Poppy days...

(Poppy and Olivia on the trail)

It seems that some weeks have a particular child that is the spot light during the week. The past few weeks have been Poppy weeks...From alergic reactions, recitals, bug bites/stings, and a new bike she has been the family star.
She is the new proud owner of a pretty pink bike, with a basket. She loves to ride. She surprisingly hasn't complained about getting strong legs. She asks to ride frequently, and I sorta wish we didn't live on such a hill so that she could ride a bit easier from our front door.
We went out for a ride on the trail the other day with her good friends Olivia and Lucy.
Last night Poppy rode to the swamp. I think we are training a new Bicycle queen...

(Poppy pooped-out after the dance recital...she fell asleep on the ride home)

She also had her first Dance recital. Being 3 1/2 years old it was no surprise that she was adorable.
We also learned the new art of Recital hair...her dance teacher said we should tie her wispy hair in rags so that we would be able to put it into a side ponytail.This is what her hair looked like the morning after...total afro. It went into the pony tail like a charm. It was hilarious seeing her with such fuzzy hair.

Well, she is a growing fun girl with a bundle of energy and love.
I'm really looking forward to summer!
I'll try to post a bit more frequetnly...it's just that life is happening and trying to stop to document is often put on the back burner.

Spring...stuff

Ladies ride...my odometer read 40.5 miles at the end of the ride...
All I can say is that these ladies were tough!!! Seriously we had a head wind for 3/4 of the ride. That is we only got a small break at the half way point before a storm blew in and made us push the rest of the way home!! It was a nice intro back into real life.
The Hazel girl slept the ENTIRE ride!! from eatign at 8:15am she slept until 1:30 pm. It was awesome!!! This bodes well for the up-comming mother's day ride.
Ashely, Maren, Me (Hazel), Betina(Georgia), Kristin...Sadly not pictured was Camille who met us a couple of miles down the trail. She was the one who kept reminding us that the wind resistance was "more calories ladies!".
Poppy is fitting well into the middle child...slightly neglected and self sufficient. I know this role well being that I'm #six of eleven. I do love how handy she is. Always so resourceful. Lov'in the outfits!
We also made a visit to Oscar's class so they could all meet Miss Hazel. It was a great day!

Out and about town

(Weekly ride to the Farmer's Market in Moscow)

This summer has been a summer dedicated to more biking. You may or may not know that I had a hip issue that still isn't quite back to normal. Therefore, this summer I have determined to make it a bike about town summer.
Oscar is a camp on his little bike and despite the fact that he has a single speed, tiny chain ring, he peddles that little bike about town. It is about 2-3 miles each time we ride down into town and we have lately been doing it pretty much daily. That doesn't even count the miles he rides behind mom and dad's bike. (I think Saturday he rode 20 miles behind my bike and then an additional 3 on his own!) This boy was born to ride!
We are looking into possibly getting him on a bike with gears. It shure would help him out with our big hill we live on.
Currently we try to set a goal each time we ride our hill. We count the Lampposts. So far he has made it to lamppost #4. Lampost #6 is almost at the top. Somedays are better than others, especially depending on how much he has worn himself out at the pool.
The other day he and I were riding down our hill (it was 97 degrees outside) and I thought to myself, wow it dosen't even feel that hot out here. The bikes really create more wind and it makes riding around town much more comfortable than riding in a hot car!
Poppy on the other hand is quite content to ride behind me in the trailer. Here is a picture of her priming in front of the mirror.
The other day while she was screaming in the store, one of my spinning students saw us. Yesterday in my class she commented on how well behaved Oscar was...and that Poppy sure seems to be feisty...Yeah I think so.
Sunday we spent the afternoon reading some books and enjoying some Jello in the back yard.
FHE @ The pool. What better place to hang out as a family than at the pool.
Not to mention that dad make a great fish friend. Oscar loves to be a fish too. He even goes off the high dive (which I belive is 12 feet).

I lvoe being a mom to my two cute kids. This summer seems to be super full of fun activities and things to do that it seems we are all exhausted by the end of the day.
Today we opted to hang out at home and catch up on some house work...I think I woudl rather be out playing.

Oodles of catch-up

Wet, rainy ride.

When a group of mom's have their children cared for, and have scheduled a ride, they won't easily be persuaded to forfeit it due to a little(or a lot) of rain. Thus we freeze our appendages, and huddle like bunnies on bikes just to be out and enjoying being alive. We did cut the ride shorter than the planned 42mi. We will settle for 25 (The return half with a headwind and strong rain).

This is the garden progress...ahhh, to see things getting green. I am seriously considering getting a air-soft gun for Ricky's father's day present, to fend off the ravenous bunnies. They are not adhering to the liquid fence rules!!! We are going to have to call in for reinforcements. Our Home teacher said he would shoot them, but he can't in city limits....darn.
Smiley has been fired of bunny duty...he is NOT doing his job!!!
Ahhh...the new chariot. We have seriously been breaking in our new Jogger/ trailer. Kids love it, and the parents like to push/pull it.
Goal for summer: Master pulling the tike's to the top of our hill, without being breathless. Going nicely thus far, but looking forward to the giant Quads I will have at the end of summer.
Oscar's class field trip to the High school's "AG days" Yes, this brought back many FFA memories. A little uncomfortable to remember those awkward days of the past (notice cowboy clad HS student in his "cowboy-up" cool gear and his sweet pair of aviators to round out the outfit, yikes!).
Oscar seemed to love checking out the tractor. Maybe Rick will live vicariously through his son when he decides to become a farmer.
And since we can't be real farmers, we make it a hobby in the back yard. The seven chickens are growing up nicely, however they seem to be racist. The golden ones leave out our black and brown ones. They will pick on them and will keep them from getting food. Luckily the two outsiders are feisty and can hold their own. Oscar is a good caretaker and loves to catch, pet and care for them.
This is also the sad picture of the going away dinner for the Weikins...we will miss their fun family (and delicious bike treats). Otis (on the far right) enjoyed playing with the chickens too...maybe his parents will get some chickens when they get to Vermont???
Frog hunt! Lately we have been frog hunting. Current frogs caught total is 4. No we haven't brought them home, merely catch and release.
Rainy frog hunt. Due to the cold rainy weather we just had to get out of the house. No frogs were found this day...too cold. We were cold too, but happy to be out and about.

Life is full of busy fun times lately and I always think of a million things I want to post. Then it requires me to actually sit down do it...I'll have to work on that. In the meantime, you can rest assured we are in fun spring-time mode and look forward to school ending this week and having the summer (if it ever gets warm around here) to play!

Ricky's 32

(Ride to Troy...here is Rick, and me the little spot in the background)

Up until right now I have upheld my birthday present to Rick...An entire day of Rick oriented activities. This list includes: No driving, a nice long bike ride (42 miles), lots of yard work/play, no company or friends, no cake, lots of chocolate, and a whole lot of family time.
This my friends is the perfect day for my sweet spouse. It even included me NOT blogging about him.
That was yesterday...and so today, I will blog.
Our bike ride to Troy was great fun. It was Oscar's first 42 miler on the trailer bike. This is a pic of him holding up mine and his bike at the turn around point. He was disappointed not being able to ride behind dad.
At one point in the ride, almost to the turn-around, up a hill, and against the wind (which means I'm not moving faster than 10mph). He says to me, "Mom, when I get bigger and can ride a big bike by myself, I'm going to go much faster and farther than you."
To this I reply..."Oscar, then you will know what it means when I say we have a HEAD wind and a hill. It is a bunch of work, not to mention pulling you too."
On the way back he was happy that we had a tail wind, and our speed was significantly increased. I also don't chase down other riders quite like the Daddy. (While we are on the subject, where so those dog like reflexes come from anyway???)

For the sake of honoring the perfect birthday, I will refrain from getting all mushy and telling the whole internet world all of the amazing things about my great husband. I will suffice to say that I married one really great guy and everyday I'm grateful that he decided to marry me. I think we make a great team!
Happy 32 Ricker.

3rd annual Mother's Day Ride

The Mammas Total number of Kids between us all=26
Top Row:Jen(1), Ana(1), Nikki(3), Betina(3), Tera(4)
Bottom Row: Me(2), Kelly(5), Beth(5), Jori (2)& baby Ezra(10 wks old!!! Jori is amazing)

Yesterday us Mamma's embarked on our annual Mother's Day ride. For 60 miles we ride, chat, snack, and soak in all of the beautiful surroundings. In fact this year is probrably the year with the best temperatures. On the way out we had little to no wind, and on the return we had a mild headwind but nothing bad. It was such a great ride!!

Here is a pic of one of the two nesting bald eagles we saw off the side of the trail.

Turn around point! 30 miles out. Ladies stretching and taking a little break.

Here is one of a pair of Moose we also saw off the side of the trail. They just looked up at us and kept on eating.
That is why I love being on a bike. I can be part of nature and just soak it all in without flying by, never really experiencing the beauty around.
Here are a few of the ladies about 9 miles out from the end. Still looking strong and note Beth (in the green shirt) this was her first ride over 10 miles. She was so strong and really such a joy to have on the ride!! I think this may be a bright beginning for her. She's got the makings of a bicycle queen.

Each time we do this ride I find myself in complete awe at the incredibly beautiful world we live in. So often we get wrapped up in the everyday struggle of balancing daily life and world preservation, that we forget to really enjoy what we have. I often wonder what would happen if we were to get every human being on a bike, and have them feel the air through their hair, the sun on their nose, and the confidence that comes from knowing that we each have been given such amazing bodies.
The wonder of the gifts that God has given us are so prevalent when you are experiencing it on a bike. Things slow down, our bodies and minds wonder, and suddenly we are lost in a whole world.
That is just one side of this ride...the other is the whole experience of doing this with other mothers. As we ride we talk about our families, things we are working on, problem solve, encourage, strengthen and come away with a renewed sense of motherhood. Here are a few of the lessons I learned along the trail yesterday:
-Beth's strength reminded me of something I have learned many times before: Our bodies have a much greater capacity to do, than our brains think. We cut our bodies short by setting up a boundary that we think we cannot cross. Yet when we find ourselves at the gate, jump over, we find about ourselves something that we never new existed before. STRENGTH!!
-Resiliency: there are many instances (I won't go into detail) but multiple stories of rebounding growth from tragedy and trials.
-Love: Each woman was just one more example of what it means to love others. All of them beam this radiance of love. They love life, their families, their community, and hold preciously in their lives the interest of others outside of themselves.
-Note to self: Pack your own lunch...the cheese Pizza and burger joint aren't nearly as tasty as a home made PBJ!
I will stop there, but WOW I love this ride and I love these women. Thanks for once again making this ride great!!!
The next post is about the AWESOME daddies who allowed us to escape for the day and made it all possible!!!!

Perfect day!

The Girls


"Alternate" Lentil Fest 2007-


As a child I remember my grandpa Dilworth playing the piano. He would play the prettiest music. One of the songs was called "The End of a Perfect Day". It is more of a ballad, soft hearted song, but after reflecting on yesterday, I would have to sum it up as a Perfect day!


We began our "alternate" tour at 7:30 am. (Alternate, meaning that we opted to start at the half- way point an hour before everyone else, catch up with the actual tour, and then stop back in the middle. We also shortened the ride a bit, and didn't pay the entry fees($20 each)). It was a really nice ride. Here are some shots (before my batteries died) of the ride.

Riders in front of me and behind!

I really feel very blessed to have so many great friends to ride with. I don't know why we haven't done this more regularly.

After our ride, we picked the kids up from our new friends house and went home for Poppy's nap. I went and made the purchase of an ipod nano (which I'm really excited about). After an outing to the store and Poppy waking up we went to the pool.

Sadly, yesterday was the last day of the outdoor pool being open. Oscar has been going off the high dive for the last week and I really wanted to get a picture. But as mentioned previously...the battery was dead! Tonight while putting him to bed I asked him what he felt like when he was going off the high dive. His response was "I was scared at first, and then I didn't think anything."

After swimming we rushed home to eat some cold cereal for dinner. Before heading off to the Lumberg's house for some seasonal blackberry picking! We brought the makings for ice cream and after a belly full of berries and playing with friends we topped the night off with some yummy vanilla ice cream we made with some blackberry/lemon ice cream the Lumberg's made, and some yummy lemon-iccee sorbet that the Weiken's made. It was all delicious and we sat outside this beautiful Victorian house (Lumberg's) with a beautiful country setting, stars shining, kids running through the beautiful green grass. It all made for a picturesque kind of day. A day when you have Lived!

I'm so grateful for a wonderful husband, kids and really great friends. Not to mention the pretty part of the country we live in. The wheat is just being harvested and the skies are a pretty blue. Live is good.

Picture Updates

Today is gloomy and rainy...although it's a nice change from the 95 degree weather of the weekend. I can tell it is getting nice out because I don't frequent my blog as much as usual. Here are some photos of the past few weeks...
The Adorable Poppy...picture taken while on our daddy-birthday camping trip.
Lil'O and the Popster hug for a photo on a morning walk last week...
Daddy's flaming birthday cake...happy 31 to the dad!

Mother's Day Ride with fellow mommies, twenty kids between the 6 of us,(Sue on the top left has eight of them) The ride was 54 miles on Trail of the Coeur d' Alenes. The first 15 mi. were rainy but the ride was beautiful! We had a great time and so much fun!
When seeing O' in this position I asked what he was doing...he said "Diving in the ocean".
The Popster meets a fellow Poppy...She wasn't too keen it's smell.

Spring Means Color!

This past week we have been experiencing COLOR. With Grandma in town, Oscar and Poppy are now sporting their new found love for tie-dye. Daffodils are gracing my table (courtesy of my hubby and the grocery store). Oscar can be found basking in the spring sunshine on a Sunday morning. And the Popster has found her sunshiny throne in the living room.

This is the time of year when I find myself wanting to climb out of my wintry skin and bask in the beauty and sunshine of spring. Saturday I did a duathlon with my friend Betina. We had a really great time. It was so nice to be out in the sun in shorts and tank top. (In light of the fact that I post way too many pictures of me in Lycra, I have spared you the sight of my wintry white legs on this blog...should you want to see the some pics from the race you can check out the B-Happy blog.)

Two more days till spring and life is already awakening from my wintry stupor. Life is GOOD!

Bike ride!!!

Today was the First ride of the season. We delivered Oscar to his first birthday party at a "McDonald's".
Earlier in the week when we read his invitation to the party, our conversation was something like this...
Oscar "Mom do you know where McDonald is?"
Me "Yes, I know where McDonald's is."
Oscar "My friends at pre-school get toys from McDonald's."
Me "McDonald's is a place to get food and you get a toy with your food."
Oscar "No, I know, it's where you get toys."

I was quite pleased with the fact that he had never had a "happy meal". Although, being the well-rounded, fair mother that I try to be. I allowed him to attend the party. He had a very good time and exhausted himself on the play equipment. Adam's mother did inform me that he wasn't very interested in actually eating his "Happy Meal". He liked getting the toy but we accidentally left it at McDonald's. He was a little sad to have left it but he received a spiderman puzzle from the party mom so he was OK with the loss.

A little while ago Old Warrior gave me an article that is really interesting... here is the link "Unhappy Meals" .

The Ride this morning was so nice and it was great to feel the wind in our face again. I found that I have a much better imagination about how fast I'm going on my bike when I'm teaching my spinning classes. With a nice strong head-wind I was not a quick as I thought I would be. Today, I'm grateful that I've been spinning over the winter...no saddle sores from the ride!!! Wooo Hooo!