Last night we went on a family bike ride. We live out in the country, but about 3 miles away is the local Coliseum - so we rode with Joel in the bike trailer and packed his strider bike (a small bike with no pedals that Joel strides on and learns to pick up his feet and balance before moving on to a big bike with pedals). Anyhow - we made it up there and we were in the parking lot letting him ride around and he decided he wanted to go up the "big hill" (basically a long ramp up to the building). The first time, he went part way up and got a little speed and picked up his feet. The second time, he and daddy go all the way to the top and although I am a little concerned, I decide not to be the mom who doesn't let her little guy try anything and let it go. Well, he was doing great until the very end when he had gotten a little overconfident and started to wobble and then - boom - went flying over the bike. Of course, I ran over to him and I had to hold him. Although he was crying he looked at me and said, "Mommy can you put me down so I can shake it off". Do you think he has heard that one before?! He shook it off and got right back on the bike! It was so sweet and little funny too. However, last night and today he wants to call everyone we know to tell them that "he thinks he hurts" - he ended up with two nice raspberries on his elbow and knee. So - on behalf of Joel to everyone that we know - Joel thinks he hurts!
that is great. We've tried that with Luke and he used to try and physically shake things off. But for the most part we are still working on the tough thing
way to go, joel! (good thing he didn't pull a jubie: falling off her bike on a steep hill like that and sliding down the rest of the way on her face. now THAT'S an owie!)
Yeah I think there is an age range where they really care about parties and I don't think Luke feels he's getting the shaft yet. But they are so much work when you go all out (which I can't claim to have EVER done) and they are expensive - especially with party favors. Its really strange to me the whole giving gifts to your guests. :)
He is growing up mom! Still needs the hugs, but wants to be the independent big boy. Memories are wonderful and you made one that day! Glad to hear all of you are doing well, with the exception that Joel hurts. Please Pray for me as I go through breast cancer screening.
Hey Amy. "No wheat" is my rule. I don't think I'm gluten intolerant, like a celiac. They have more severe and immediate reactions, but I think I might have a delayed reaction to wheat. I have (mostly) cut it out before, added it back into my diet, and I usually have a 2 week window before I start feeling bad again. But if this doesn't solve the problems, I have a list of other things I will target.
so i know that i was shocked at you for reading the whole twilight series as fast as you did, but - *hangs head shamefully* - i read them all this weekend. and am now skimming back through them. i didn't sleep a wink friday night for reading...remind me to tell you about the 3 a.m. moment with marius,
and a mouse (we'll call him felix),
in my bed,
with me.
it was horrible. also, i went out and bought the first two. i love them that much. i'll wait for the others to come out in paperback. hope you've had a great weekend in st. louis! kent's devotional tonight was really good...all those scriptures on joy...it was like a glass of water after going without for a couple of weeks. can you tell i'm tired? i'm writing a silly novel on your blog. sorry 'bout that. k, bye!
That is SO true about the toys! Every time there is a birthday or Christmas I worry about the best thing to get the kids and then I realize they still never play with the things they have. Sticks and rocks are Luke's all time favorites. And Lily likes whatever Luke has in his hand at the time. :) That's been fun lately!
I had to post this funny story from last Sunday. Joel came out of Bible class with a card made of construction paper. I asked him what he studied about and he took his card and said..."Noah built an ark and then God made a rainbow." Then while he was opening the card that had a pop-up rainbow in it, he said "and God said 'Ta-Da'". I had never heard that one before - but Joel was very impressed! :) I probably won't be able to see a rainbow anymore without thinking "Ta-Da"! :)
so sweet...I wish we could all see things the way a child does..I mean, maybe that's what God was thinking! Ta-da! That's great, I'll have to pass that one on!
haha! that's cute! yup, we're still on for tomorrow night. i haven't heard anything back from amy...i hope i didn't scare her off with the description of what we're doing! :)
Well, we are back from our trip to Colorado and it was a blast. We had such a great time. Joel wanted to "fish" the whole time - I put this in quotes because he has a pole with a fake fish on the end and this is what his daddy casts for him - so he always manages to catch one!! :) He also enjoyed hiking with us and running around outside throwing pinecones and rocks.
Kent managed to talk me into climbing my first 14er (or Mountain over 14,000 feet). We decided to do Uncompahgre Peak in the Southwest corner. We got up early around 4:30 and drove up there on a very rough 4 wheel drive road. We started the hike around 7:45 - according to the register there were 10 other people on the trail ahead of us. We made it in about 2.5 hours and it was quite a climb - I am posting pictures below. I should mention at this point that I have a HUGE fear of heights, so this was no small feat for me (especially the scree field we ran into).
Here is the peak from the trail:
Here we are at the top:
Here is the view from the top - pretty amazing:
Kent wanted us to make a sign...here it is...the exact elevation was 14,309 feet - the sixth highest in Colorado. The lack of oxygen at this point made me think the people who do Everest are CRAZY!
Finally - I had to include a picture of the scree field (basically rocks that aren't so stable). The picture does not really do it justice as it was STEEP and did I mention I was afraid of heights. I wanted to quit right after going up this and asked Kent if we were above 14,000 feet so I could say I did it (he had a GPS watch on). He said no - he told me later we were at 13,997 - nice.
So - who wants to go climb mountains with us next time?!
Well - it has been a hectic past few weeks. Joel went to see my parents in Atlanta for a week and although I was really missing him by the end of the week - he was having a blast and didn't seem to miss us that much! I went down there for a week to visit and pick him up. We went to the Aquarium and the World of Coke (tried some very interesting flavors) and also up to Chattanooga to see Lookout Mountain. We had a great time and Joel was finally ready to come home by the end.
This past weekend, Kent and I went up to Kansas City for a race called the Dirty Duo. We went with two other teams (two other guys Kent works with - one raced with his wife, the other with his brother). The race is a total of 6 miles long and one teammate starts out on the bike and one running. Approximately every mile there is an obstacle that both team members must complete and then they switch disciplines. So, you each end up running 3 miles and biking 3 miles. At the very end the last obstacle is a big mud pit that you have to crawl through. Kent and I ended up with a time of 54:54 - not too bad. The worst part was the hills which is kind of hard to train for in central kansas (we do some inclines on the treadmill, but it still isn't exactly the same). I will post some pictures below to show you how dirty we ended up!
Next up is hiking in Colorado next week and then I am (possibly) going to try out a small adventure race at the end of July and then my sister and I are going to do an urban race in DC in August (which looks to be my favorite).
Here we are crawling through the mud pit - I am probably telling Kent how much I love this race!
Here we are exiting the mud pit and getting ready to run to the finish:
Here we are smiling at the end - I think my face is muddy because I was trying to take a nap right in the middle of the pit - it was pretty exhausting!
So - if you are in the KC area this time next year - join us for the fun!! :)
That looks like SO much fun! I am sure that you liked the World of Coke. I remember your room being entirely draped off coke items. Do remember that movie we used to watch at your house? Okay..the name totally slipped. It was about those orphan teen girls that go to live with a rich family. I want to say it was "Rags to Riches" but I am not sure.
The American History Museum is currently CLOSED! Don't get me started ... that was on the top of my list. Instead, she'll be looking at spacesuits at Air and Space. *sigh*
I started trying to do 14ers myself and have 11 conquered (I think...). I've never done one in the area you're at though. If you have the chance, giving yourself time to acclimate to the altitude will be good. Aspirin is also nice to have when you're head is pounding from lack of oxygen (and you have sore knees).
Warning - for those of you that are not parents, you are going to think I am a loser - which I am, but I still try and live in denial!!
So - Joel is finally potty trained...yes, if you have been keeping up you will notice we started back in Feb. We stopped for a while as it was just not going well and I picked it back up about a month ago. Anyhow - after much gnashing of teeth, many loads of laundry, pulling of hair, washing of bathmats later - we are finally there. Let me just say that this has been my LEAST FAVORITE part of parenting thus far. I am sure I will change my tune come teenage years, but for now all I can say is yuck! Pathetically enough we were so thrilled that we threw a potty party - yep - you read that right. Really, is this the stuff I get excited about now? I guess I just have to laugh!! :)
In other news - my mom is in town this week and will be taking Joel back with her for a week. Then I go down there to spend a week and pick him up. Joel is SO excited - he loves flying and really loves going to see Nina and Pop (Joel's name for my parents). I am sure by the end of the week I will be in complete withdrawl, but right now I am excitedly making a huge "To Do" list to complete.
At the end of June my husband and I are competing (on separate teams) a race called the Dirty Duo - it is six total miles of alternating biking and running - then at the end you crawl through a huge mudpit - sounds like fun huh? Maybe I'll have to post some pictures of the messiness afterwards!!
I don't miss those days. I just revisit them often because I have a "bed-wetter". I can't complain, she got it from me. I remember taking diapers to spend the night with friends. This was before pullups.
Hey Amy! It's Becky (Modin)! I've kept up with you a little on here but wanted to finally say hi. And congrats! How old is Joel now? I was thinking he was close in age to our son. We have a son, Luke 3 1/2, and a daughter 1 1/2 Lily. So fun! You are a nicer mommy than me! My kids rarely get to be away from me. But it does make it easier that our parents are only an hour away. I'm going to put you on my friends list - I'm espcially intrigued about that race you and your husband are doing!
