Biking: Cold or Not

Everyone else is still cooped up inside, but we're outside and having fun on our bikes!

Ellen rides among the fallen snowmen. 

Daniel passes by the snow mound.

Halloween

A robot and mini mouse hauled in some candy.

My Helpers

There's plenty of help around here!

Treehouse!

We have been busy building a treehouse.  Well, it's more like a 10' wide deck 8' off the ground between two trees.  The kids are loving it.

Daniel and I slept out in the treehouse over the weekend.  The cows were right below and were full of noises throughout the night.  Don't they sleep?  I kept hearing them getting up/down, eating, and pooping.  It was fun.  I slept good the next night.  :-)

 Testing the slide.

Ready for fun.

Anniversary Ride

What better way to celebrate our marriage than a family bike ride!

Rest break in the marsh.

Happy Birthday Ellen!

 Opening the mirror, she liked it!

Toot my new whistle, I'm two!

A Birthday Gift for Ellen

With Ellen's birthday coming up I decided to put my new wood shop tools to work and make her a mirror for her bedroom.  I decided to make it girly for her with pink and flowers.

Yep, it's a mirror. 

With some lady bugs on the back.

Family Ride

We made it down to Fredericksburg for a family rail trail ride.

 Bridge crossing.

 Daniel powered up for about 8 miles of riding.

 Chasing down mommy.

 Ellen calling for more speed.

He's a true cyclist... helmet hair.

Hike at the Park

We headed to Wooster Memorial Park for a hike this afternoon.

Bridge pose.

Found a cool salamander.

Daniel had the same one on his shirt.

Flipping rocks, looking for creatures.

A quick learner, just like mommy.

Gravel Spreading

Daniel and I hooked up the trailer to Dad's truck and picked up some gravel to back fill around the window wells I dug last fall.

Good thing we have an excavator.

Ellen was helping too!

Mohican Mud Cleanup

We surprisingly received several inches of snow last night.  (What did I say about spring weather on the way in my post less than 24 hours ago?)  My helpers bundled up and were in attendance for the bike cleanup.

Daniel must have been expecting some overspray.

Ellen is about the same height as a 29er wheel.

Opposite Direction

The weather was expected to bring warmer temperatures today and wind from the north.  I mapped out a ride heading north and back for several hours of riding this afternoon.  On the way home from church I noticed the occasional flag pole we drove by showed wind from the south / southeast; time for a change of route.

Can you girls check the weather on that thing?

 Ryan and I headed down to Millbrook Road and worked our way southeast toward Shreve.  The temperature was warm, mid 40's, and the wind was in our face.

Shreve Lake was frozen.

 

The skies were overcast.

 

We road south into Holmes County and found some township roads to pedal eastward.  The chip and seal surface frequently changed to gravel and mud.  I thought we were on a good streak of gravel when my map and the road in front of us did not agree.

But my map shows an outlet.

 A slight reroute brought us back north and we rode around Shreve again before taking a few gravel roads through the swamps.  We made a few detours on the way back home to maximize ride time.  Nice day to be out!

Only a few hills on the ride today.

 

After Ryan headed for home Daniel asked if we could go for a bike ride.  Of course!  I finished spraying off the road spray, wiped the bike down, and Daniel and I rode some laps up and down the road.

Making the red bike go!

Michigan Vacation 3

Just like last year we made a trip south to Clare for some tasty pastries at Cops and Doughnuts.  Ellen didn't hesitate to enjoy the sugar.  Our good weather continued and it warmed up later in the week, making swimming in the lake more enjoyable.  More fish were caught, I got in another mountain bike ride, and there was plenty of chasing after the kids.

Doughnut time.

 Which is bigger... hanging basket or

the bike seat?

I spy an Ellen.

Someone forgot their pedal.

 I'm being watched.

Not so much a tan line, more a sand line.

  I thought it said $6k... I was ready to buy.

 Thanks for the fun MMCC trail and Karate Monkey.

After another summer trip to the cottage I wonder where we will go next year.  I guess we'll have to take requests from both kids when the question of "where do you want to go on vacation?" is asked again.

Ellen = 1

Today is Ellen's birthday!

KT and Jessica made a very nice cake.

 Girls like new clothes.

 The birthday girl!

Ellen's Backseat Ride

KT requested a tuneup on her hybrid bike in hopes of taking Ellen out for her first ride in the bucket seat.  Each time I lift this ChroMo Jamis bike into the work stand it's a shock to the system.  I'm not sure how much it weighs, but it's a bragging point when my homemade workstand dutifully holds the bike without complaint.

Gunked up chain cleaned then lubed,

brakes and shift systems adjusted.

Ellen Likes Ergon

Picked up a pair of Ergon grips at the shop on a lunchtime trip today.  I will use them on the Karate Monkey, hopefully giving a little more surface area to distribute the solid front end.  Maybe, just maybe the KM will make it out to a trail if the weather and schedule cooperates.  Though it has been fun chasing Daniel around the basement on it.

Ellen displays handlebar technique.

Merry Christmas 2012!

Merry Christmas from the North Pole!

Daniel and the Makeup Bag

So here's a good story...

KT and I were sitting at the kitchen table when Daniel disappeared back the hallway.  Mommy instincts kicked in a short time later and she went to investigate.  "Daniel what are you doing!?  You know to stay out of my makeup bag!"

I head some small feet running in my direction.  Daniel came up to me at the table and showed me his painted toes.  Nice.  I explained that boys don't paint their toes, and KT also explained that makeup is for girls.  Okay, ha-ha, he painted his toes, no big deal.

 Of course he picked blue.  And why is

he wearing Santa PJs in September?

A short time later, after we all went about our business, KT went back to Ellen's room where she had been left laying on the bed.  "DANIEL!  What did you do to your sister!?"

Ellen's first makeup, courtesy big brother Daniel.

I came running back to find that Daniel had learned and applied the lesson.  "Mommy, you said makeup is for girls so I put some on Ellen."  We laughed hard.

Michigan Vacation #2

It's a nice routine.  Head out on the boat after breakfast with Daniel, play around the water in the morning, mountain bike ride while kids sleep, back to lake after dinner.

We drove a little south to a unique coffee and doughnut shop called Cops & Doughnuts.  Yes, it was amusing and they were all about the merchandise.  Cops & Doughnuts hats, t-shirts, and more.  We stuck with the doughnuts.

 The boy likes blue.

 That's right, bacon covered creamsticks.

One of the highlights of the week was getting Daniel out on his first mountain bike ride!  The trail was mellow enough I figured this was the perfect opportunity for our first father and son trail ride.  Daniel was pretty excited to "go mountain bikin' with daddy".  Good times, good times.

 Daniel happy to roll off road.

 Through a fern section.

After Daniel and I finished our ride I hit the loop on my own.  Daniel continued on his bike too, riding on one of the hiking trails with mommy and Ellen.

 The powerline "climb".

 Riding towards a blinking camera on self timer.

 Ellen looking very... munchkin?

It was a very nice week on the lake.  I think we will be back.

Sunset by the dock.