Today marks the last day of school for the kids! Hard to believe, but our little boy is now moving on to the 5th grade.... top of the elementary school food chain, so to speak! I can remember it like yesterday, when we were taking him to pre-school in Laurel. I am so happy and proud of him, and for him....yet it makes me just a bit sad at the same time. My little guy is growing up fast!!! And Sierra, leaving first grade behind and becoming a 2nd grader this next year! WOW!!! :-)
So, after a half day of school today, school is out for summer!!! Of course, there is NO summer weather just yet for them to really enjoy..... but perhaps we will go find it over in Moses lake in a couple of weeks from now. :-)
Tomorrow, off to Portland, for Father's Day weekend, and for the Petal Pedal Century bike ride... YAY!!!
Wednesday, June 15, 2011
Tuesday, June 14, 2011
Portland Time!!! :-)
It's only Tuesday, but all I can think about is that we are heading to Portland on Thursday!!! I suppose the fact that I work tomorrow is what makes it seem like we are leaving so soon. I have so much to do to get ready, and so much to pack..... and tomorrow I will be at work, so it all has to get done today!!! YIKES..... I haven't even started to prepare!!!
No ride yesterday! :-( Excuses, and poor weather to blame!
Today, no ride thus far..... too cold this morning! So, I spent all day on the tractor, mowing the fields, and then drag harrowing. Got it all done, and am now waiting for Evan to get home from school, so he and I can go ride together..... around 15 miles! :-)
Tonight, we BBQ steaks for dinner. Then, after dinner, hair cut time for me....followed by packing and preparing for Portland!!!
Oh, and this past weekend, Evan's team took second place in their division at their baseball tournament in Ferndale!!! :-)
No ride yesterday! :-( Excuses, and poor weather to blame!
Today, no ride thus far..... too cold this morning! So, I spent all day on the tractor, mowing the fields, and then drag harrowing. Got it all done, and am now waiting for Evan to get home from school, so he and I can go ride together..... around 15 miles! :-)
Tonight, we BBQ steaks for dinner. Then, after dinner, hair cut time for me....followed by packing and preparing for Portland!!!
Oh, and this past weekend, Evan's team took second place in their division at their baseball tournament in Ferndale!!! :-)
Thursday, June 9, 2011
Serving up lunch, then serving up some miles!
Yesterday was set to be the annual "field day" or "play day" and family picnic lunch at the kids' school. But of course, due to recent weather once again, the fields remained both wet and soggy and spongy! So, the field day of games was cancelled, and replaced with an indoor movie instead. Bummer, but it worked out I suppose.....
Tracie and I headed to the school at 11am, where we helped serve food to all the kids and their parents/families. Afterwards, we stuck around for kitchen clean-up as well. We were busy, so we didn't get to have lunch with our kiddos.....but, we made good points with them by bringing them each their own Subway lunch, so they didn't have to eat the school lunch of fake beef hamburgers!!!
When we were finally done at the school, we came home. The weather was holding off just right for a much needed ride. So, I enjoyed myself a cup of coffee and a protein bar, and got myself ready to hit the road.
I left the house at 2pm, and rode for the next 2+ hours, logging 40 miles, with an overall average speed of 18.79mph. A really good ride indeed. This ride was primarily flat, with some rollers throughout. I rode south and west first, into the wind, and over into Ferndale. Form there, I worked my way north, stopped off at Medic 3 for a drink and quick visit, then onward back home once again. :-)
Got home feeling really good, and proceeded to make a nice BBQ game hen dinner for Brad and myself, as Tracie left to go meet Tiffani Stauffer for the evening. BBQ game hens, grilled zucchini, and a beet and carrot salad......very nice, and quite tasty.
After dinner, we sat down and watched the movie, "Star Trek" for the evening, before heading to bed to call it a day...... and now, it's a new day, and I am off to work once again!
Tracie and I headed to the school at 11am, where we helped serve food to all the kids and their parents/families. Afterwards, we stuck around for kitchen clean-up as well. We were busy, so we didn't get to have lunch with our kiddos.....but, we made good points with them by bringing them each their own Subway lunch, so they didn't have to eat the school lunch of fake beef hamburgers!!!
When we were finally done at the school, we came home. The weather was holding off just right for a much needed ride. So, I enjoyed myself a cup of coffee and a protein bar, and got myself ready to hit the road.
I left the house at 2pm, and rode for the next 2+ hours, logging 40 miles, with an overall average speed of 18.79mph. A really good ride indeed. This ride was primarily flat, with some rollers throughout. I rode south and west first, into the wind, and over into Ferndale. Form there, I worked my way north, stopped off at Medic 3 for a drink and quick visit, then onward back home once again. :-)
Got home feeling really good, and proceeded to make a nice BBQ game hen dinner for Brad and myself, as Tracie left to go meet Tiffani Stauffer for the evening. BBQ game hens, grilled zucchini, and a beet and carrot salad......very nice, and quite tasty.
After dinner, we sat down and watched the movie, "Star Trek" for the evening, before heading to bed to call it a day...... and now, it's a new day, and I am off to work once again!
Wednesday, June 8, 2011
Petal Pedal Just 10 Days Away!
Hard to believe that I am just 10 days of training away now from the second annual Petal Pedal century ride, in Silverton, OR.
I have been saying that the weather this year has held me back from logging nearly as many rides or miles on the bike as I had last year at this time..... and looking back on my bikejournal.com log, it has turned out to be true!
At this point last year, I had logged 32 rides and 887.64 miles, whereas this year I am only at 22 rides and 724.82 miles. A full 10 rides behind last years training, and a full 162+ miles behind at this point and time!!! YIKES!!!
So, what does this say to me? It says I have 10 days left to get myself ready for my first century ride of the season!!! What do I have going for me this year over last year? I have lost more weight, a fair amount even, and am in much better shape than I was last year at this time, not counting the cycling component of fitness. What do I need to do over these next 10 days I still have to prepare? Time to eat right, exercise diligently, and ride whenever possible, including at least one 50+ mile ride before we head to Portland next Thursday!
I am quite excited about riding this years Petal Pedal century ride. I am excited first because it will be my first ride of the year with my very good friend, and fellow brother firefighter, Scott Taube! I love Scott as a brother, and thoroughly enjoy riding with him, and just hanging with him whenever we get the chance. I introduced Scott to cycling last year, and he has taken off amazingly with it, and is doing fantastic! We rode Scott's very first century ride together last year at the Petal Pedal, on it's inaugural year!!! I am also excited about riding this ride because the route is so beautiful and wonderful and fun and scenic..... what a great ride! And I also am looking forward to this ride because at the end of the day there is wonderful food and beer awaiting at the finish line!!! :-)
So, 10 days to get myself in some shape for cycling my first century of the year...... better get going, I need to log some miles today, just as soon as the rain all goes away!!! :-)
I have been saying that the weather this year has held me back from logging nearly as many rides or miles on the bike as I had last year at this time..... and looking back on my bikejournal.com log, it has turned out to be true!
At this point last year, I had logged 32 rides and 887.64 miles, whereas this year I am only at 22 rides and 724.82 miles. A full 10 rides behind last years training, and a full 162+ miles behind at this point and time!!! YIKES!!!
So, what does this say to me? It says I have 10 days left to get myself ready for my first century ride of the season!!! What do I have going for me this year over last year? I have lost more weight, a fair amount even, and am in much better shape than I was last year at this time, not counting the cycling component of fitness. What do I need to do over these next 10 days I still have to prepare? Time to eat right, exercise diligently, and ride whenever possible, including at least one 50+ mile ride before we head to Portland next Thursday!
I am quite excited about riding this years Petal Pedal century ride. I am excited first because it will be my first ride of the year with my very good friend, and fellow brother firefighter, Scott Taube! I love Scott as a brother, and thoroughly enjoy riding with him, and just hanging with him whenever we get the chance. I introduced Scott to cycling last year, and he has taken off amazingly with it, and is doing fantastic! We rode Scott's very first century ride together last year at the Petal Pedal, on it's inaugural year!!! I am also excited about riding this ride because the route is so beautiful and wonderful and fun and scenic..... what a great ride! And I also am looking forward to this ride because at the end of the day there is wonderful food and beer awaiting at the finish line!!! :-)
So, 10 days to get myself in some shape for cycling my first century of the year...... better get going, I need to log some miles today, just as soon as the rain all goes away!!! :-)
Monday, June 6, 2011
WOW!!! What a Weekend!!!
Friday afternoon, June 3rd, things began improving with the weather. For the first time in what seems like forever around here, the sun came out and the temperature started rising closer to that ever elusive 70 degree mark. Excitement filled the air!!! :-)
Evan's baseball team started off a weekend long tournament at Northwest fields Friday evening. The nice weather made everything feel right for baseball...... and the boys took full advantage of it by grabbing a win to start the weekend off just right.
Saturday morning had us back out to the field for our first game at 9am. It already felt like the middle of an afternoon on a nice spring day when we got there!!! Awesome......sunshine, blue skies and warm temps!!! Baseball was fun all day long, with the temperature reaching well above 70 degrees for the first time in more than 270+ days, or so I am told!!!
Evan's team did well again, battling it out against a 12 year old team for the first game, and coming up short with a loss. But they rallied hard for the second game of the day, and earned another win, which took them into Sunday's game at 11am...... though Evan had to be at the fields by 10am to hit in the home run derby for his team.
Saturday afternoon/evening, Brad and I rode together. Logged a wonderful 42 mile ride together, though we had tried for a 50+ miler. Brad had rear tire issues and his tire just wouldn't stay inflated, so we had to cut it short a bit....which was OK, since we needed to take the family out for some well earned Pizza @ Milt's in Lynden!!! :-)
Sunday was yet another fantastic day of weather, with slight wispy clouds coming in through the day, but the temperature climbing anyway..... reaching 80 degrees for the day!!!!!!!!!! :-) Made for some awesome baseball, and sunburn!!!
Evan's team did amazing, winning their game in a big way over Meridian! This took the team into the championship game!!! WOW.... we hadn't expected that. So, another game, which made 5 games total for the tournament for our team.... and some really tired boys!!! But, they did it!!! Our team pulled it off, played good baseball, and came away tournament champs for our division, winning with a score of 5-3!!! Very nice trophies were given out to all players and coaches, and the boys were very excited, as were all of us parents!!! :-)
After a long day in the sun, and a lot of fun at the baseball fields, we headed to Costco, on a Sunday afternoon, to see if we could remain intact with our sanity, while getting some good coupon shopping deals done on the last day before they expired!!! Crazy, yes....but we pulled it off, and really well. We even hit the DQ on the way home to get a refreshment....... then headed home to "relax" for the remainder of our weekend. :-)
Once home, it was later than we had expected it to be, by a lot.... and we were tired and sun burned a bit. Brad and I had planned to ride a 25 mile ride, but decided to wait for another day...... the lawn was really needing attention, and so we headed out and tackled lawn mowing for the late afternoon.
BBQ chicken for dinner, and then sat around for a while for the evening...... though Evan and I both got our hair cut, and Sierra soaked in the bath. Turns out, this was one of the best weekends we have had this year so far!!! So sad that it is already over with so quickly..... we were loving it!!!
Come on weather, stay nice and spring like...... it makes us all so happy!!! What a great weekend we had!!!
Evan's baseball team started off a weekend long tournament at Northwest fields Friday evening. The nice weather made everything feel right for baseball...... and the boys took full advantage of it by grabbing a win to start the weekend off just right.
Saturday morning had us back out to the field for our first game at 9am. It already felt like the middle of an afternoon on a nice spring day when we got there!!! Awesome......sunshine, blue skies and warm temps!!! Baseball was fun all day long, with the temperature reaching well above 70 degrees for the first time in more than 270+ days, or so I am told!!!
Evan's team did well again, battling it out against a 12 year old team for the first game, and coming up short with a loss. But they rallied hard for the second game of the day, and earned another win, which took them into Sunday's game at 11am...... though Evan had to be at the fields by 10am to hit in the home run derby for his team.
Saturday afternoon/evening, Brad and I rode together. Logged a wonderful 42 mile ride together, though we had tried for a 50+ miler. Brad had rear tire issues and his tire just wouldn't stay inflated, so we had to cut it short a bit....which was OK, since we needed to take the family out for some well earned Pizza @ Milt's in Lynden!!! :-)
Sunday was yet another fantastic day of weather, with slight wispy clouds coming in through the day, but the temperature climbing anyway..... reaching 80 degrees for the day!!!!!!!!!! :-) Made for some awesome baseball, and sunburn!!!
Evan's team did amazing, winning their game in a big way over Meridian! This took the team into the championship game!!! WOW.... we hadn't expected that. So, another game, which made 5 games total for the tournament for our team.... and some really tired boys!!! But, they did it!!! Our team pulled it off, played good baseball, and came away tournament champs for our division, winning with a score of 5-3!!! Very nice trophies were given out to all players and coaches, and the boys were very excited, as were all of us parents!!! :-)
After a long day in the sun, and a lot of fun at the baseball fields, we headed to Costco, on a Sunday afternoon, to see if we could remain intact with our sanity, while getting some good coupon shopping deals done on the last day before they expired!!! Crazy, yes....but we pulled it off, and really well. We even hit the DQ on the way home to get a refreshment....... then headed home to "relax" for the remainder of our weekend. :-)
Once home, it was later than we had expected it to be, by a lot.... and we were tired and sun burned a bit. Brad and I had planned to ride a 25 mile ride, but decided to wait for another day...... the lawn was really needing attention, and so we headed out and tackled lawn mowing for the late afternoon.
BBQ chicken for dinner, and then sat around for a while for the evening...... though Evan and I both got our hair cut, and Sierra soaked in the bath. Turns out, this was one of the best weekends we have had this year so far!!! So sad that it is already over with so quickly..... we were loving it!!!
Come on weather, stay nice and spring like...... it makes us all so happy!!! What a great weekend we had!!!
Wednesday, June 1, 2011
May Finale.... Mariners Baseball
With the month of May at its end, we decided to do something fun while Grammy & Papa were still with us, visiting over Memorial Day weekend. So, we purchased left field bleacher seats to the Seattle Mariners vs Baltimore Orioles game for last night, 7pm game time.
We left home @ around 3:45pm, after getting the kids from school, and headed into Bellingham, where we picked up uncle Brad from work. After a quick pit stop at The Woods coffee, we hit the road and headed south.
We had a great time at the game. Our seats were a lot of fun, and a different view than we had ever had before for watching baseball. The weather was just right, and the roof was open for the whole game! We ate a bunch of high priced junk food, watched some fun baseball, and just had a fun family evening together. Evan and Sierra both really enjoyed themselves!!! To make things even better, after being down the whole game, and looking at a probable loss, Seattle gets a three run home run hit, with two outs and two strikes, in the bottom of the eight inning! Seattle wins, and we have fun yelling and screaming and clapping like crazy!!! :-)
The drive home was good..... the kids watched a movie, adults slept, and I drove without any traffic to deal with. We were home before midnight, and with the kids only having a half day of school today, we made the decision to just keep them home, let them sleep in as long as their bodies will allow this morning! :-)
Grammy & Papa will leave today to go back home. It is now officially June, though with the weather, one would never imagine it. I would swear that we are just heading into April..... crazy!!! But alas, it is June 1st today, and that means it is time to prepare for the end of the school year for the kids. It also means that I have only two full weeks to get myself physically and mentally ready for this years Petal Pedal century ride, with my good friend Scott Taube!!! We will head to Oregon for Father's Day weekend on June 16th, the day after the kids get out of school. We will celebrate Scott Taube's birthday while we are there, as well as Father's Day, and of course, Scott and I will spend Saturday, the 18th, on our bikes....riding 100+ miles through some very beautiful and scenic country!!! :-)
So, time to get busy! We have a lot to do in the next 15 days, and today is already well under way!!!!!! I gotta go get started... see ya!!!
We left home @ around 3:45pm, after getting the kids from school, and headed into Bellingham, where we picked up uncle Brad from work. After a quick pit stop at The Woods coffee, we hit the road and headed south.
We had a great time at the game. Our seats were a lot of fun, and a different view than we had ever had before for watching baseball. The weather was just right, and the roof was open for the whole game! We ate a bunch of high priced junk food, watched some fun baseball, and just had a fun family evening together. Evan and Sierra both really enjoyed themselves!!! To make things even better, after being down the whole game, and looking at a probable loss, Seattle gets a three run home run hit, with two outs and two strikes, in the bottom of the eight inning! Seattle wins, and we have fun yelling and screaming and clapping like crazy!!! :-)
The drive home was good..... the kids watched a movie, adults slept, and I drove without any traffic to deal with. We were home before midnight, and with the kids only having a half day of school today, we made the decision to just keep them home, let them sleep in as long as their bodies will allow this morning! :-)
Grammy & Papa will leave today to go back home. It is now officially June, though with the weather, one would never imagine it. I would swear that we are just heading into April..... crazy!!! But alas, it is June 1st today, and that means it is time to prepare for the end of the school year for the kids. It also means that I have only two full weeks to get myself physically and mentally ready for this years Petal Pedal century ride, with my good friend Scott Taube!!! We will head to Oregon for Father's Day weekend on June 16th, the day after the kids get out of school. We will celebrate Scott Taube's birthday while we are there, as well as Father's Day, and of course, Scott and I will spend Saturday, the 18th, on our bikes....riding 100+ miles through some very beautiful and scenic country!!! :-)
So, time to get busy! We have a lot to do in the next 15 days, and today is already well under way!!!!!! I gotta go get started... see ya!!!
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