New wheels!

for Kathy, not for my bike.

November 8th, 2016

a Great Day in American History!

2016 Fall Coffee Ride

I made it up for the Fall Coffee Ride in Lakeville.  There was a nice group and the pace was very nice and relaxing.  Coffee and muffins in Farmington was a bonus.  Drizzled a bit as we neared Lakeville. I finished with 35 miles.

Thanks for organizing Silver...

2016 Filthy Fifthy

Ben and I near the starting line.

Another nice (~800) crowd, ready to go. 

It was a perfect day for a ride in the country.

Steve and Pete at the start...sorry for the finger.

After closer inspection, 

I noticed Ted is tucked in just behind Steve and Pete.

There goes Rob.

And Pat is tucked in nicely...

Hunting for Apples...

Everleigh enjoying the day with Mommy and Daddy at the orchard.

Into every life a little rain must fall...

Life sure has a way of bringing us incredible highs and devastating lows.

First my daughter and son-in-law informed us they were expecting, then we found out it was twins, then twin girls.  Everyone was so excited.

Then Amelia Katherine started showing signs of stress, so Marie and Justin went to the cities for a procedure to help Amelia.  Unfortunately, Amelia passed away just a few days after the procedure.

Meanwhile Nora Diana was doing fine and they expected her levels to balance themselves.

Then Marie came in for a routine Ultrasound, only the technicians were unable to find a little heartbeat in Nora as well.

Sadly, they had both passed on.

To add to the pain, Marie had to go in and have the pregnancy induced last night.

They now are in the planning stages with a funeral home.  Not sure of what their plans are.


Anyway, they (Marie and Justin) have encountered a number out-of-pocket expenses due to several procedures being outside their covered area.  So, they have setup a GoFundMe page to help them through the medical expenses and funeral costs.

Amelia and Nora's Go Fund Me page


Only God knows why...

but he has two more precious little angels with him.

D2D 20 - September 3,2016

The twentieth edition of Dawn to Dusk...finishers.

Gideon is turning 1.

Well, it finally happened...Gideon is turning One!

He's more interested in the ribbons and wrapping paper.

After a nice bath, it's time to snuggle for a bit before bed.

Weekend

Kathy's family had a reunion over at French Lake near Faribault.

Marie and  family couldn't make it, while Bill and family were there only for a short time.

So, neither are in the photo.

Once the rain stopped and the sun came out, it was a beautiful day at the lake.

Ben and I waiting for our turn on the "tube" behind the boat.

We also stopped by to see the Reisdorfers.

Someone loves to help feed themselves.

Unexpected Hundo

I met the Silver Boys at Cannon Falls for a gorgeous day in the saddle.

We did the usual "Unexpected Hundo" route with a few twists. 

Looking like the Pros...

Memorial Park in Red Wing after the nice climb up to the view.

Solstice Ride

Despite the WNW winds, we made the trip from Rochester to Northfield and back to celebrate the longest day of the year.

I could have felt better, but it was good to get a long day in.  I ended up with 140 miles. 

Silver Cycling Spring Coffee Ride

A cool, cloudy day, but great friends and good times... 

Ted, Steve, Rob, and Tim at the coffee stop.

The Three Amigos (or should I say the "Red Coffee Cup Guys".

P.S. those are some bright shoes!

Watch out for those "Chompers"...

Lately.

Not much bike riding lately, but it's still early in the season.

Otherwise...

Gideon is getting more fun with lots of smiles and he likes to sing to himself.  

Ben and Ceci ready for Easter.

 Mommy and Everleigh being "cheesie".

 Everleigh loves the art projects (like Mommy), here she is busy painting Easter Eggs.

(all dressed up, too!)

Ben turned 4

Man, the years are flying by (except when I think about retiring)...

Ben turned 4 on March 17th.

It was a "Bob the Builder" theme (even though he's into Star Wars now, try to keep up).

Can't wait for cake.

Ceci with her construction hard hat.

Everleigh enjoying the snacks.

Ben got lots of neat presents, some of them interested little sister.

Lately,

Well, the weather is getting nicer, the snow/ice on the roads is gone, and so is most of my fitness.

Chefy and I did a nice ride a few Saturday's ago.  SW winds around 10 mph, made the trip out a bit more work.  But the ride back was better.  He appears to be in great shape and didn't lose much from last year.

Other than that, I have managed to get out a couple of times here in the last few days.

Feels good to be on a "real" bike.

On a somber note, the Texas trip fell apart this year.  I had to bail because of work obligations.
The group was already talking about next year...

Ceci is One!

Cathy and Bill had a party for their big one-year old.  Her birthday was actually the 25th, but Saturday worked for everyone to get together.

The cake was as even better in the mouth...

Ceci was really into the presents and each one was her favorite (until the next one).

Ben wearing his t-shirt and hat that Papa and Grandma brought back from St. Maarten.

Gideon is getting bigger and bigger everyday.  Still working on getting those eyes focused.
But when he does, he's all smiles.  Big sister is busy taking care of her baby brother.

Sint Maarten N.A. 2016

Another family trip with Kathy's siblings.  This time we went to the island of Sint Maarten in the Caribbean. We rented a villa on Simpson Bay and each morning we woke to gorgeous sunrises.

It was warm, 85 to 90 each day, but the breeze made for very nice days.

We hit many beaches and took a catamaran excursion to Anguilla and Prickly Pear Islands.

 We also went to Pinel Island, great snorkeling there.

Kathy spotted the "Worlds Smallest Bar" on the internet, so of course we had to find it.

Juggie's Place, where you get two beers and a Cuban cigar for $2.99.  We went back four times :)

The "bar" is the closet behind Juggie.

We found plenty of fun places to eat, this was a Tex-Mex place in Maho.

Did I mention beautiful sunsets as well.

Kathy and I at "David's Pocket", a volcanic hole filled by the ocean.  Great snorkeling here too and yes, we snorkeled in through those openings behind us.

The villa had a great outdoor space and we spent most of the time out there.

Taking a nap in between Carib's (beer) and enjoying the sun.

Finding enough flat land for an airport on a volcanic island can be tough.  So Maho Beach is right (I mean right) at the end of the International Airport runway.

A great time...I miss it already.

Happy Baby!