MS - Best Dam Bike Ride

This weekend we went up to Logan and volunteered at the 2009 MS Bike Tour aka The Best Dam Bike Ride (seeing as the bike on the dam). Our shift started at 5am... you can just see the excitement in the children's faces.

We helped set up and server breakfast to all the bikers. Then we headed to the first rest stop to help replenish the riders as they came thru. It was so freaking cold and windy in the early morning (we were at the mouth of Logan Canyon) and of course none of us took sweat-shirts. We have never appreciated the warm sun more!!

The ride varied in lengths but the longest trek was 175 miles over two days!! It was so fun to see all the different people and read all of the jerseys (there were tons of teams). Brad is psyched to try this next year. Myles and I are game, but only for the shorter route (80 miles over two days). So don't be surprised when we hit you up for a sponsorship next year :)

On the drive up to Logan on Saturday we stopped and had dinner with Jen & Seth and the girls. That was a fun visit. Due to the distance we usually only see each other at larger gatherings. So it was great to have a more one on one visit!

Saturday morning I ran the Lehi Roundup 5k. I am so glad that is the last race I am signed up for. My shins would like nothing more than to never see my running shoes again. Any shin pain experts out there that wanna share a secret cure...lay it on me!

This week Brad starts his new shift starting at 11am. We are keeping our fingers crossed this will be a positive change. We will see each other less now, but we are scheduling to the hilt to try and get around that.

"We often take for granted the very things that most deserve our gratitude." ~Cynthia Ozick

R.I.P. MJ

So if we were to be honest Michael Jackson hasn't look "alive" for well over a decade. But it was still sad to hear that he passed away today. I loved him as a kid!

Weird thing is I was on the phone ordering flowers for a funeral and was on hold, so I took the down time to jump online and that's when I read the news. Weird ain't it?!?!

On a much more positive note... Today was the first official "Taco Cart Thursday" at AFA. I had my first taco cart experience and I have to say it was way yummy. And Cheap!! So I will even volunteer to drive the next Taco Cart Thursday Fun-Bus!

"Beat It!" - Michael Jackson

Gadgets Galore!

This weekend we splurged on some new gadgetry!! Brad is starting a new shift at work next week and will now be doing Pick-up & Delivery in the city. So he thought he better invest in a GPS system to help him out. It must be a total Man-Thing, because I think it is kinda boring. But he and Myles start to fight when it is time to put in a new destination! Can you say Control Issues?!?!?

I have been wanting a new phone for a while now. Mine is a couple of years old and has served its time well, but I was ready for a phone with a key pad. So Brad and I both got new Nokia E71x's (like a blackberry). So we can now text like the pro's! Myles was a bit miffed that he didn't get a new-phangeled phone too...sheesh you would think the kid has to talk into a tin can the way he was going on! And of course with getting new phones we both opted for new blue tooth headsets. So we came out of the AT&T store with two bags of loot! BTW- Grace and Jane have been black-listed from the AF store. Sheesh, it was only one display... it wasn't like they burned the store down!

We dropped Myles off at YMCA Camp Rogers yesterday. The counselors totally remembered him, not sure if that is a good or a bad thing??? After we dropped his stuff of at his cabin he came up and gave me a hug goodbye but made it clear that a kiss was out of the question! Next year he can go up as a counselor in training!!

Myles had a physical last week in preparation for his summer camps. the boy is officially taller than me. He is Five feet Six and a half inches tall and 117 lbs.! Life ain't fair I tell you!! So next time you see him, if he gets really close and is looking you up and down..no worries. He is just comparing height. He likes to find anyone shorter then he is and rub it in!

Well I am off to read my book in my QUIET house. Prayers are answered!!! :)

Weekends are a bit like rainbows; they look good from a distance but disappear when you get up close to them." ~John Shirley

Photo Overload!!

So I narrowed down our over 400 pictures from our trip to 3 slide shows with a total of 111 pictures. So if you love us, get comfy...and if you don't, well phooey on you!

Enjoy!!

Oregon

I don't even know where to start with telling you about our road trip. We had a great time, but man are we happy to be out of the car!! We left at 8pm Saturday 6/6/09. We drove all night and morning and got to Newport, Oregon around lunch time on the 7th. It was pouring rain for a large chunk of the drive, so that slowed us down a bit.

At one truck stop at about 4am we were buying munchies and Myles is just being himself (goofing off and dancing around) and the clerk says (as only a crotchety old man can) "That boy don't get out much, does he?" We all got a good laugh out of that!

We got checked in and settled at our fist hotel and Brad went out to stand on the balcony...only problem was he didn't see that the screen was closed. He walked right through it! I wish I had that on film. I was laughing so hard I was crying!!

On Monday we went Deep Sea Fishing. We caught 24 fish! Shakierra caught 10 and kept reminding us all that she caught the most! :) We also dropped crab pots while out fishing. So when we got back into the dock they steamed the crabs right there for us. They also cleaned the fish for us and we had them freeze packed to bring home. While we were out on the boat it was getting a bit choppy. We had on borrowed jackets for us wimps who get too cold, and Myles says as the boat it pitching too and fro "Great I am going to die in an ugly jacket!!" He wasn't worried about the dying part, he just didn't want to be found in unfashionable attire!!

Monday afternoon we went to the Sea Lion Caves. I think that area had the most beautiful scenery and wild life of the entire trip. We saw a bald-eagle, dear, birds, and tons of sea lions. You couldn't use your flash in the caves, so the pictures didn't turn out too great, but it was cool to see!

Tuesday we went to the Oregon Coast Aquarium. It had some great unique fish to look at. My favorite tanks had the environment all made from blown glass. The tanks were just as cool to look at as the fish were.

Wednesday we went to the Tilamook Air Museum. This was Myles' favorite stop of the trip. We all loved climbing in the old cockpits and playing with all the gadgets!!

Then it was off to the Tilamook Cheese Factory. Brad thought he had died and gone to heaven! That boy loves cheese!! It was way cool to see the factory and taste the different cheeses, and the ice cream was to die for!!!

For the remainder of the trip we stayed in Ocean Park, WA. Just north of Long Beach. This was a little more remote then we had expected, but it worked out just fine. We had lots of fun hitting the local shops, building a sand castle, collecting shells, climbing light houses, visiting the Cranberry Museum, and running/walking in a 5k.

We must have consumed gallons of clam chowder on this trip!! Even Myles is burnt out on chowder now and he loves the stuff!

"A vacation is like love - anticipated with pleasure, experienced with discomfort, and remembered with nostalgia." ~Author Unknown

Mermaid Lucy

So obviously Lucy has been watching entirely too much "Little Mermaid". I mean, just look how obsessed she is!!!!

It isn't the clearest of pictures, seeing as I took it looking through the screen. But I saw this and just had to share.

We have been busy preparing for our upcoming road trip. Myles is enjoying summer and working his tush off at Basket Ball Camp. Brad has been working crazy amounts of overtime at work. Brad has also started selling his plasma. So if you see him with needle tracks, no worries, he hasn't become a junkie! :)

"When the earth floods from global warming, the swimmers will rule the world." ~Author Unknown

Date Night

Now does this look like a Good-Time or what!?!? Becky and I drug our men folk kicking & screaming to the pottery store for some quality time. We had a blast painting our pieces. You can learn a lot about a person when the creative pressure is turned on. We kept all the insults G-rated :)

Becky was by far the most detail oriented painter in our group. Her striped mug will turn out the best I am sure. The boys projects on the other hand....well...they were good sports! :)
I can't wait to get the finished products back. They keep your pottery and glaze and fire it for you. Then it is dishwasher and microwave safe. I will try to remember to snag a few shots of our finished artwork later in the week!

"Every artist dips his brush in his own soul, and paints his own nature into his pictures." ~Henry Ward Beecher