Bike RAW

RAW- Ride Around the Wellsvilles, is what that stands for...This was my third Century bike ride of the summer... well...ever, actually.  This one my dad joined me, which I was glad for, because this was a much smaller race so there really weren't many bikers around all along the way, like I was used to.  The course was absolutely gorgeous, it went through the canyon, to a bird refuge, through Brigham, and back around the Wellsville mountains.  There were a lot of vertical feet, which made it a lot more difficult than the other centuries I'd done.  It was physically one of the most difficult things I've done.  I got some awesome tan lines as well :)

Cache Valley Hospital was a sponsor of the race, and the Deli department provided yummy food for all the riders at the first rest stop.  It was so good to see familiar, friendly faces who were there to help me feed my face :)

My dad and I at the first rest stop

Just after the race.  Exhausted.

And this is just a random pic I took with my phone after a church fireside one day.  The sun shining through the clouds was just spectacular so I had to capture the image.  Isn't that incredible?  Love seeing stuff like that...

Luau

A friend of mind has this awesome Luau every year. It is a fundraiser event to raise funds for a Fijian athlete with disabilities. They had these super fun slip n slides. Check out the videos:
Bouncey house = automatic good times for kids.  Avril was excited to go inside, but wasn't a fan of all the kids running around.  Below are some pics of everyone at our fun Luau!

Nana and Papa riding some waves...

They even had a hula dancer!!

Delicious food!!

Such a cutie pie!!  Her poor little face is healing up nicely...

Owies

For awhile there, we were the house of owies.  Avril always has an owie, just ask her... she'll be more than happy to tell you ALL about it, its one of her very favorite topics of conversation :)
Sunday night I watched my sweet little McKel take an atrocious spill!  I mean, when her face hit that concrete you could hear the loud smack, and watch the blood splatter on the cement driveway.  My heart literally skipped a beat.  I felt so helpless as I watched the pitter patter of her little feet running down the driveway only to encounter a large crack in the cement, resulting in her plummet and face plant moment.  Of course, she was crying and I went and comforted her.  But this resilient little girl just bounces right back to good spirits.  Within minutes, she was back on her feet and running all around again.  She amazes me.

This pic was taken the day after her spill, so her face is already healing up quite nicely, turning in to scabs.

As you can see, she is clearly tramatized :)

She has the most gregarious little personality.  Couldn't be any cuter!

The very next day, mommy decided it was her turn to get an owie.  I got off work and decided to go for a jog.  I only got a few blocks when a ferocious dog came at me and attacked me!  That is not a joke... well, okay he may not have been ferocious.  I discovered that the breed was a blue heeler.  It was a little grey thing, but it scared the bejeebies out of me!  He just got a couple good teeth marks in to my calf and drew a tiny bit of blood.  More it just bruised where he tugged at my skin. 

The pics don't do it justice.  I almost died! ;)

Good thing we are fast healers...even when attacked by a blue heeler... or tripping on your own little heal(er)...

4th of July

What a special treat, the girls got to stay up WAY past bed time to watch the fireworks!  So worth it though, to get to see them light up and make special memories with their loved ones.  We headed over to the parking lot at Lee's Marketplace, and let the girls participate in the pre-firework activities they had.  It was a gorgeous night out, and we had a blast.  :)

Brittney ran in to a couple of friends there, which made her happy.  You can see, she's just all lit up with excitement, just like a firework!  "Baby you're a firrrreeework, come on let your cooolors burst!"

McKel is celebrating the 4th in style!  She stole mommy's shades and pulls them off much better than I do!

Here is Avril gazing in to the sky!

The moon was so incredible that night.  You could see it slowly creep up over the mountain top.  In this shot its that bright circle below the firework.  Kind of takes your breath away.  What an amazingly beautiful universe we live in.  So glad we can appreciate seeing God's beautiful creations.

So there was this sweet little girl named Sierra, who instantly bonded with Avril.  Avril was a little small for climbing up the bouncey slidey thingy.  This girl befriended her and kept saying how soft and pretty Avril's hair is.  You can see in the pic she was enjoying playing with Avril's hair.  It was nice to have a little one put Avril under her wing, since mommy is a big people, and big people are not allowed on the bouncey slidey thingy :)

Avril patiently waiting her turn to go on the slide

A profile shot of my little sweetheart girl

She's so pretty :)

She looks so scared, with all the big kids around her!

Just added this photo cuz its so classic Avril.  She always makes this face :)

Papa loves spending time with his granddaughters.  Here they are, watching the fireworks.

And here is Auntie Arleen with adorable little McKel.  Haha, it is way past her bedtime and you can see she is a little unsure what to think of all the firework commotion.

So fun! Avril did not want the day to end, she was having a blast, as you can see.  What could be more fun than a bouncey slidey thingy?

Bike MS- My 2nd Century Ride

The Cache Valley Hospital sponsored a team to ride and help raise funds for MS Research.  My team consisted of an ER Doctor here at the hospital and his brother-in-law, and nephew.  We tried to stick together for the most part, which made the ride much more enjoyable.  I was so happy to make some new friends, and accomplish another Century bike ride.  Colin, Dr. Jewett's nephew, and I would try to find all the sprinklers along the way, and try to time it just right so we could get as much water soaking as possible.  It was hot as h--- opposite of heaven, that day, and we welcomed any form of coolness.  I decided that if I ever own a property on a race course route, I am going to be the nice citizen and turn my sprinklers on for all the racers.  Its the kind thing to do :)
Here are some pics from after the event:

Yay!  Finished!  Go me!  I get a medal... for winning... by winning finishing

Best part of finishing is seeing my girls at the end of the race!

Go team!!

Little Red Riding Hood

Saturday, June 2nd was a big day for me.  I had my first Century bike ride!  What an accomplishment.  I can honestly say it was one of the coolest experiences of my life (aside from being a mommy of course).  I am so proud of myself for finishing.  There were 3600 riders total... all females!  We were raising money for cancer research.  I raised over $750 toward the cause in order to ride.  I rode in honor of my Aunt Tracine, Aunt Susan, my Grandma Joyce, and many others who have battled with cancer.
I finished the race in about 7 hours, which I was pretty pleased with for my first attempt at 100.  It was overcast for the first half of the race, then the sun started to show itself for awhile.  The course started in Lewiston, went through Logan, then clear up in Idaho and looped back around.  It was a gorgeous ride.  Here are a few pics from the event:

Papa and McKel anxiously await my return..

Resting in the shade, waiting for me to finish...

I'm pretty sure that's me, almost entering the photo.  Looks like my mom didn't quite capture my finish, I was too fast!

Finished

What an awesome feeling!

Some of my fans at the finish line

 

In line for a drink...

Our next door neighbors, the Fullmers, were volunteers at the race

Avril was excited, and not even scared, to see Big Bad Wolf in the flesh!

She found a new hippie friend

Guess Nana thought she might be thirsty

They had a band playing, and the girls wanted to dance!

This video is a must see.  Avril was having a blast dancing around at the dance contest.  It was too cute!!

We've Moved!... Finally!

I am happy to report that we are finally in our new home.  It is so perfect for our little family.  I absolutely love it so far... but I have a LOT of work to do still!  We officially closed on the property May 30, and it funded with Alicia P Yarger as the new official owner on May 31, 2012.  Woo hoo!  I must say, it was quite the ordeal getting the property to closing though.  The original closing date was May 3, 2012.  So you can see the lender took their time.  It was a nightmare process.  In all the years I did lending, I never saw a loan run in to so many problems with underwriting.  But finally its done, so I won't complain or say any more about the incompetent Wells Fargo lending department.
I will post some more pictures of the house as soon as I finish getting everything moved all in.  I do have some pics of the family all working in the garden though, so maybe I'll put up a few of those.  I planted all kinds of things.  I'm super excited about my garden, I've always wanted one!  So far only the peas, tomatoes, strawberries, and raspberries are growing though.  Hopefully some of the other seeds start to sprout soon.  I still have a ton of weeding to do.
My new house is on the same street as the Adrian Parkinson family (my brother).  I purposely was looking for one close to them so we could be neighbors, and so Auntie Arleen could come help me out with my lil ones.  She has been a tremendous help, and such an angel.  I'm so grateful to have so many close by who are willing to help this single mama.
The girls are very happy with the new home.  So far they've slept there for 2 nights in a row... I was worried about the transition but they're handling it beautifully.  They still get to see nana and papa a lot so they do still feel very loved I think.  They are enjoying exploring all the new spaces, and making messes out of my disorganized mess.
So far I am also loving the neighbors.  It seems like every time I am home I get a friendly greeter come by to welcome our family.  There seem to be plenty of small children around to be playmates for my girls, which is always nice.  I am so grateful we were able to find this house.  It feels nice to have a place to call home :)

Those are my peas coming up :)

 And here are the girls helping papa with some yard work at Nana and Papa's house