Birthday Challenge is postponed due to....my birthday!

D'oh! Well actually it's a bit more complicated but I'll keep the long-story short. Amy's brother had his birthday yesterday and with her Uncle in town from Minnesota the family wanted us to celebrate our "joint birthdays" on Saturday. Aran has a soccer game at 8AM and well the day is just too full of things to pull off the challenge. So, now it's been bumped to next Sunday, Nov 2nd. Stay tuned...

Zip-a-dee-doo-dah....zip-a-dee-ay

My, oh my what a wonderful day!

And so it begins...

Our little boy is now officially on a team. Aran went to his first soccer practice today. It was supposed to be last week but he was sick. No more mountain bike rides for Mom & Dad on saturdays. They are now Soccer Saturdays!


The whole family went to practice. They started by doing some stretching. Giana wasn't about to let Aran have all the fun so she joined in too. Then they chased Coach Ryan around the field dribbling their ball...


Then it was time to try and score a goal on the assistant coaches...


After all that work it was time to get their uniforms! Aran got his favorite number - 1 - just like Thomas!!! He even got his name on his jersey too.


Now that is one happy boy!


His first game is this saturday. I'm looking forward to watching the little huddle of humanity going up and down the field...as the Blue Lightning strike fear into other Tempe Youth Sports teams!

Sedona camping trip

With a week before Aran started soccer we decided this was our last chance to get out of town for a while. Our local RideAZ mountain biking group had a camping trip planned to Sedona, AZ and we decided to go. We've been to Sedona many times but had never actually camped there. The Chavez Crossing Campground is right in the heart of Red Rock Country and easy riding distance to the trail system. We set up camp and Aran was ready to go for a ride! I hooked up the Trail-a-bike and we were off. The campground is right by Oak Creek and the road out is a steady climb. Aran wasn't much help pedaling up, but he sure kicked it in on the ride down! The boy likes to go fast.... I know he's out of focus in this picture but the look on his face says it all...



The kids had a blast camping and hanging out with their friend Robin - even if it was a bit cold.



Amy & I enjoyed a great group ride on Saturday too.



We rode the usual loop (about 20 miles) that included Submarine Rock!


The kids were having a great time and didn't want to leave but we had to pack up early Sunday morning so that I could get back and go watch my Dallas Cowboys get beat by the Arizona Cardinals in person! We should've stayed in Sedona....

Trail-a-bike meet trail!

Aran was excited to take his new ride out on the dirt. We decided to take a family spin in the woods behind the cabin. Aran & I made the maiden voyage and Amy pulled Giana in the bike trailer. We headed out not knowing what to expect. We packed a lunch "just in case". Well we managed to ride a good 6+miles and had a great time.

We did stop for lunch. Aran enjoyed his plain cheese sandwich...

...and Giana loved her PB&J...

Giana decided pants were not necessary in her trailer.

Maybe next time we'll ride down this hill...


Maybe...

1st ride back!

I was finally cleared by my doctor to ride on Wednesday! He said just no weight-lifting or boxing and I'm good. I thought about the amount of force exerted on my hands by the handlebars when I'm flying downhill on the bike and have to simultaneously brake hard and maneuver up/over/around an obstacle.... I said NOTHING but thank you Doc! :)

I had thought A LOT about where my 1st trail ride would be. South Mountain? Hawes? Phoenix has a lot of good options but most are fairly rocky and technical and I thought I should do something a little smoother that would have a lower probability of possible crashes. (haha)

Well Amy & I made a last minute decision to head to Flagstaff for the weekend and that made the decision easy. The 1st ride would be on my favorite Flagstaff trails - Mount Elden. Since it was just Amy, the kids & me, I'd have to go solo on the ride while she watched the kids. Rarely do I ride solo but this seemed appropriate since I really wanted to go at my own pace and reacquaint myself with the trails, the bike and gauge my bike "fitness".


The trails were in perfect shape, the weather was fantastic and the ride was incredible. It was nice to be back on the bike and even nicer to be riding in Flagstaff! I happily enjoyed the miles of suffering - climbing above 8,000 ft after the 3-month hiatus. I've got a long way to go to get ready for the Birthday Challenge, but this was a great start.

Aran's 4th Birthday!

Aran turned 4 on 08-31-08. I was lucky enough to score a slightly used Adams Trail-a-bike on Craig's List for his birthday. I was hoping he would a) be big enough to ride it and b) like it. We were having a big birthday party for him in the afternoon but I thought it would be a good idea to give him this present early so that he wouldn't have to try it out in front of everybody - just in case it didn't go well...

Well, it was a big hit with the boy.......and his dad too!

He can barely reach the pedals with the seat all the way down and I still need to adjust the handlebars a bit for him but it was a smashing success for a "first ride". This says it all...

He had a great day. He enjoyed his swim birthday party and is still trying to play with everything he received. Amy & I were pleased that we just pulled the whole thing off and are ready for some rest. It all just seemed like a big whirlwind. Amy knocked herself out on his birthday cake. Aran is all about Spiderman right now.

The things you do for your kids... It's all worth it to get smiles like these.

Back on the bike - in D.C.

Amy & I spent the week at my company's national convention in DC. Well, we were actually in Oxon Hill, Maryland but close enough... This was the 1st time either of us had been to our Nation's Capital. It was also the first time Amy had travelled with me to the convention. Since her birthday was Friday the 29th, I thought it would be a good idea to maybe do a "birthday ride" and see the sites if my schedule allowed. She also let me know that she'd be up for a ride on the trip by sending me emails with bike tours available...subtle I know...

I have followed my doctor's instructions to the letter but a chance to get a ride in and see the sites in DC with Amy so close to her birthday was just too hard to pass up.

Well as luck would have it, we had an afternoon free and I found a bike shop in Old Town Alexandria that rented bikes. We caught a water taxi and crossed the Potomac River (never got tired of doing that!) to get to the bike shop. After some minor problems with the bikes we rented, we were off! We followed the Mount Vernon Trail north along the Potomac River. We rode across the Potomac on the north side of the 14th Street Bridge and into Washington, DC and spent the next several hours at the area known as The National Mall.

SO much history to see, so little time... We visited the monuments, the memorials, the White House, The Capitol...and on and on... The World War II Memorial was special to me in particular since my father fought in that war but they were all moving to both of us.

I'm sure my doctor would understand why I had to defy his orders and take advantage of this opportunity. It's not everyday that we get to "ride into history". It was a good day to be on the bike...

Walking the loop!

We spent the weekend in Flagstaff and as usual, we headed out to "walk the loop" behind the cabin. It's about 2 miles of interconnected trails. As we headed out Amy & I joked about how long it would be before Giana & Aran ran out of gas and asked to be carried home. They took off running, laughing and each yelling: "You'll never catch me!"

It was a perfect day. The temps in the low 70s and partly cloudy. The kids were really enjoying themselves. They were even cooperating with us re: picture taking.

We were not in any hurry. We investigated every flower and rock and tree. We stopped as always at the "see-saw" tree and practiced balancing it.

Before we knew it, we were back at the cabin. BOTH kids walked the entire loop for the first time ever. Sweet!

Simple Things

One of the greatest gifts in this world is getting to see the world again through your child's eyes - and sharing their joy with the simplest of things. The amazing wonder of blowing on a dandelion...

Where DOES the time go? It seems like just yesterday I was gazing into the newborn eyes of my "Baby Girl"!

But that was Valentine's Day 2006! She's now 2 going on 13! And as she likes to tell me forcefully: "I'm not a baby girl. I'm Giana!!"

I know...I know...[but you'll always be my baby girl... :) ]