Utah State Championships

Morgan has been showing quite a bit of interest in racing on the road as well as a bit of mountain biking.  So with a few rides under her belt so far this season we went ahead and signed her up for the State Championships.  Why not, right? 

She was super excited about it!

Ryan raced as well.

This is turning into a family affair!

 My boys.

Staging for their race.

I was so nervous for my little Morgan!

 There were four other girls racing with her in the 10-12 category.

They had to do 18 miles total.  The race started on Antelope Island which has a long causeway connecting it to the mainland, so the girls had to ride the entire length of that causeway, 7 miles out, 7 miles back.  Then once back on the island they rode 4 more miles up and down some rollers to the finish.  

Let me just add here that this island is known for its massive bug population this time of year.  I knew it may be bad, but I had NO IDEA it was going to be as bad as it was!!  You know you're in trouble when you drive up to the island and all the park employees are dressed in bug nets.  Luckily, I brought bug spray, which protected us a little, but we still all got bites none the less.  Clouds and clouds of bugs surrounded us at all times...it was pretty terrible.

 Trying to take a photo was a fail...the girls were too busy swatting bugs away.

Luckily, the wind picked up, which was good for us (it blew the bugs away) but bad for my little Morgan who out battling against it on a very long road!

 No surprise, her little group shattered.

 Coming in to the finish scoring third place!

She was worked!  But so happy!!  

It was not easy out there, and I am just so proud of her!!

As soon as the results were in the wind picked up more and then rain started coming down.  It was pretty intense!  We were all huddled behind the trailer for cover listening to the results being read and the medals handed out.  Most people just took their awards and left, but these girls wanted the whole experience with the podium!!  The three of them left the cover of the trailer and endured the crazy weather for some pictures...I'm so glad they were game. 

As we drove home Morgan talked about her race the entire drive, all hour and a half of it!  She was so thrilled about her first race and so proud of herself.

I was glad that the weather and bugs didn't scare her off and make her never want to do it again.

But then, one of the things she said to us driving home was how sometimes those uncomfortable or scary moments make the best adventures and memories.

Words to remember.

St. George Weekend

 Last weekend we hit the road and headed down to St. George for the Tour de Sol stage race.

I was soooooo looking forward to a little weekend getaway.  The last time we had a little trip was Thanksgiving!  And I think we were all looking forward to some sunshine!!

We packed up Friday afternoon for the four hour drive and Rory was asleep before we even got to the freeway!

We stayed right in the middle of town...this little gem that used to be a women's dorm for Dixie State but is now converted into a hotel.  It's a single story, pretty small place...perfect to let the kids roam around without getting lost.  There isn't a TV in the room but they have a great common area with a TV, games and books that the kids loved.  I have a hunch this will be our new go to place any time we have to stay in St. George!

Saturday morning was the Time Trial.

 Ryan's start wasn't until late morning so we all decided to go with him.

 Snacks on the curb.

 The crit wasn't until Saturday evening so we spent the entire afternoon at the nearby splash pad letting the girls play...they had a ball!  We even found a little place to grab lunch across the street and picnicked at the park.

Kisses before the race...this has quickly become one our favorite pictures ever!

 The crit was not the most exciting to spectate.  It was held at a little airport, which doesn't make for a very thrilling course.

 I backed the truck along the side of the course so the girls could have somewhere to sit and watch...there wasn't a whole lot for them to do, but I have to say they were able to amuse themselves pretty well.

Of course it wouldn't be complete if there wasn't quite a bit of bickering as well..."She's sitting in my space!!"  "She took my book!!"  "She sat on my picture!!"  "She licked my foot!!!"  (Yes, that last phrase was actually said by one of my children...I don't even want to know...)

Sunday morning was the road race.  Ryan left first thing in the morning while I stayed back and got the girls ready and packed up the hotel.  We drove out to see the finish, but we ended up getting there too early and had quite a bit of time to spare.

 Luckily there was a great park right near the finish line the girls could play at.

 Haley and Morgan were so helpful with the little ones.  Haley played tag with them in the field and Morgan piggy backed Rory all around when she got tired.  Oh, I just love it when my kids get along!!

 Post race.

 We headed to a grocery after to grab some lunch.

Rory of course zonked out...it had been a action packed weekend so I'm not surprised she fell asleep in a shopping cart.

 Lunch of choice...party size 7 layer dip with tortilla chips.  Ha!

Before heading out of town we hit up the splash pad one more time...the girls' choice...and let them play for a good hour before we hopped back in the car to head home.

But before I close, I need to share this last picture of Morgan.

 She has an old pair of glasses (without the lens)...I think they belonged to my dad maybe.  Anyway, she pulls them out every now and then to wear.  She keeps them in her travel bag, so when we're on the road I'll notice she's got them on.  I had to sneak this picture of her without her noticing.  Anyway, I think it's super cute that she likes to wear them.

And that is that my friends.

Happy Thursday!

Masters Nationals

So a couple of weeks ago Ryan raced in the Masters National Championships...his first time racing masters anything (I think).  For those out of the know, masters racing starts at 35 years of age and the categories are divided up 35+, 40+, 45+...you get the idea.  

And just a side note...Ryan has raced all the different Nationals Championships now: Junior, Collegiate, u23, Elite, and Pro...pretty cool.  I'm pretty proud of him.

We were lucky that it was held in Ogden, which is just over an hour away from us.

It was a little crazy watching the race with my kids as Morgan was pretty much a grump the entire time and wasn't getting along with Haley (or anybody for that matter).  At one point Haley and Morgan were fighting on the sidewalk...like boy fighting...hitting and everything!  My sweet girls...fighting...sheesh.  Yes, they do this occasionally at home...but in public?!  It was a little embarrassing to say the least to have to break up my children in a brawl.  And of course there is no denying that they belong to me...the red hair is a dead giveaway.  So, I couldn't just turn and walk the other way and let them figure it out on their own.  Not that I would ever do that.

And then Rory had a major issue with the porta-pots and refused to go the bathroom in them.  She calls them Ew potties.  Anyway, the girl had to go in a bad way so I resorted in having her go behind a dumpster along side the race course.  Good times.

I was able to snap a few pictures of Ryan, and is just me or is he smiling in every one of these?

It was a really nice outing even with grumpy smurf, and we were able to see some S. CA people who made the trek out for the race which was nice.

Oh, and Ryan got 16th...not too shabby for a race he didn't train for at all.
I think he's pretty awesome.

The Crusher

 We spent the weekend about 30 minutes up the canyon outside Beaver at a ski resort called Eagle Point.  It was beautiful there!!  We arrived Friday late afternoon and Ryan raced first thing Saturday morning in The Crusher.  This race is insane!!  It's half on the road and half on the dirt so cross or mountain bikes are used and the elevation is over 10,000 feet at the finish.  It's a really, really tough race!  I'm so proud of Ryan for doing it!  And I might add, he didn't do too shabby for a first timer!

Coming in to the finish.  This is Ryan's hurtin' face.

Dang, he looks good!  Am I right or am I right?

As the racers were coming in Haley took it upon herself to pass out the water, sodas and some food.  She would go up them and ask them what their "order" was and then she would run and get it.

 The entire time we were at the finish line Morgan and a group of kids made a bridge over a little ditch.  Pretty impressive...although, I wouldn't walk on it if I were you!

 And Piper found a mud puddle of course.

It's a pretty spectacular race and who knows, this may be a new tradition for us!

I'll post more pictures of our weekend tomorrow!
Happy Monday!

Weekend Review: Idaho Falls

 Wow!  What a weekend we had!  Be prepared...they're about a gazillion pictures in this post!

Saturday started off with Haley's swim meet first thing in the morning.  She did pretty well for herself...improving a little?  But I think she was distracted because she was itching to leave for Idaho Falls...she wanted to get on the road...forget swimming!  We did manage to get going right after lunch for the four hour drive up north.

Ryan's race started at 8 and at that very moment a storm blew in bringing a bit of rain with it.  The field was pretty small and pretty much all of them crashed out within the first few laps because of the slick conditions...not Ryan though!  They decided to stop the race and have a restart and give the rain a chance to blow over.  Luckily the rain did stop and they were able to restart the race...which, by the way, my main man Ryan ended up taking the win!!  I'm super proud of him!

Ryan and his old teammate and good friend, Jared.

In this next picture doesn't it look like Piper is Jared's daughter...I mean really, look at their smiles, they look exactly the same!

It ended up being a late night that evening...I think it was close to 11:00 before we got the kids to bed!  But of course Haley was still up by 6:30!  That girl cannot sleep in!!

After breakfast, we did our annual river walk to the falls.  Our traditional family picture, which actually after cropping it and adding some fill light to it, it doesn't look too bad!

After our walk and a quick swim in the pool, we went to our friends Keven and Sandy's home for a BBQ.  Keven is Alan's dad.  They live in a pretty rural area outside of Idaho Falls with 5 acres of land and four horses!  So when the girls heard "horses" they went crazy as you can imagine!

Ryan's pose in this picture makes me giggle.

 The girls groomed the horses and were able to ride them around the property...they were in heaven!  This wasn't their everyday pony ride!

Haley getting instructions on how to ride.

It was actually quite comical watching all the girls (Keven had a couple of his granddaughters there too) trying to get the horses to go where they wanted them to.

Morgan had a big scare when her horse got spooked by something and the horse ended up actually falling sending Morgan flying to the ground.  Ryan was actually holding the rope when it happened and was terrified Morgan got squished by the horse!  But thankfully Morgan wasn't hurt, just scared.  But like I said earlier...this wasn't their everyday pony ride!

Morgan driving the golf cart with Keven.  She was very proud that Keven taught her how to drive and she could do it all by herself!  

The girls had a ball exploring the property!  

They even found a litter of kittens in the hay bales.

Keven and Sandy were such gracious hosts...they served up quite the feast!

It was really hard to leave as everyone was having such a great time.  It was a very memorable weekend all around!

This picture was taken about 3 minutes after getting in the car to go home.

Can we say tired?!

Now today Ryan left early for CO and I'm in a post trip funk...tired.  And Morgan was thrilled to go tell her friend that she got thrown from a horse!

The girls can hardly wait for next years trip!