Fun in the Snow

We spent the morning playing in the snow. After 12" of snow last week there was more falling today. The boys loved their first trip to a "hill" to sled.

When we returned home we shoveled the driveway and then made a giant snowman. He started off around 7 feet tall, but was quickly melting with the temperatures above freezing.

Christmas Blizzard 2009

Doesn't look like there will be any bike commuting in the near future.

Halloween Fun

We had a full week of Halloween fun. The boys love to go checking out and trying on masks and wigs at all of the Halloween stores. We had a large Spirit shop close to us this year, in addition to Party City, which is always full of fun accessories.

I guess the boys are just the right age because we ended up with 6 nights of parties and trick-or-treating this year. I think the fact Halloween was on Saturday helped to extend it all. Also, nothing conflicted with anything else so we were able to hit every party in town. By Saturday night we were actually ready to just lay low and take it easy. I watch the K-State game and handed out candy while Sharla took the boys around the neighborhood for awhile.

Below are a few pictures from my work party. We had a lot of participation this year. My team decorated our room as the demented circus. Other rooms were The Nightmare Before Christmas, Studio 54, Bug World and Where the Wild Things Are.

Brady's Pumpkin Patch Field Trip

Last Thursday Brady's kindergarten class went on a field trip to the pumpkin patch. They had a cold, wet day but seemed to enjoy getting out of the classroom anyway. Brady was proud to find a big white pumpkin that he plans to turn into a ghost.

Pumpkin Patch Photos

Wednesday Brett and I went on a field trip with his school to Johnson Farms...

Colbert Hills

Yesterday we drove to Manhattan, KS for "All You Can Golf Day" at Colbert Hills. The weather was great and we managed to squeeze in 43 holes after our 2 hour drive. Good times.

Reno

My coworker Ryan and I traveled to Reno, Nevada Wednesday for meetings with the city. That evening we rented full suspension mountain bikes from our hotel/ casino and rode north to the nearest trail. It was an interesting experience climbing a rocking trail up a desert mountain.

The Walgreens below was just south of University of Nevada's campus. Looks similar to Kemper Arena with the exterior truss holding up the roof. Hope it has more people inside than Kemper.

Tour of Missouri- Kansas City, MO

I had an excellent weekend at the Tour of Missouri. Today we headed downtown to the Power and Light District to have some lunch before the race started. After Sharla and the boys took in the start of the race they headed home for naps and I took my bike around to check out different parts of the course. KCP&L was pretty fun because they had a stage with an announcer commentating as they rolled by, and I could watch football AND the race on the TVs in between the live action.


Summit Street on the west side of downtown was the most unique area because of all the neighbors out to support the race and cheer riders up the largest hill on the course.

It was my first year watching the race after just getting into cycling over one year ago. While I ride nearly everyday now, my mileage totals to and from work and no comparison to what these guys put up in a week. It was pretty amazing to see how fast they move, especially after having ridden one hundred miles over the course of 4-5 hours.

Tour of Missouri- St. Joseph, MO

Today Brett and I headed to St. Joe while Sharla and Brady stuck around KC for a birthday party. The Tour of Missouri professional cycling race was going from Chillicothe to St. Joseph, and we were camped at the finish line to watch them speed in. I was surprised by the entire thing, but specifically by the number of tents set up and the speed of the peloton as they came steaming down the street toward the finish. It was definitely an exciting experience. They averaged around 32 mph for the 4 hours (110 miles) they were out on the road. I can't wait to check out the final stage tomorrow in KC!

1000 Miles

It has been a down week for bike commuting, but I went over 1000 miles on the year today. Looking forward to watching the Tour of Missouri bike race this weekend.

House Painting

We're not done, but certainly making progress. We focused on the front over the weekend to give the finished appearance from the street. Certainly a big improvement over the bright yellow we've been living with the past 7 years.

Kindergarten

Today is unofficially Brady's first day of kindergarten. We went with him for about an hour this morning and he stays until noon. Mom requested a photo shoot before we left for school...

Weekend Warrior

Sharla and I spent each night last week painting the house while the boys were in Lebo with the grandparents. I have been wanting to paint the house for a couple of years now, so it was nice to have a block of time to get a good start on it. The yellow with white trim was never either of our favorites, but we lived with it long enough.

The first night was spent priming the gutters and garage door to accept our paint. The second night we were able to roll out a coat on the back and both sides, pretty good progress for one night. The second and third nights were spent brushing the front. After two coats on most of the front it was starting to look better.

Adding the sample can of trim color really improved the looks. We're starting to see what it can actually look at when it is done, but rain has delayed a lot of work and washed away some, so now the boys are back and we'll be trying to figure out how to squeeze an hour or two of painting in an evening between entertaining them and dinner and bed time.

With the boys in Lebo all week I was able to ride my bike to work all 5 days and my truck didn't even leave the garage since we were spending the evenings painting. Unfortunately, on my way home Friday I busted my rear derailleur trying to get the chain to hop back on after it tangled up on the back. Luckily, I hadn't made it more than a block from the office so I walked it back and called for a ride.

Sharla's parents brought the boys up Friday so we could all go to an Ice Cream Social at Brady's new school. He start kindergarten tomorrow and we are all very excited for him. Brett is starting preschool this morning, although he went for 3 days with Brady before we went on vacation. It is a big week and we hope it goes off without a hitch.

While Sharla took the boys back to Lebo for a party Saturday night I stayed around and painted. I got quite a bit done Saturday afternoon and evening before the rains came. Unfortunately, half of what I did was washed away Saturday night/ Sunday morning. I was also supposed to go on a nice long bike ride Sunday morning which also got washed away. Anyway, I was about to find some dry trim to start painting Sunday when David called and wanted to go golfing. His baseball game had been rained out and it seemed like the perfect excuse for us both to go golfing.

We ended up at Tiffany Greens and enjoyed a beautiful day of golf. It may be too wet to paint or play baseball, but rarely is it too wet to play golf!

CARS-R-COFFINS

TODAY I SURPASS 900 MILES ON THE BIKE FOR 2009 AND 1500 MILES SINCE I BEGAN RIDING LAST AUGUST. IT IS A GOOD WEEK FOR RIDING SINCE THE BOYS ARE SPENDING THE WEEK AT GRANDMA'S. WITH NO KIDS TO PICK UP FROM SCHOOL MY TRUCK HASN'T BEEN DRIVEN SINCE WE DROPPED THEM OFF SUNDAY. ZERO CO2 EMISSIONS ALL WEEK! AND TO GO ALONG WITH MY NEW CARS-R-COFFINS WATER BOTTLE I THOUGHT I WOULD JUST LEAVE MY CAPS LOCK ON TO BE EXTRA ANNOYING. HAVE A NICE DAY!