"Tummy Time"

Is tummy time truly a happy time? The doctors always tell me how important tummy time is but I am yet to see any of my babies enjoy it or get anything out of it except stronger vocal chords. I think that H's expression says it all..."Are ya kidding me mom?" Sure enough, tummy time is over before it has even begun.

HOP, HOP, HOP!!!

The other morning as the girls and I were casually eating breakfast, C yelled, "Look outside, there's a bunny!" Sure enough, right next to our back window there was a big floppy-eared, brown rabbit sitting as calmly as can be. Of course the girls got really excited and wanted it to come play with them so we ventured outside with carrots. A decided that she had a better way of warming up to the bunny than carrots and went back inside. C and I stayed out and the bunny actually ate the carrots out of our hands. Suddenly A ran out of the house with homemade bunny ears and hopped across the grass in her white, fluffy, bunny slippers. I love how creative little kids are. This was a fun way to start our morning.

Success with Barbie Fishing Poles

As many of you may know, A caught her first fish last Saturday with her early birthday present—a 10-inch rainbow trout at Payson Lakes with her Barbie fishing pole.

The following story is courtesy of FOXNews.com

Man Makes Record Catch With Barbie Fishing Rod

Thursday, August 21, 2008
Associated Press

ELKIN, N.C. — David Hayes' granddaughter just ask him to hold her Barbie rod and reel while she went to the bathroom.

He did. And seconds later he landed the state record channel catfish at 21 pounds, 1 ounce.

Alyssa's father had bought the pink Barbie fishing rod for Christmas and she had caught a few bluegill before her grandfather hauled in the catfish.

The Winston-Salem Journal reported the catch Aug. 5 in eastern Wilkes County has been certified as a record by the North Carolina Wildlife Resources Commission.

Hayes and his granddaughter have been fishing in the pond behind his house since she was big enough to hold a pole.

Hayes says his granddaughter worried he would break her rod. He landed the 21-pound fish on a 6-pound test line. It was 32 inches long, 2 inches longer than the rod.

7800 Feet of Fun and Mosquitos (elevation)

This last weekend, Tyler's family ventured down from the Ogden area to join us in a camping trip to Payson Lakes. I must admit that Tyler took A and C up Friday afternoon, while I came up Saturday morning with H and Tyler's mom. It got too cold up there for a three-month-old to sleep in a tent (not to mention too cold for me ;) jk).

Tyler took the afternoon off on Friday and packed up the van with all our camping supplies, Opa's canoe, and all four of our bikes. The van was loaded down!

Opa (Gil), Tyler's dad, came up with Tyler's sister Tammi and her two kids, C1 and C2.

When Omi (Trudi) and I arrived Saturday morning, Opa had breakfast ready for us. They packed up the campsite and we headed down to the lake. This is a great campground by the way, surrounded by pine and aspen trees with a small lake. We'll be back for sure.

Tyler took C1 and A out in the canoe to do some fishing. We got A her very first fishing pole, an early birthday present, it's a Barbie themed pole. After several failed attempts at close to surface fishing, Tyler decided to drop the bait down to the bottom of the lake. Within a minute, A had a great 10-inch fish on her line! Reel it in!!! A was so proud of her catch! She even ate it for dinner that night.

Maybe in the next summer or two we'll purchase a tent trailer. That's my kind of camping.

Saddle Sore

Occasionally, I ride my bike and the bus to/from work. At the end of June, I decided one day on a whim that I would ride home from work—13.4 miles. It took me just under an hour at approx. 14 mph. I was hot, tired and worn out after that ride. It was the biggest ride I've done in nearly two years!

Yesterday, I did the same thing . . . only the result was very different.

A week ago, I took the advice of my brother-in-law, an avid road cyclist (thank you Ron). Since I can't get the road bike I want (too expensive), I replaced my big fat knobby tires on my mtn. bike with small slick road tires (26x1.25)—a $50 fix.

I was able to do the same ride in exactly 45-minutes of riding time, or 17.86 mph—only my second time riding home from work. At the end of this ride, I felt much less exhausted. One factor could be that the temperature was about 8-degrees less yesterday. Or it could have been the fact that I was riding in bike shorts (no, not the tight spandex kind, sorry). But I am sure that the new tires really helped a lot (much less resistance on the road).

I was getting to the point that my gears weren't much of a resistance—I couldn't pedal any faster. Road bikes have a higher gear ratio, allowing for faster speeds.

My goal is to work up my endurance and strength to do the ride in under 40 minutes, or 20+ mph by the time the weather turns too cold.