Everleigh is being silly.

Spending time with Grandma.

Christmas time...

One happy little boy...

not sure if the parents regret this gift from Santa yet.

Lately

Ben with his new hair cut.

Ben and Daddy (I mean Curious George and the Man in the Yellow Hat), 

ready for some Trick or Treating.

Ben and his daycare friends, 

visited the Moms with their Halloween costumes.  

Everleigh was a Leopard for Halloween.

and she loves cookies...

Ben's going to be the "Big Brother"...

 Ben helped unwrap the cake...

Everyone was so happy!

 

Cathy took the unopened envelop with the "answer" to DQ

and asked them to make the cake.

So, it was a secret from everyone. 

Good Luck today, Big Ring Masher!

You are in Kathy and my thoughts and prayers, #1.

TdF, Here we come!

Ben never ceases to amaze me.

I hope there is a nice draft behind him.

A devastating Twins loss...

Yes, beer was involved.

 

The gang didn't get thrown out either.

Score: Twins 0 Indians 5

Silver Cycling: Always a winner!

Vacation time!

Kathy and I took a nice vacation to the gulf coast.

First, we stoppped in Nashville. 

Where we visited a nice winery owned by Kix Brooks of Brooks and Dunn fame.

and of course we spent some time downtown on Broadway listening to great music.

Then it was off to Florida (Panama City Beach to be exact), where we were greeted to several morning rainbows coming across the gulf.

We spent lots of time enjoying each other's company, sitting out on the hot sands, and drinking cold beers.

another morning rainbow... 

A terrific time away from work with the one I love.

Didn't get much biking in, but hey it's vacation.

Happy 4th of July!!!

Well, this holiday weekend was filled with stuff to do.

First, we made the drive over to Mankato to celebrate the 4th with Cathy, Bill, and Ben.
We grilled out and played awhile.  Then we did some smoke bombs and sparklers.
Kathy stayed over night to watch Ben on Saturday while Mommy and Daddy worked.
I rode back with Marie and Everleigh.

Then on Saturday, I met the Silver Boys, the Rochester Boys, and some other friends at the annual Dan Ulwelling Memorial bike race in Austin, MN.  There was a stiff wind from the south, so the race was fast out of the gate.  We were hitting over 30 mph until we turned and the crosswind started to break things up.  Carlton, Andy, and myself had to work real hard to bridge up to the lead group after we turned north again.  But we made it in time for the group to turn east and into another crosswind section.  This is where I started to feel it and there was no real place to get out of the wind.  I managed to stay in contact with the lead group as we turned south and into the headwind.  Needless to say, I stayed near the back and just tried to hang on.  As we turned west, the crosswind kicked in and the group surged.  I found myself in "no man's land" and pretty much decided to pedal in on my own, when Matt showed up and as he went by, I got a second (or third) wind and jumped on.  We worked well together all the way to the finish line.  I think I finished close to the top 10 and I got 3rd in my age group (50 to 59), the old guys group.  My parents, my sister, my brother, and my nephew all showed up to see me cross the finish line.  It was a fun race and I think everyone stayed safe (even better).

The start...

...Matt's and my finish.

Then Saturday evening, Kathy and I went to the wedding reception for the daughter of a couple of long-time friends.  We met several others we hadn't seen in a long time.  And Kathy and I got to dance together.  That was the best!!!  A great end to great day.  Congrats to Cindy and Justin!  And I'm sure Dave and Maren are glad it's over too!

For Sunday, we stopped over to see little Everleigh take a swim in her new pool.  She looked so cute in her bathing suit and sun glasses (even if the sunglasses didn't stay on too long).  Then we went over to my parents house for BBQ ribs and to play with Everleigh some more.  We sat around and chatted after a big meal.  And we got to spend some time with Tom and Amy.

So...a busy, but fun, weekend.

Also, we were officially informed that Benjamin will soon be the "Big Brother"!!!  More fun times...

Oh yeah, Happy Birthday, America!

More fond memories of Texas.

 

I doubt you'll believe that those are large Root Beers.

Unexpected Hundo

Pete called for a unexpected hundo and six brave souls answered the call. 

Here is the troupe after conquering the treacherous Frontenac climb.

My weekend...

Dave had organized a Saturday morning ride to celebrate Terry's passion.
I snapped a photo of the group before we headed out:

We then headed over to Terry's house to pay our respects to Becky and then on to Spring Valley for a donut (Terry's favorite stop).

Unfortunately, there was a touch of wheels on the return trip and Tom and Bob both went down.
Tom was taken by ambulance to the ER, where they determined a number of injuries and kept him for observation.  Hoping both Tom and Bob make full and speedy recoveries.

Then on Sunday, I escorted the Men's wheelchair division of the Med City Marathon.  They started in Byron and headed into town, then followed mostly bike paths around Rochester and ending up at the Mayo Civic Center.  They told me the wheelchairs were a fast group and they weren't kidding.  I had all I could do to stay ahead of the leader, who at times had to be doing well over 30 miles per hour.

Anyway, I finished that off with a nice ride back to Byron to get my car.  On my way, I spotted Dr. Tim out for a morning spin and joined him as he made his way to Byron.

Monday morning was spent with Everleigh (and Mommy and Daddy) at Oxbow Park and Monday afternoon was spent with Ben (and Mommy and Daddy) at Sibley Park in Mankato.

So a busy weekend, but fun.

Getting bigger and stronger every day.

Look at Ben go!!!

You will be missed...

A great person and a fond friend passed away.

Terry was always a pleasure to ride bicycle with and brought a level of fun and lightheartedness to everything he did.

The Saturday bike rides will never be the same.

An oldie, but a goodie...

Creative Ted.

Texas 2014!

Yes, there are Longhorns in Texas and you can get pretty close to some of them.

We had some nice campfires to help ward off the chilly nights.

We did get to Luckenbach, but no Willy or Waylon???

  I did spot a couple of outlaws in Luckenbach.

Chefy set us up with a fantastic private tour of Becker Winery.

And of course, terrific riding with terrific friends is always on tap. 

What's a little trespassing among friends?
(check out the sign on the gate)

Here are a bunch of pictures that Ted took:

Ted's Texas Pictures

I can't wait until next year!

Everleigh in her bouncy seat.

Grandma makes me smile.



Big 2!

Ben is 2..and he likes the Cat in the Hat.

Getting ready for Spring planting...

Ben found something fun to drive when we were at Cabela's.

Daddy had better check his credit limit on the card.

We love Winnie the Pooh.

Everleigh can't get enough of her snuggly bear.

Everleigh is growing and growing.

Happy, Happy, Happy!

(to quote Phil)

Curled up with a good book!

Ben loves to dance.

Inspiring!

There may be hope, yet...