The Ride of My Life (So Far...)

As I was thinking back over the Spring, trying to decide where to start "catching-up", the one thing that kept coming back to me was the MS150 Bike Ride. Let's face it, I was pretty obsessed about it! And really, weren't alot of you just about tired of listening to my constant bike related chatter? TOO BAD! It was really a bid deal to me, and an amazing thing to attempt and accomplish - even if I got off "easy" by only having to bike 1 day (though let me remind you that it was still 80 miles, with lots of big hills and in to a wicked head-wind!) thanks to the rain.

Over the course of late winter and early Spring, I went to Spin class every Monday and Wednesday night and Scott and I did several training rides in preparation. One training ride was a 25 miler in 38 degree weather on the hills outside beautiful Round Top, Texas. Another took us 40 miles from a start in Baytown, OVER the Fred Hartman Bridge, past the San Jacinto Monument with a little break as we hopped on the ferry (fun!). We enjoyed the sights of our great city on the 70 mile Tour de Houston (where I had my first crash!), and endured an awfully boring 70 miler through Katy and the surrounding area...made even worse by a horrible head wind.

Through it all, Scott was amazing! His encouragement and support kept me hanging in there and we actually had alot of fun out there on those rides. I couldn't have done it without him, and wouldn't have wanted to either! I love you, honey!!

Here's a picture of me at the re-organized start in La Grange

Look at all these riders! It's pretty amazing that an estimated 80% of the 13,000 riders were able to change plans and make it to the new starting point. It's a real testament to the dedication of the riders and the importance of the event.

And here we are having just crossed the finish line in Austin! We were so surprised that Scott's Dad was at the finish line. It was wonderful that he was able to catch this picture for us. As we rounded the UT campus, on our way to ride up Congress Avenue, I had a huge lump in my throat and was fighting back tears....I almost couldn't breath! It was the best feeling in the world!

Just in case you're wondering, I'm ABSOLUTELY on board for next year's ride!

And another big THANK YOU to my parents, Scott's parents, and to everyone who made it possible for us to train and ride...it wouldn't have been possible without you!

Long Time....No Blog!

I TOLD YOU SO! I knew I didn't need another thing to do, another thing to keep up with. But noooo....I caved to the pressure and just HAD to go ahead a start a blog last summer. Sure it went well for a while...you enjoyed it, right? Then the snow happened, and the holidays were upon us, and school started back up again, and, and ,and...!

So, while I'm sure my last post about the snow (*sigh*) is looking pretty refreshing about now, I'll try to recommitt myself to the blog and get a little caught up.

Here's to second chances!

I'm Dreaming of a White...Wednesday Night...!!

We had a nice surprise this past week...it snowed in Houston late Wednesday afternoon and in to the evening! The flurries actually started in our area late in the afternoon. If you stood real still and looked in to the bushes with the darker leaves, you could see them in the air. The girls thought it was great...in fact, Emerson proclaimed that it was "the best day of her life!"....miniscule, intermittent, snow flurries that didn't even reach the ground...she cracks me up!

A friend of mine and I went to a spin class that started at 6:00 p.m. that night. I dropped the girls in the kids center around 5:30 and it was misty and cold, but nothing exciting. An hour later, as we walked out of the gym, the area was blanketed with snow and it was coming doing pretty heavy. It was actually pretty fun to drive home in it!

Emerson of course, loved it....Kirby loved it for about 15 minutes and was then ready to go inside. Scott and Emerson switched to the backyard and stayed outside for about an hour!

Snow or no snow...as always...Trapper just wants to play!

Scott and Emerson's...uh, snowman...looks like a duck, huh?!

Look at our house...isn't it pretty?

The snow lasted throughout the night and melted away by mid morning the next day. It would be nice not to have to wait another 4 years for a little snow....

Radio J-O-Y

The children's choir at our church put on a Christmas program last Sunday evening entitled "Radio J-O-Y" (FM1225 on your radio dial! Get it?!). It was a cute talk-radio style show that told the story of Jesus' birth. The Cherubs (Emerson's age group) did great in the chorus...lots of fidgeting around on the stage, but great vocals!

Emerson has enjoyed being a part of choir this Fall and has asked to do it again in the Spring. Here's hoping she has more musical talent than her parents! :-)

It was also family Christmas craft night. Doesn't the gym look so cute all decorated?

What Turkey?

Emerson's class had a "disguise-the-turkey" project before Thanksgiving....you know, so the turkey wouldn't get eaten. You could disguise your turkey any way you wanted. At first, Emerson seemed stuck, so we tossed around a bunch of ideas: a pilgrim, a princess, like a Santa, in camo, a UT fan, a flower, etc. Here's what she picked:

Emerson colored the little guy and traced his belly to cut out the "shirt". She cut out shoes and the hat and pasted them on. I helped her make little pom-poms for his hands and Scott, the Longhorn drawing master he is, drew the Bevo for us. Good job, honey! :-) We saluted our turkey with a rousing rendition of "The Eyes of Texas" before sending him off back to the school.

Hook 'em Horns! (Gobble Gobble!)

Happy 6th Birthday Emerson!

Our little Emerson is now a 6 year old! Yep, that's right...the little sweetie pictured below is now a chatty, sassy little 6 year old!

BEFORE

AFTER

Isn't she beautiful? And if you look closely, you may be able to see that cute little gap in her smile! What more could a little girl want for her birthday than her first-ever visit from the Tooth Fairy! That little tooth was wiggly FOREVER...since early September! It finally decided to fall out on the school cafeteria table at lunch the day before her birthday. Luckily, Nana had made a tooth pillow and given it to us a few weeks before. Isn't it pretty? Thanks Nana...it will be treasured for many years to come by both girls!

On the Town with Nana & PaPa

Both Nana and PaPa Clark have birthdays in November (as do Emerson and Scott!), so we thought it would be fun for them to come in and have a day "out on the town" with them.

We started the day at Emerson's soccer game and then headed home for a quick lunch. We made a Starbucks run and headed Downtown to ride the Metro Rail from one end to the other. They really enjoyed it and were amazed at all the changes from Downtown through the Medical Center and on to Reliant Park. It was fun to point out different points of interest to them and to hear their take on how things have changed. They were both born and raised in Houston and the Sugar Land area, but have been country bumpkins for the last 8 years....and ALOT has changed in Houston over the past 8 years. Hearing their stories and memories was priceless...it was my favorite part of the day!

After the rail, we took them to the Aquarium for dinner. If you've never been to the Downtown Aquarium, you really should go! We go several times a year and the girls always have a ball. The food, though a tad pricey, is wonderful and the whole experience is just an all-around great value. After a great dinner, we treated Nana and PaPa to a night-time ride on the Shark Train...the girls' favorite! We headed home full and happy, and so blessed to have spent such a fun day together!