Still in love after 52 years!

I had to share this photo I took of Polly & Melvin over the weekend - they are too cute!

HHH - Can we do it again?

We had our first family experience at the Hotter N Hell Hundred Bike Ride yesterday. As some of you may know, this is one of the biggest bike rides around, and certainly a huge deal for Wichita Falls. It has always been my dream that we could ride in it together as a family - and Dail made that happen this year (thanks honey!). With Luke on his clamp on (3rd wheel) to Dail's bike, and with Aidan in the trailer behind me, we were ready to go at 6:30 AM! (The kids wanted to know how we were going to ride when it was dark). The ride officially starts at 7:05 - complete with military jets flying overhead - but since we were riding only 10K, we were at the back of 9,700 people. So, 33 minutes later, we crossed the START line. After we made it past all the scary people who look like they could fall over in front of you any minute (and the kids who weave in and out with no control) - we successfully navigated the ride which takes you up a couple of hills, over a suspension bridge!, and past the actual "falls" of Wichita Falls. It was a lot of fun. Once we were through - Luke wanted to know if we could do it again...right then. He loved it! Aidan enjoyed all the rough terrain - it made him bounce around a lot. He kept saying "More bridge" or "More bump". This morning when Luke woke up, the first thing he said to his Daddy was "can we go out on a bike ride?" and sure enough, they went out for 11 miles. Love it!

Cycling boy

Well, it's official - cyclism has caught on in the Neely household. We went to the Hotter N Hell trade show tonight, and Luke was as excited as his Daddy. He has wanted his own jersey ever since he started riding on the 3rd wheel with Dail. So, he picked out one tonight - only it's a one piece jersey/shorts thing....with Mexican flag type stuff on it. Very cute! He looks adorable in it. And, he liked it so much, he wanted to sleep in it tonight...so I snuck in after he fell asleep and took a pic. Adorable!

3rd times a charm

Yes, Ronnie and I made our 3rd attempt in three weeks to go out on our regular bicycle route and return without...drama. We contemplated changing our route - but I felt like for some reason we were called to this challenge, and we couldn't give in to defeat. And so (and this part is to make my brother realize that riding a bike is in fact fun and not a regular hazard!) WE DID IT! No flats, no goats, no bobcats (see Dail's blog) not a thing prevented our success this time. We had some mathematical differences in how far we in fact went (guess it's been a long time since we had to do basic addition and subtraction without he help of a calculator, palm pilot, or other technological device) but at around about 30 miles, we made it home. Now she is going to do 75-100 miles this weekend for the Hotter N Hell Hundred, but I will only be going 10K, toting a 50+ windsock (ie. Aidan in the cart). We will have fun, I am sure!

Mandantory family fun day

Yes, today was "mandantory family fun day" - or at least that is what I told Dail. You see, the Budweiser Clydesdale Horses were in town for Ranch Roundup (a VERY Texas thing) and they were having a parade today to showcase the horses. Well, if you don't already know, I LOVE parades and I LOVE horses. So, we had to go...even though it was at 4 in the afternoon, which is not only prime nap time but also just a wee bit hot in Wichita Falls in August. I told Dail the boys would love it, and he felt he had no choice. When we told Aidan we were going to a parade, he got excited and said "I see Ga'ma and Poppy!" since the only other parade he's ever been to was this past 4th of July in my parents' neighborhood in Nebraska. Fortunately, our friends the Koch's also ended up being there, so the long wait for the horses (and the absence of Ga'ma & Poppy) was no problem for the kiddos. After the heat/mosquito filled experience, we headed to Archer City to see Dail's parents and leave Luke for the night. The boys love their grandparents, as you can see from the pics!

Out of the mouths of...Luke & Aidan

I was just writing in my boys' journals, and remembered some funny, priceless quotes from my boys over the past few weeks. I will share them with you:

Aidan - "I wub yew Mommy" (said spontaneously and followed by a big hug)

Luke (said to his grandparents) - "Mommy is in charge of the kids, Daddy is in charge of the house"

Aidan - "Woh - I hear trashma'am" (trashman - his FAVORITE thing along with mowers and weed-weets (weedeater))

Luke (said to Aidan in a moment of disguist) - "If you're not going to give me that toy, then I'm not ever going to play with you. And when I grow up and have my own house, you can't come over. And I'm going to have a motorcycle and monster truck, and you can't see them either!!" (Whew - he told him!)

Life with little ones is positively priceless!

and it just gets better - Tetanus shot!

So, my day isn't getting any better than it ended yesterday. After my Mom informed me no less than 10 times that I should get a tetanus shot from the goat incident, I called the doctor this am. They told me to come by after 2 PM. After a road trip to Fort Worth got cancelled (was supposed to take my broken computer at work to get fixed, but now help is coming here to fix it - we'll see!) I went to work anyway with the boys in tow to check messages, etc. Upon heading into the "big" room as I call it, I couldn't figure out why I saw small food moving across the floor. But then the "aha" hit me - it was ANTS! So, we have a major ant problem at work, and nothing to spray them with. Then I went to lunch with Cassie (which was a wonderful reprival - thanks Cassie) and my wonderful niece kept my kids for an hour (thanks Sam!). Cassie had to leave to go to the doctor, which was coincidental since I had to go get a tetnus shot. When I arrive at the doctor, they tell me it will be just a few minutes for a nurse to call me. FORTY minutes later (yes, I'm stupid for waiting THAT long) I see Cassie stroll out of the doctor's office. First, she tells me she didn't wait more than 5 minutes in the lounge, then she says something about getting xrays. So, I ask (knowing in my heart the answer) what for? Of course, it is for the CCC canoeing trip we took a few weeks back when she had a huge fall out of her canoe that led her to being nearly lame in one leg. Well, she is still having problems with it, and had to get Xrays! I feel so badly that her incident happened on a CCC sponsored trip! The doc said she hasn't broken anything, she just has a lot of blood pockets built up and some calcium that has collected on the injured bone. Nice! I feel like pond scum. Finally, I go up to the desk to see what is taking so long. Well, seems the receptionist who checked me in put my file in my doctor's box - which would be fine except that my doctor is out today and my file would have sat there until tomorrow when my doctor comes in had I not said anything! Of course by now my kids are running around the waiting room screaming like wild banshies who have never been taught the fine mannerisms of how to behave in public. They finally call me back, I get my shot, and I take my worn out, nap way overdue kids home (but not before picking up Dail's drycleaning and the eggs necessary for our quiche tonight). What a day!!!!

Note to self - don't stop for goats!

Yes, Ronnie and I had another eventful bike ride last night. Our aspirations of going over 30 miles after work before it turns dark are getting to seem somewhat ridiculous. We once again had a good start, were keeping a good pace (heck, she was way outpacing me, but that gives me something to work for, right?) and were on our way back. This time, the sound that I heard was not a hissing air sound, but a crying goat sound. Do you know how sad a crying goat sounds? Sad enough to make us turn around to see what was going on. This poor goat had its head stuck in a wire fence, and couldn't pull it back through. We looked around for someone with goat experience, and no one could be found. (Where's a good goat herder when you need one?) So, we hopped off our bikes and went to the fence to see what we could do. We both grabbed her horns and tried to twist her poor head back so she could get out of her predicament...all the while laughing at what passers by must be thinking. She was SO stuck, and we weren't making much progress. I tried again to turn her head and suddenly I felt a lot of pain, and there was a lot of blood as I yanked my hand back. I think my finger got pinched between her horns and the fence! So, I stood there with blood rushing out of my finger like Niagra falls, and we wondered what kind of first aid we could do with a spare bicycle tube and some water. Now, all the while I am laughing, though I am slightly concerned with the amount of blood coming out of my finger. It was a lot! Ronnie finally remembered that Dail had given me these cloths that are the size of a half dollar until you add water to them, which causes them to grow...they were in my seat pack. After making the "magic cloth" big enough to cover my gaping wound, we then tried calling Dail to come get us. Of course, he was mowing the lawn, and had no phone nearby. So, she called Kelly to run to our house to tell Dail. Well, she happened to be 15 minutes away from town. So, she called Beaker to do the same thing. She too was 20 minutes outside of town. Seriously, who was around? The blood was drying on my arm, and my finger was throbbing while I held it above my heart (hey - I remembered something from college first aid!). Who knows what all the cars who flew by us (yes, no one even slowed) were thinking. Two girls in bicycle gear, one with a cloth wrapped around her hand and a lot of blood, and a random stuck goat all on the side of the road...what would you think?

Finally Dail checked his phone, saw we had called, called us back, and was on his way to our rescue. He and the boys showed up, loaded up our bikes, and took us home. My finger is now wrappped in 3 bandaids, still throbs a bit, but I think will survive. We decided that my elevated heart rate elevated my blood flow as well...because while the gash doesn't look good, it doesn't look life threatening.

So, the moral of the story - you guessed it, NEVER stop for a goat! (Maybe unless you are St. Francis himself!)

IKE-ugh

We had a great little weekend get away to Dail's sister's new place in Royce City...not too far outside of Dallas. They just moved there two weeks ago, and we went to help them out a bit and to also go to IKEA that just opened in Plano. We spent a great afternoon with them on Saturday touring the town and the school they will be working for (all while our niece Adrienne watched the boys - thank you SO much!) and then we all had dinner, Crickett and I went to Kohl's, and we then hung pictures and moved furniture until 12:30 AM.

The next day (Sunday), we got up, lazed around a bit, and then headed into the urbanesque land. Dail wanted to hit REI (his favorite sporting good store) and then up Preston Road to IKEA. Well, I had been warned that the place was a mad house and like driving to Six Flags or something, without the shuttle service. We approached IKEA and traffic on 121 slowed to a near standstill. We finally exited, circled the Dallas Stars practice arena twice, and FINALLY got into the parking lot. Little did we know that the mayhem was only just beginning. We went inside, had already lost Crickett & Dale, and Aidan was professing he wasn't having anything to do with sitting in a cart. After finding Dail's sister, we went the speed of every other crazy person in there (which was either too fast or slow, depending upon whether you wanted to stop and look at something or not) and spent 2 hours finding deals we just couldn't pass up. Once we got downstairs where most of the inventory that is displayed upstairs is located, we all were tired, a bit cranky, hungry, and did I say tired? [we had all taken turns holding Aidan, who is not a small child to lug around]. Finally we approach the check out stands, and clearly realize we are like cattle going to slaughter. There are 17 checkstands open, each with about 20+ waiting. Dale Montgomery declared there was nothing in his cart that he wanted to wait in THAT long of line for someone else to TAKE his money. He was overruled by the women of his household, but he was probably the smart one. ONE HOUR and TWENTY minutes later (yes, 110 minutes folks) we arrived at checkstand #13. I told Crickett that was our first problem - we got in lane #13?!?! By this time, my Dail had taken a crashed Aidan to the car, and Luke was rolling around on the floor getting filthy, which I didn't even care about anymore. I spent all of $30, and left feeling a mixture of satisfaction and stupidity....happy I went, braindead for actually buying anything that day!

We did have a good time overall, and the boys were very good overall, so that's what really matters I guess!

Summer daze at Castaway Cove

Deja vu?

This post is, in part, due to my husband's blog today...which if you haven't read, you should (There is a link to his blog at the side of my page in case you don't know his blog address). I think his misfortune on the bike sealed the fate of my ride with Ronnie yesterday. We went out early Sunday morning for what was shaping up to be a very good ride. We were making good time, avoiding all dogs, and thoroughly enjoying ourselves. After we passed the prison, I heard a noise. Now, there are 3 noises you DO NOT want to hear while biking...loud, close barking; loud, close honking; or the sound of air rushing out of a tire. (or I guess in the case of being near the prison, you might not want to hear gunshots or someone running quickly behind you, but I digress...) The whoosh of air was the sound that hit Ronnie and me. I had a nice little blow out. To make matters worse, I had the wrong kind of tube in my pack, so it took us 40 minutes and 2 Co2 cartridges to get me back on the road. While Dail called me after his flat yesterday, I DID NOT want to call him, because if Ronnie and I called him, that would admit failure to change a flat...a failure we didn't want to own up to. But, we did manage to make everything work (thank you Ronnie!) and then found our legs were not very happy to get back on a bike. Both of us had tired legs that had to take us home, all the way into the wind. At least my wonderful husband made me a tastey latte when I got home, which made it all seem not so bad.

More slip sliding

Slip Sliding Away

The kids had a ball today playing with their new slip n slide...It's one of those things I always wanted as a child, but never got (along with an easy bake oven!). It says ages 5+, but you can't tell Aidan that! He's more daring than Luke - running crazy right through. Luke has a strategy about his sliding, Aidan just runs pell mell. That about sums up my kids personalities right there!

We also had the Trimble's over for a much needed family get together tonight. We ate dinner together and our kids all played while we watched Tour de France highlights...it was good. We haven't gotten to do that since before they went to Hawaii (or found out they were pregnant) so it was way overdue! Thanks for coming over guys!