijuana, then that being available 24/7 to raise them right is actually a negative thing because they won't learn responsibility like they will watching her slave away at a crap job and having to have others raise them while she is stuck working, and on and on.  I don't understand all the lies and exaggerations and control etc. instead of just being fair and honest.  Like when I answer my questions with the attorneys and courts etc. about Athena.  I tell them what I honestly think: That she is a pretty good mom and anywhere that she has made this mess easier etc., but that I believe the situation I could give the kids raising them here in Cali would be preferable to being stuck back in UT.  About every other time I talk to mat he tells me about wanting me to come and get him and about liking almost everything about Cali better than UT.  And my response is always the same: I tell him thanks for the info, that I cant wait to have him back, and that Mom is fun too right.  The kids both miss Athena some when here in Cali, but they both would choose to be in CA vs. UT despite missing her.  My mom has seen many of the times where Mat, Avi, or both has said without provocation that they can't wait to get back to Cali and she has also seen how (and this is only being honest, not to try and make things a competition) little the kids miss Athena because of how good I do and that they don't miss UT at all except a few family members.  And I really do everything I can to discourage competition between Athena and I or their preferring one of us over the other.  But about the choosing CA over UT, I am open to should they want to tell me about which one they prefer and why (although it seems like Athena usually ignores their preferences since it isn't what I am sure she wants to hear).

Anyway, it is like I said before.  We are both good parents and since we will both probably never agree to giving the other custody, we should do what is fair.  I hope we can come to a good and fair agreement in which access between us and the kids is split and that we will scrap competing and all the crap it entails!

That all being said, here are the pictures of our last folf adventure before Athena left with the kids.  This was our Easter folfing and the kids and I had a really fun time!  We were all sad that we couldn't get Athena to hit the course with us.  We tried for awhile, but finally we had to hit it before running out of time.  This was Avi's first time to get out of the stroller and hike around with us.  After this game I got Avi started throwing at least one hole a game since she did so well out of the stroller and said she wanted to when I asked her.  Now she uses one of my discs and in coming posts you will get to see her throwing.  :)  Mat is always getting better and it wont be long til he is better than me.

Sharing with his Sis! :)  The only thing better than these two is both of them together!!

One of the good mid-flight pics I got this game.

I remember Mat had a great game this day.  I think he even beat me!

He has gotten really good at the side arm shots.  His drive accuracy and distance continues to improve and he even putts side arm!

An Aviendha Monster on the loose! :)

This is one of my favorites.  We were still working with Avi on the thumb sucking here.  Now when she is with me she does great at the no thumb.  :)

So cute and so much fun!  The kids and I have such a good time together.

Avi says she has had fun but is ready to head for home for food and potty.

Aviendha is SO cute and smart.  Lots of times she makes me let her try to buckle before I do it for her.

"I need a little help with the bottom buckle, Dad."

"Thanks, old man!"  My kids have the best smiles!

Lee Fong Park Folf Course in Weaverville, CA

I decided to try and surprise the fam and tell them that we were going on a day trip to check out a new course. Of course in our hurry to get out the door and on the way to get some food and to Weaverville (a few hours into the 299) I forgot to tell Athena to stop at the folf store so I could buy her a new driver (she lost hers during our last game). I tried making phone calls to find a place to try and stop on the way to the course or in Weaverville and Athena ran into a few stores to ask in Willow Creek but no luck! :( I did at least remember the camera and enough batteries to make sure we could get some pics our first time on the new course at least.
After we ate some pretty good food in Weaverville (Athena's burger was especially tasty) we made our way to the course and got our game going. I was worried the weather people had lied with some gray clouds over head but they ended up not dropping anything and keeping temperatures perfect for us. Athena tried to throw the first round with the discs she had but she has gotten too good and has too much spin/power now to throw the low speed discs. The only loaner disc I had was too high of a speed and so she decided to call it good and be the camera woman for the rest of the game when it got stuck in to top of a big tree.


Here is Mat part of the way into Hole 1. Several of the holes were long, low, and fairly technical.


Mat lining up his shot for eagle on 1.


:) This throw looks like it will be horrible and early and bomb to the left at this point, but with the spin turning it over it ends up past the hole on the right. I have been throwing with a little more spin/power myself lately (not as much improvement as Athena, but I am working on it :p) and there were a few times this day I over shot the hole and were I expected to end up.


Saving the par with a decent put back to the hole.


I can't believe how much better Mat has gotten this season too!! He's really getting that side-arm shot down.


Nice shot pal!


Eying the hole.


And time for the shot.


About the only time I grabbed the camera this trip was early on for these 2 pics. Nearly all the other and great pics in this post are Athena's camera work. ;)


And the throw is away!


Athena showing the line of site from disc to hole. There were a lot of trees and low ceilings here mixed with the challenging distance.



Trying to bomb this one up high, over, and around all the trees to fall in near the hole but it wasn't quite high enough. :(


Shooting under the trees from where my disc fell after it hit tree.


Another good eagle try from Mat to get it up to the hole.


Dad's turn but it's only a par saver.


And it's good! :)


Lots of elevation changes for the tees, holes, and several of the fairways, but nothing too bad and then all the hill/rock bunkers. It made it a fun game to have the course set up more like a golf course in those ways. This isn't even all the way back on the pad and that yellow speck is the hole.


An approach to another hole that is perched on a hill.


Excellent! :)


Mat's turn up the hill.


Athena's turn and my last pic of the day. NICE SHOT Bub!! The park looked like a pretty cool one. They had the built in amphitheater there on the hill and fairly new and well kept both the park and the folfing and the facilities there.


Break out a Great White! For the difficulty of the course I actually have a decent score and have at least saved several hard pars with 1 nice bird on the day. Avi had fun checking out the new course. She was so good and we were moving fast and so we ended up having time for 3 rounds of the 12 holes they have. Mat played almost the hole time and so we both got in over 30 holes in a good amount of time.


Mat for Birdie!


Can't remember for sure in the 36 holes I played but I believe this might have been this time on this whole I got the bird.


Me and my boy!! This hole was crazy because you had to drive from up on the hill and send your disc hurtling right at the parking lot to end up coming back left a little at the end and the hole was only about 15 feet maybe from the lot.


Our little folf angel! Athena was walking and Avi was in motion both when she took this pic.



At one end of the course was some private property where someone lived. They had horses and cows and at least one donkey! We took a break and fed the horse for a bit. He was a good horse and Mat had fun pulling up stuff for him and feeding it to him (actually it was a her).


Here comes sunset just in time to play the last few holes of round 3. Mat throws a bomb towards the hole and into the sunset. :)


Oh yeah it was this round I hit the bird on that hole! ;)


Last pic of the day and Athena catches the bird in flight! :) I can't wait to play this one again sometime.