This is my favorite time of year because it is all about family and being thankful for what you have. So much of our time seems to go to what we don’t have, how we should get it and all the negative that surrounds us.
It is nice to take some time to celebrate the beauties of life, ourselves and those amazing people we have around us.

My birthday was this month and as much as I love birthdays, I realized turning 29 is really not that big of a deal. It is always so cool to hear birthday wishes from people you had no idea they even knew it was your birthday. That and having my husband wake me up with his oh-so-beautiful voice singing me happy birthday was all I needed for the bday. That and that killer smile my son has =)

For my dad’s birthday (the big 7-0) we threw him a surprise party up at a cabin near Big Bear lake. My younger sister and her 7-month old son Kyler flew down from Oregon, my older sis drove up from San Diego, and my brother came in from nor cal. For the surprise we all hid in the back of the house, and when my dad walked in, all that was sitting there were the 2 babies (Caleb and Kyler) out in the living room with bday party hats on!  My dad was so confused and then tears came out when he realized his whole family was in one house to celebrate him for 4 days. Love it!

For Thanksgiving we took Caleb to meet the whole Mendoza side of his new family. It is so cool to see how he handles being handed off to so many people. Aunts to Uncles to cousins to second cousins to random people that we are not real sure who they are or how they are related (those with big families know exactly what I am talking about) =). But Caleb welcomed all this new family with smiles, giggles and even the occassional gas grunts =)

In between all this QT with family, I have been working out and hitting like mad, getting myself back to try out for the USA national team in January. Pretty crazy to think the last time I put on a USA jersey was at the Olympics and I have had a baby between then and now. Looking forward to seeing my teammates and the Olympic Training Center in Chula Vista. Lots of work between now and then — but that is why we Love it, Dream it, Live it, right?

I have also been chosen to be an Olympic Ambassador to help prepare the winter Olympians for the Games in Vancouver this February. Worked with the ski team in Colorado and had so much fun being on the other side of things. Can not wait to watch Bode Miller, Julia Mancuso , Lindsay Vonn and others kick butt for Team USA!

Now I am off to do a clinic in Imperial, CA and then flying to Louisana for a Women’s Sports Foundation fundraiser with Billie Jean King and Lindsay Davenport. Busy, busy but much more to come!

Stay tuned and always Love it, Dream it, Live it!
Jessica Mendoza
#2 USA