fall bike ride

Last week was a very busy one for us. Terry was teaching at a camp here in town for the weekend and so he had that preparation in addition too his other normal responsibilities. It was a very busy week. We were very glad when Sunday rolled around and he was all done. He decided to push nap time back and go on a bike ride in town. 

We rode down to Culvers for lunch as a special treat. It was so beautiful out that we ate outside, which is actually the best place for four noisy kids to be. Noah wrapped his arm around Ezra and daddy and Samuel thought he should do that to Evie. Evie, however, was not so sure...

Nope. She definitely did not want his arm around her. "Get off!"

"Come one Evie, it's not that big a deal. Let him put his arm around you. He loves you!" 

Grrrrrrr. 

Laughter at her reaction only further bothered her. She's seven going on 17. 

We haven't been able to do any hiking like we did last year but at least we got on the bike path. 

It was beautiful out. 80 degrees! It felt extra nice after all my belly aching about the frost killing my plants.  Plus it was fun riding through all the crunchy leaves.

We rode about five mile down the bike path to Roosevelt Park and stopped there to adjust my seat since it was tipping back. Not a comfortable way to ride.

I know I said I wouldn't make a habit of taking selfies so I must have lied. I took another one because I wanted all of us in the picture (and I didn't want to ask the inebriated men lying nearby to take our picture).  

From that point we turned around and rode back home. It's always amazing going down the bike path with the creek because you're going downhill and don't have to hardly peddle. It's a little more work when we had to go uphill. And poor little Evie. She has no gears so her legs were pumping the entire time. She said she was so ready to get off her bike. 

When we got to M Hill we took the little creekside path that skirts the bottom of the hill. First we had to power up the hill. Go Terry! He was pulling two little boys! 

And off go the boys. Evie wiped out on this path once last year apparently so she wanted to stay in the back and go slow. 

I yelled out, thinking of my friend Denise, "It's so beautiful!" because she always says that while biking. Plus, it was true.

 The boys waited for us. Pretty trees.

Just passed McDonald's. Nearly there, nearly there... 

At first the littles thought sitting together was great fun. After we turned around, they turned on each other. I was yelling at them a lot. "Samuel stop that!" "Ezra stop hitting him!" "Stop pouring out your water!" Boys.  

We had a great time. We rode TWELVE MILES! Yeah, I definitely felt bad for Evie after I figured out how far we went.

6 pack on the bike path

With the forecasted snow for the next two days (it's only September 10th!!!), I am very much missing the weather we had two weekends ago when we went on a family bike path ride. 

We hauled our bikes down the hill to Canyon Lake and then headed east on the bike path to Memorial Park. I had Ezra in the baby seat behind me and Terry pulled Samuel while Noah and Evie rode. And poor Evie. She had the smallest bike with no gears with her little legs just pumping nonstop, working harder than of all of us, and she didn't complain at all! In fact, at one point, when we had just crossed the bridge at the top of Omaha, she exclaimed, "I just feel so good right now!" Yeah, that's from The Lego Movie, but she applied it appropriately. I think she takes after me - she appreciates being outside.

I mapped out route out on mapmyrun.com and found that we biked nearly 10 miles!

When we got to Memorial Park we stopped to take a short break and drink some water. At first we thought Ezra was sleeping with his eyes open. He was so still and catatonic. 

Then he looked at Terry. Nope, still awake. Just lulled into oblivion on the back of my bike.

What a hard peddling happy girl. 

Terry took my picture while I was looking at Evie, thinking he was taking Evie's. So there's me.

And Noah. I hadn't seen all the improvements made to this park. It's nice. The wind was blowing the fountain water at us, making us cold.

Samuel was so thirsty he had to have 2 water options. He's all sweaty but he didn't do anything except sit there. 

The way back was a little harder since it was all uphill (only a very very slight grade though). We stopped at McDonalds for a special ice cream snack and then at Sioux Park for some playing. That ride was so much fun...even though mapmyrun said I only burned 52 calories for 2 hours of riding :P

another bike path ride

I have realized lately, or rather remembered, that I really enjoy being outside. In high school my email address was outdoorsy5221. Ha! Terry and I joke that I should be called "indoorsy" now. 

So anyway, I feel better about life the more I'm outside. However, since we homeschool, I'm home all day every day with all four of my kids! Sometimes the walls start to close in and I feel I must escape. I would like to get out into the Hills more - it's just lovely living here! But nap times always throw a wrench in hiking some place "far" away. It seems easier to go for a bike ride through town on the bike path. On Friday we went on our third time down the bike path in the last month or so. 

The leaves are just starting to turn here and it was so picturesque that I got out my cell phone and took some photos while I was riding. This is back behind the disc golf course. 

You can see Mr. Dinosaur on the hill :)

Here's Old Storybook Island.

Next to the creek by Sioux Park.

Rapid Creek is quite high these days - I think perhaps they are letting out extra water from Canyon Lake since they're going to drain it to re-do the dam. Under this bridge by McDonalds, the water wasn't as deep as it appears and was fun riding through.

This is coming up on Omaha Street with M Hill rising up. The School of Mines students were actually all at the park for the annual white washing of the M so we got to ride right through them and see them washing all the white paint off themselves in the creek. 

Once we made it to Memorial Park, we parked our bikes on the bridge and enjoyed the view for a while.

Ezra was especially glad to get out of his seat.

Me and my baby.

Noah and Evie were "so bored" so they got on their bikes and rode around the flowers pots. 

I love the creek and would be in heaven if I could ever live by one. 

sabbatical fishing and biking

After we returned from our six day trip to the Montana cabin, we had only a couple weeks of sabbatical left to soak up. One thing we had meant to do every summer but especially this summer had still eluded us - fishing. 

Terry and the kids are on the opposite bank from the island on Canyon Lake where me and Luna were at.

On Wednesday, August 2nd, after I returned from mountain biking, I pulled into our driveway to find Terry instructing the littles how to cast a fishing pole in our front yard. It was so cute! Samuel and Ezra were doing pretty darn well! Oh and notice how lovely all my flowers looked before the giant hail storm took most of them out a week and a half later.

We hadn't fished all together since 2012 I believe, since before Ezra was born! We kept it simple that day and just went down to nearby Canyon Lake. Evie is checking out "Friendly Duck" while she fishes. That duck hung out with us the whole time.

Everyone but Ezra is lined up, Samuel, Friendly Duck (ha!) Evie, Noah, and Terry. We didn't catch a thing that day but still had fun.

I love this little video. Samuel, "Ezra, lemme go to mom..." (plink by Ezra's little bobber). Ezra, "Go, go around!" I stopped just in time to avoid the inevitable fight.

The very next night, Thursday August 3rd, we checked another thing off our summer list - a family bike ride. Samuel and Ezra had never taken part by riding their own bikes before!

We started from our house and met Sarah and Savanah by the Sioux Park tennis courts. It was two and a half miles to reach that far and Ezra made it nearly all that way on his own Strider bike. This was in Mary Park and shortly after Terry started pulling him.

Once we joined up with Sarah and Savanah we continued on to the bike path through Sioux Park, past McDonalds and under the Omaha bridge to the bike park next to Uhaul. I waited to take part for a bit and just enjoyed myself by watching and taking pictures and video. We had never ever been to this place and it was so, so much fun!

Firstly they started out on this little loop. Ezra was adorable on it. He was having a blast.

See? Stinking cute!

We had the best time that night.



There's Ezra followed by Savanah. He fell three times and was absolutely filthy but he always got back up for more.

Noah, Evie, Sarah, Savanah

Terry

He was bookin!

After about an hour at the bike park we progressed down the bike path to the Fish where we turned around.

I zoomed in and had to laugh at Savanah being all cool, giving me double peace signs. What a fun night that was!

MS practice rides, vaca prep, Grp's bday

The evening of May 24th, when we returned from an action packed trip to the ranch where we branded all the calves, though we were all tired, there was no rest for the weary. Terry had a middle school bike ride planned and even though his heart was giving him weird palpitations, he of course went through with it. 

We had a huge crew! 42 or 43 I think. He leads the middle school bike trip every two years and it's good for the kids to get in a little seat time before the trip (because three days on a bike really hurts your butt). Plus, it weeds out some who are intimidated by even an hour and a half ride.

We began at Founders Park with rain threatening and followed the bike path to Cleghorn Canyon. Once there we biked up and down the canyon twice. Terry bribed the kids to go back up the canyon with ice cream at McDonalds and then didn't deliver because we ran out of time. Ha! Several parents did take their kids for a reward afterwards though. 

At the top of Cleghorn Canyon, and thankfully the rain held off and we were only sprinkled on.

Here's a small snippet of that huge crew on the bike path.

 The next Saturday, May 26th, Terry had another practice ride. It was a much smaller, more committed group. But poor Noah did not feel well upon trucking up Cleghorn Canyon. His stomach demanded his attention... 

The morning after branding Ezra complained of an earache. I thought he had an ear infection since his nose was runny but when I looked I discovered something much worse, a TICK! 

Ticks gross me out more than any other creature. Nothing else really bothers me besides ticks. Something sucking your blood that's hard to remove and can give you life altering diseases? GROSS. I freaked out. I tried putting an alcohol soaked cottonball on it to coax it out but that didn't work. So then I tried the next trick I had read, putting a dish soap soaked cotton ball on the tick. Nope. I tried to steal myself to pull it out with my fingernails but I just couldn't. The heebee geebees were real. I got a tweezer and pulled it out. Terry said the white bit left on the head was skin and that meant I got the head out. 

That day I finished Luna's haircut by trimming her ears and other uneven areas. 

Evie read to the littles for their summer reading program.

Fast forward again, on June 5th Noah also read to the littles.

I made lots and lots of food for our upcoming vacation to Red Lodge and Yellowstone. I was rather  exhausted afterwards.  

GF cookies, GF muffins, GF pasta, tater tot casserole

But as a reward we got to take Noah to Infinity War (didn't think the others were up for such a dark movie).  

We had dropped Evie, Samuel, and Ezra with my folks and when we returned from the movie, we celebrated my dad's 68th birthday since it really was May 24th. 

Happy birthday dad! 

The following day was spent doing laundry and packing. The cat crawled into one of the bags we had got out for packing. Evie thought he was rather cute and that's why she's strangling him. 😜

The night before we left for our trip we took Luna and Trouncer to my folks' house to stay. 

The cat was less than enthused. That is the face of a scaredy cat. 

Luna, however, loves car rides. And she especially loves Evie. 

Evie didn't mind all the attention. And after that, the following day we left for our late spring vacation!