Keeping up with the Swanson's

summer happenings

2011-08-14T22:25:00.006-06:00

July was a busy month, but fun. One weekend we went hiking at the Craigs the kids did pretty well the Kelty carrier was a life saver.

Then we went up Pikes Peak one Afternoon. The drive was very pretty and I was happy Neil was driving. They have great donuts, can't wait to go get some more.
My Brother got married July 23rd in Minnesota so the kids and I went back a week early and Neil drove back and met up with us later in the trip. The wedding was beautiful and weather was perfect.
Keenan took swimming lessons he loved it. He did great. He passed his first session and got to go to the next level, but the next level is pretty hard. They want them to be able to do a breast stroke put the whole combination of moving hands and kicking and putting face in the water at the same time. Keenan is going to have to practice that some, but he had a blast.
I will be posting some August Happenings later in the month.

Summer Riding

2011-06-10T15:48:00.011-06:00

The last couple Thursday Neil and I have finally been able to get out and ride with each other which we have not done for awhile.

We have gone to Ute Park (which is only a mile from Neil's work) so Neil knows the trails really well I have been there a couple times. Ute has great trails very different than midwest riding, but love the new challenge.

Last night we went to Palmer Park (Section 16). We took off from the parking lot and Neil warned me that there is alot of climbing at the beginning, but I was not prepared for 1.5 hours of sustained climbing. It was all singal track. We met up with some of Neils co-workers at the Trail head (1/2 hour into the ride) They all had downhill bikes. So we took off up the Mountain and 1 hour later got to the top it was soo pretty. I was able to catch my breath and some of Neil's co-workers started to put some arm and leg protection on (Neil also warned me that the first part of the descent is really techincal, but I will be able to ride most of it). So we took off down the hill first and I think I was a little siked out, the frist quarter of the descent was rocky, loose gravel switch backs and STEEP! So I proceeded to ride part of it and I just could not go any further I was pretty nervous so I walked part of it. Then Neil's co-workers came down with their down hilll bikes and they were flying down the trail. It was neat to watch them go through these sections not even batting an eye. We got past that section and I was able to ride the rest of the trail down it was pretty loose and rocky, but we took it slow. It was a great night of riding an can't wait to do more.

Beauty

2011-06-08T14:04:00.009-06:00

Last night we all decided to go for a car ride and go up in the Mountains. It just amazes me that we are just minutes to wilderness or what seems to be out in the middle of nowhere and really on the otherside of this one Mountain is Colorado Springs.

Neil took us on this very curvy road with HUGE drop offs on one side of the road and which only seemed big enough for one car but when we would meet a car we would some how fit, but the views were worth the anxiety of being a passenger and having no control.

We went hiking to this waterfall, and the kids walked up these huge steps they did amazing and loved exploring and throwing rocks into the waterfall.

I think we are going to start doing that more often in the evening after work just get in the car and go into the mountains with the kids and go exploring.

BEAR!!

2011-05-05T21:58:00.002-06:00

Tonight we had our baby sitter come over and Cathy and I headed out for a ride. I took her to the Falcon trail at the Air Force Academy. Things were going good until about 1/2 way into the ride I stopped at the bottom of a hill to watch Cathy come down. While I was waiting I hear russling in the trees. Cathy rolled up and we quietly walked around the corner and then saw a brown bear in the trees walking away from us. He was heading in the same direction as the trail so we waited a while and then decided to keep going. I was yelling and making noise as we slowly rolled down the trail. As we went around the next corner I saw the bear lumber off the trail and back into the woods just in front of us. At the time it was a little scary but after riding to a safe area it was cool to see the bear in the wild.

CO best of both worlds!

2011-04-27T13:46:00.007-06:00

Here in CO you get the best of both worlds in a matter of a day. Today we got 3-4 inches of snow which we are in great need of moisture here. So the kids and I went out and made a snowman. It was fun to do something different in the morning, they loved it. By noon today it fell apart and is melting fast. Tomorrow its suppose to be 70 for the next couple days. I love it, snow pants one day, t-shirts and shorts the next.

Hiking

2011-04-16T21:00:00.006-06:00

It has been too long since I have posted anything on here. Cathy was out of town this weekend (Thursday through Sunday) so was on kid duty. The weather wasn't great on Thur/Fri so finally on Saturday it was supposed to be nice and we wanted to take advantage of it. With the forcast of 70 degrees we had our choice; 1) Playgrounds 2) Sledding/playing in the snow 3) Hiking We choose the last. Cathy's parents bought us a hiking book so I paged through it and found a hike that looked and sounded fun.

The trail started pretty steep right out of the parking lot!

This doesn't look like a big deal but I am basically looking straight down at the high way about 400ft below. The kids are leading the way!! Time for a break!

The kids did amazing. We ended up hiking about 1/2 way out to the loop and back which amounted to approx. 2.5 miles. I guess the first/last part of the hike is the steepest and hardest so we basically got a condensed version of the entire 7.5 mile trail. It was a really fun trail and likely we will be back there again this summer maybe to concur the whole thing (with the assistance of a baby sitter and kids at home...sorry guys).

The ZOO

2011-04-08T08:30:00.013-06:00

My parents came to visit this last week so we had some fun activites planned. One day we went to the Cheyenne Mountain Zoo the animals were very active. We got to feed the giraffes lettuce which was a lot of fun. The bears were not happy with one another so that was neat to watch. They have a carousel and the kids loved going for a ride. Georgia was saying Yee-Haw!! We went to the Airforce Acedamy one day and looked at some airplanes. Georgia got a new hat and sandals she loved going for a walk with her book and we could not forget her sippy cup. She was soo cute.

House pictures

2011-04-07T13:37:00.028-06:00

We are moved in and here are pictures of our house and some of our projects. It took us awhile to unpack after a oouple of months living out of boxes, but its so nice to be settling into our house.

View of Pikes Peak from our backyard that tree might need to go, durning the summer its going to block my view. We also have a hot tub that came with the house so that has been kind of fun.

Keenan's room - Before (these are the pictures we took when we first looked at the house it was their guest room)

After (a fun room for an active boy)

Georgia's room - Before a bright purple room

After (a cute pink/green room for my little girl)

While Neil was in Taiwan for a week I worked on painting our room. It looks so nice I love the colors and I love making my bed now. Before - the master bedroom with a flower border and mauve pink accent and tan walls. After- Bright, clean and fresh I love our room. Guest Room - Before it was a very ugly green with red curtains.

After- A nice relaxing room for our guest, please come visit :)

We still have some more painting to do and some minor updating, but we have a good start. I will post some more pictures as we continue to do more projects.

The Move to CO

2011-01-24T14:44:00.006-07:00

A deer at the end of the road at our Rental house.

The MOVE- This will be the summed up version
We left Saturaday, January 15th for the trek out west in our little Escape(we had movers come and move our stuff out). Saturday we left at noon and I was very emotional leaving, but the kids did a great job with the long day in the car. We stopped at Kearny, NE for the night and then woke up the next day and finished the trip.
The 2nd day traveling was not as easy, Georgia had the stomach flu and threw-up 3 times in the car, but we made it to Colorado Springs around 3 that day so it was not as long in the car. We stayed in a hotel on Sunday in Colorado Springs until our Moving Truck arrived on Monday. They moving truck pulled up to our Rental house at 9am Monday and got everything unloaded by noon that day and so far everything looks good.

Keenan helping put the table together.

Georgia helping unpack!

Through out the week we unpacked some things, but left alot of boxes packed in the garage. for when we get in to a house.
Georgia never got over her flu and by Wednesday(19th) of that week, she had a temp of 103.3 with tylenol so we took her to a clinic and had her looked at she had an ear infection we got her on some medicine and by the next day she was doing alot better.
Neil's parents came on Tuesday(18th) and hung out with us until Friday. Neil and I went out for dinner on Thursday, because we figured it would be the last time in awhile that we will have a babysitter, until we meet people and feel comfortable leaving our kids with other people.
The last couple weeks we have looked at a lot of houses nice/ok ones and some awful ones, but we have found a house. I will post more about the house in the next blog.

Alot has happened since November!!!

2011-01-24T14:06:00.004-07:00

Our New place of Resident!

Well, we haven't blogged in along time. The last time we blogged is when we were interviewing for a job in Colorado. Well 2 weeks after Nov. 1st was Keenan's 3rd Birthday November 18th which is when we got the news about Neil getting the job out in Colorado Springs. Neil and I were happy about the new location, but it was also sad to think about leaving Madison.

We Celebrated Keenan's 3rd Birthday at the (Keenan words )"Bowling Pin Place" with just Family and then had a big Birthday party on the weekend. So I had to make a Bowling Pin Cake he loved the cake. I can't believe he is 3, time just flies by.

We took a house hunting trip to CO mid December and looked at a lot of houses and did some site seeing which was a lot of fun. It was almost 60 degrees in Colorado Springs when we visited in December 11th. (1st picture)

Later in December we went to California for Christmas to see Neil's Brother, Wife and Nephew for a week which was nice to get away for awhile. We went to Disneyland for a day which was a lot of fun but very busy. Then we went to the beach on Christmas Eve(which was kind of wierd playing on white sandy beaches instead in the cold white snow). We went sailing one day and played outside as much as we could. It was great to spend time with the family before our big adventure.

When we got back from CA Neil had a few days before he left to go to CO to start his new job on January 3rd. It was a busy few days and was hard to see him leave because 2 weeks later when he returned we would all be leaving Madison and moving to CO.
Our house was put on the market Dec. 7th and we got an accepted offer January 9th. We close on February 25th. Which made it a little easier to move out of our house in Madison. More to come about the move. Stay tune.

Halloween 2010

2010-11-01T13:07:00.003-06:00

This year we went out trick or treating with our kiddos and our neighbors. The kids had a blast. Keenan dressed up as a Ghost and Georgia was a lady bug they were so cute. Keenan would go up to the door and say tricken(it sounded like Chicken)or treat, he was a great ghost. Georgia was getting the hang of it too by then end of the night.

October Happenings

2010-10-22T12:47:00.004-06:00

We have done alot the last few weeks. Going to the pumpkin patch, having a campfire one night, and just hanging outside as much as we can before it gets really cold out. We are hopeful that we will have a few more warmer days. Halloween is around the corner and I haven't got the kids there costumes yet, you will see later what they are going to be. Check out the blog in a week or 2 to see pics of them.

CA Trip with Georgia

2010-10-06T19:44:00.007-06:00

Georgia and I headed to Santa Barbara to see Neil's Brother Chris, Jenny and Asher their little boy who turned 1 while we were out there. It was the first time flying with any of our kids so I had know idea how it was going to go with her flying. We left Madison at 7:00PM and got into SB at 11:00PM there time, our time 1:00AM. Georgia was exhausted she slept maybe 45mins total on the plane, but we made it.
We headed to a park one morning and it was in the 80's and gorgeous. Most of the week it was in the 90's and one day it was 109. Later in the day we went to the beach and played in the sand and in the ocean, I could not get over how nice it was Georgia loved playing in the sand and in the water.

One morning we had Breakfast on the beach they had the best blueberry pancakes.

My little Nephew Asher turned 1 while we were there and they had a party for him at a local park. they had food, a very cute birthday cake which he loved and some great presents. He a wonderful day and you could not have asked for better weather.

Asher and his birthday cake!!

Georgia and the big blue whale!

Apple Time

2010-10-06T19:23:00.008-06:00

A few weeks ago we went to the apple orchard. We went on probably the worst day. It wasn't raining when we got there, but as soon as got to the farthest part of the orchard to get apples it started to rain. We tried not to have that spoil our outting, but we did get soaked.

Our bag was full so Keenan started putting the apples in Georgia's hood.

Georgia had a blast getting to pick her very own apples and eating them. Keenan always has enjoyed going and picking the best apples or finding ones on the ground. We have been busy making lots of yummy apple treats since.

Up North

2010-09-08T12:43:00.013-06:00

Sorry for not blogging in awhile, the Swanson's have been pretty busy the last couple weeks. We went up north acouple weeks ago for a week vacation. It was beautiful, The cabin/cottage we stayed at was amazing and the water was clear and sandy. The kids and the adults loved it.

Neil and Grandpa took Keenan out fishing one morning. Keenan was playing with his fishing pole in the boat and Neil said "becarful don't drop your pole in the water" and literally right after Neil said that he dropped the pole in the water. They tried fishing it out of the water, but no luck.

Before

After

Georgia on the other hand was enjoying making sand castles and then would sit on them. She loved playing in the water too, but she was a little limited on what she could do compared to Keenan.

We rented a jet ski one day and Keenan loved going for a ride. The adults loved it too. We got to play on it more when all the kids were down for naps. Jenny and Chris (Neil's brother and his wife) bought Keenan and Georgia a shark for them to ride on while we were up there. Keenan had fun riding on it while his Dad and Uncle pushed him all over.

While on vacation we enjoyed having dessert a lot. We always were having little snacks. Georgia's favorite snack on vacation was an oreo. She loved it and her face shows it.

Blueberries and Baseball

2010-08-03T12:37:00.012-06:00

Saturday I made my first blueberry pie with fresh blueberries it turned out great and tasted wonderful. MMMM!!

Later that day Steph and Jake came down to visit and we headed to a Mallard's game that night. Keenan loved the baseball game, he was so content watching the game.

He also learned how to crack open a peanut.

He was soo cute.

Georgia stayed with our neighbor while we took Keenan to the game. They have a 6 month old baby. Georgia had so much fun being the big kid in the house. Next summer she will enjoy going with us.

MN Fun

2010-07-20T13:48:00.005-06:00

This past weekend we went to MN to see Family and Friends. We had a blast. Saturday was a very warm day so we went to a park in the morning and played with the kiddos. Then when the kids went down for nap Neil and I went for a ride. We rode to Rochester which was only 9 miles and 30 minutes away on a bike, but we decided to go to the mall and get an Orange Julius on this very hot day. On the way back the wind had picked up and it seemed to be hiller going the other direction. Anyway we rode about 33 miles total and I got some nice tan lines. That night we took the kids to the Stewartville swimming pool for Family swim time my friend Steph and her husband Jake joined us. Keenan had sooo much fun, half of the pool is a wading area with fountains and a small slide and a spray gun he did not stop bouncing in the water. Georgia liked the water, but she hung on to me most of the time. She did like going down the slide.

Then we dropped off the kids at my Parents house and went out to eat with Steph and Jake it was nice to get away for a little while. The kids had a fun hanging out with Grandma and Grandpa.

Sunday we went up to the Cities for my Oldest Brother's Birthday Party and to hang out with his Fiancee Kate we met some of her family and talked about wedding plans, we are so excited for next summer. Chuck gave Georgia a pink, pony purse and Keenan a golf bag with clubs, they had so much fun playing with their new toys. Georgia hasn't put her purse down, she is sooo cute.

Subaru Cup Pics.

2010-07-02T13:27:00.008-06:00

She was soo happy watching the races.

Georgia sleeping during the Pro Men's Race. Behind us was a very difficult section that the races had to ride down and about 100 people cheering and ringing cowbells and Georgia slept through the whole thing.

Neil at the start of his short track race.
Neil during the short track race.

They would get soo close to those poles.

Sleeping during Neil's short track race. Sooo tired they had a very long weekend.

Swimming lessons and backyard fun

2010-06-28T13:53:00.008-06:00

A couple weeks ago Keenan had his first swimming lesson, He loved every moment of it. Georgia had her first lesson last week she took a little time to warm up to the the feel/idea of the water it was a little cold.
Neil would count to 3 and he would want to jump in before 3 he just could not wait any longer.

We also got a slip and slide for the backyard. We have a slight hill in our backyard so it makes it very fast to go down. I think next year Georgia will like the water sports more, she is not a fan of getting splashed besides tubby time.
Keenan and Georgia had a blast finger painting, I thought this activity is best done outside.

Madison Half Marathon

2010-06-08T12:44:00.011-06:00

On Sunday, May 30th I ran my first half marathon here in Madison. It was a very senic venue, it started and finished at the Capital. The crowd of people all around the race route was amazing. My Parents came down that weekend they cheered me off the start line. Neil and the kids came down to the race on the bikes with Neil's Parents and they all chased me around. I saw them at mile #4 and it was so fun to see someone you knew. I saw them again at mile #9 which was a much needed pick-me-up, as I was starting to get really tired. It was a very warm, humid day, and they actually stopped the Marathon at 4 hours due to the heat. I was very excited to be done and was very tired and sore the rest of the day. It was a great accomplishment and it was fun to hang out with everyone up at the capital afterward.
Thanks Neil for chasing me around with the kiddos and for the Hot Pink Sign and being so supportive, it was a lot of fun. Thanks to my parents for coming down and cheering me on it felt like High School when you would chase me around from gymnasium to gymnasium for volleyball. And to my in-laws for coming down and supporting me during my race it was fun to have you there.

Pictures of the Race and After
Mile #4 feeling pretty good and soo excited to see my Fam.

Mile #9

"The Pink Sign"

(After the race on the Capital sqaure) Keenan loves jumping over Neil's legs, he is a really good jumper.

Georgia wanted to jump over Daddies leg too.

Mini golf on a Sunny Morning

2010-05-24T13:32:00.005-06:00

Everytime we drove by the Mini golf place Keenan would ask to go, which is just about everytime we go somewhere, because its right down the road from our house. So we finally went this last Sunday. Keenan was really excited when we got there. He got his very own tiny golf club and then he got to pick out what color ball he wanted, he choose orange of course his favorite color.

We started out on the first hole we told him to try to hit the ball in the hole and he knew exactly what to do. We did not keep score, but he probably would have beat me. Georgia was a little small and doesn't really know what to do with the club so she watched and would go and pick up the balls.
When we were done playing mini golf we went inside to cool off. They hava an arcade and an indoor mini golf course. They had the biggest basketball hoop and ball, and Keenan had fun trying to throw the ball in the hoop. We will have to go back on a rainy day and play the course thats inside.

Camping pictures and other random May pictures

2010-05-19T12:13:00.005-06:00

Keenan having breakfast after a restful night sleep in the pop-up.

Our campsite.

This use to be my shirt.

Mother's Day in Janesville, they were so cute going down the slide together.

Racing, Camping, Kids

2010-05-18T20:34:00.003-06:00

I had good intentions to get this updated after Iola. I ended up going up with a friend who's wife and baby stayed home as well for the weekend. The pre-ride felt really good so I was excited about the race. Later that evening I was going over the bike and noticed my repair weld had cracked. I didn't have much choice so I just hoped it would make it through the race. Sunday felt really good the hills were fun and the single track flowed perfectly. I ended up rolling in 12th spot...not bad for the first race of the season.
After the race I decided it was time to retire the Mongoose. One of the guys over at the Trek East store had a Rig that he wasn't riding. I picked that up and swapped everything over on it.
We weren't sure about going to Rhinelander and were looking for a camper so we could bring the kids with and camp with them at races. We found a nice used camper on Thursday before the race so we decided to take it up north and see what the kids thought about camping.
Saturday we got up to the race course. We got the camper set up and Cathy headed out for a pre-ride. I took the kids around the venue and tried to get them good and wore out so they would sleep good. If I have learned anything as a parent it is that "wearing the kids out" is a wives tale or fantasy that people talk about. We ran for about 3 hours straight, ate some supper, hung out in the camper, read some books, and then put them down. 2.5 hours later they fell asleep - lesson learned: kids have an endless supply of energy that if it could be tapped into and harnessed would make them nearly unstoppable at any activity!
Once the kids fell asleep the camper worked really well, and despite the challenges we are looking forward to more camping trips.
The next day was the regular routine, I worked at the Park Tool tent, Cathy played with the kids, we ate lunch, and then race time. I didn't get a chance to pre-ride but everyone was saying the course was really rough. We hit the first set of single track and that was ever true! I had this weird throat thing going on so the first 1/2 lap I was coughing up junk the entire time. After I got my system cleaned out I started to feel alright, I got into a good group and we were picking off riders at a steady pace. Half way through the second lap I hit one of the bumps REALLY hard. I heard bad noises from the front of the bike and thought I might have broken my front axle...yeah I hit that hard. Then about 3/4 through the second lap my chain broke. I got that fixed and checked the front wheel - which was fine. My fork however was not right, it was stiff and clunky. I got back on the bike and tried to make an effort to catch up. I was pretty far back in the pack and was just not feeling good so I pulled the plug at the end of the lap. I was a little bummed for making that long of a drive just for a DNF but I guess that is all part of the game. I took the fork off and sent it into the guys at Hayes/Manitou so we will see what they say broke inside some time this week.
In all it was a good time, spending a weekend at the races with kids is a whole new challenge. I hope they get more used to it / easy as the summer progresses and as they get older. We are going to try a more local camping trip again in a couple weeks just to get more time in the camper and for them to get used to it.
In other news, Cathy got signed up for the Madison Half Marathon. This will be her longest run ever and now that she is signed up she is really excited about it. That is happening Memorial Day weekend. We are also going to be doing some landscaping in our back yard this weekend. It should be interesting so we will be sure to post pictures.

Iola - Back to Racing

2010-04-28T07:18:00.003-06:00

This weekend is the start to another racing season. I had a cruel realization last week that we were only 10 days away from racing. A moment of panic and excitement hit me...have I got enough riding in? How does my fitness compare to last year? Who is going to be fast this year? You know the drill, it happens every year.
I am wrenching for WORS again this year in the Park Tool Neutral repair tent. If you have neglected your bike all year and it is in need of some serious TLC stop by and I will get it going for you.
I will get a full report after the race and hopefully some pictures. We are looking forward to seeing everyone again after another long and cold winter.

LETS GO RACING!!!!!!!!!!

Georgia Walking and April Pictures

2010-04-21T21:04:00.006-06:00

Georgia has started walking!!! She's really cruisin the only time she will crawl is when she is outside. Georgia was chasing Keenan.

Keenan is walking in his Daddy's shoes.

We are doing some landscaping and Neil cut down some of the old bushes in our backyard, Keenan wanted to help.

We went to the Zoo last weekend and fed the ducks at Lake Wingra. Keenan loved throwing the bread to the geese and the ducks. Georgia just watched with her Daddy.

Easter Weekend

2010-04-13T19:55:00.005-06:00

I know Easter has been a couple weeks ago, but we are just getting around to blogging about it.
We went back to MN for Easter and stopped in at Pizza Hut in Sauk City on the way home. This is so AMAZING we ordered a large, supreme deep dish pizza it was only $10, you can't even go to McDonalds for that cheap. I was so excited about this I have been telling everyone.

Neil took Keenan to the park there was a baseball field and he ran the bases about a dozen times he loves baseball, Neil had a hard time making him leave.

We went to the Sunrise service with my parents, the kids were amazing considering there were up at 6. When we got home the Easter bunny had left them some baskets which Keenan loved, we only gave him maybe a handful of candy which was plenty, and he got some other goodies. Then we went outside and found some Easter eggs in the yard. Keenan looked high and low for all the Easter eggs and only needed a little help with some of eggs. We went inside and he opened up all the eggs to find all the great surprises inside them. Georgia loved taking out all the eggs out of the basket and scattering them all over the room.

Spring Fun

2010-03-30T13:42:00.004-06:00

We had a small party for Neil on his Birthday which was the 16th. Keenan helped his Daddy blow out all the candles.
Keenan enjoying the warm weather, relaxing on his little bench outside.
Georgia had fun sitting on her blanket playing with her toys.
I was painting my toes getting ready for sandle season, when I decided Georgia needed a little pink on her toes as well. She did not want to sit very well, but we got them painted. Her little toes are soo cute.
Keenan loves being out in the garage with Neil fixing things/helping. He is fixing Neil's bike here with a screw driver it looks like he actually knows what he is doing.

We have been out on the bikes with the kids a couple times this year already. The kids love it and so far they don't mind sharing their small space with each other. We hope to get out more this week with the 70 degree weather that is suppose to come. YEAH!!!

Family/Georgia 1 year pictures

2010-03-19T13:42:00.003-06:00

We went down to the the Madison Contempary Art Museum to get Georgia's 1 year pictures taken. She was a very smiley and happy baby that day.

She loved climbing on the stairs.

She loved playing with her skirt.

They are so cute in this picture, I hope they will be like this when they are teenagers.

We went down on to State Street and got some pictures taken, it was a beautiful day. There were so many people out and about.

The kids did great and the pictures turned out amazing.

Georgia's 1st Birthday

2010-03-17T13:07:00.005-06:00

Georgia's birthday was Thursday the 11th she woke up and had a pancake birthday cake. She loves pancakes so I knew she would enjoy her birthday pancake. Keenan helped her blow out her 1 candle and helped sing happy birthday to her, I think he really does love her.

Saturday we had her big birthday party. She loved her cake

Georgia with her Lady bug cake.

Georgia enjoying her ladybug cake.
Georgia sad after having her ladybug cake taken away. I don't think she would have stopped if I let her eat as much as she wanted. We opened up gifts after the cake and Keenan liked opening the gifts more than Georgia did. She had a great day and got lots of wonderful gifts.

Secret Training Revealed

2010-03-08T21:24:00.004-07:00

So this weekend I switched to my second of 3 stages of unofficial off season training. Friday night I ended my Threshold training block with a quick tear around the Cap. City trail. I made it about 8 miles into the 22 mile loop with lights before the battery died. The remaining 14 miles was under the moon and stars...neither of which were out. It was really dark and pretty slippery so pushing the watts resulted in a few close calls with the ground. Sunday was the start to my hill phase workouts. A small but dedicated group met here at 6am to hammer out 55 miles and almost 4000ft of climbing...all before 9am.
With out planning every day's ride, weighting my food, counting calories this year I am trying to split my race prep into (3) 3-5 week segments.
1) Threshold - Because I don't have time for true base miles I have been working on shorter and more intense rides, 1-2 hours with 5-10 minute intervals, with min recover.
2) Hills - Now that I will be able to get outside more and actually on the road I am going to be hitting as many hills as possible. If I can learn to love hills this year will go a lot smoother.
3) Fine tuning - by then the weather should be clear enough to get on the trails. This will be more fun rides, learning how to ride in the woods again after too many hours on a trainer and too many miles on the road this will be a really nice refresher that I am sure I will be ready for.
So there you have it, if this season turns out to be a good one then I guess this was a receipt for success, if not then I guess just chalk it up to a learning experiance.

Fun Playing!

2010-03-03T14:42:00.003-07:00

As Georgia has gotten older her and Keenan have been starting to play with each other more and more. Its been fun seeing them play and interact with each other.

Keenan where are you!

There he is!

Keenan is the tickle monster.

Georgia loves being where ever Keenan is.

Keenan's 1st bowling Experience

2010-02-20T19:15:00.005-07:00

Last Saturday we went bowling with Keenan for the first time. We went with some friends of our and their kids, Keenan had so much fun.

Getting on his bowling shoes, I did not think they made bowling shoes for that small of feet.

He got his bowling ball.

Getting ready to roll it down the lane.

Watching the ball go down the lane.

Ramping Up

2010-02-16T12:44:00.003-07:00

As the days get noticably longer the anticipation of summer grows. We have been out on a couple wagon rides, which admittedly were probably premature for weather conditions, but it seemed like the right thing to do at the time. I think the kids are ready to get out of the house. This winter has been really fun watching Keenan explore in the snow...but is a lot of work to get to that point (snowpants, boots, coat, hat, mittens, ect).

Last year I broke the chainstay from excessive chain ring rub. I had a guy in Blue Mounds weld it back together and he did a GREAT job!! The Fisher was shipped to it's second life out in sunny California while the Mongoose got built back up and put back into service.

This weekend will be the second annual Cyclo-Frost race, I haven't had as much outside riding as last year, but the conditions look to produce an easier course than last year. Hopefully this will give a little boost to continue the mind numbing time on the trainer until the weather cooperates enough to either start night riding again, or to break out the trailer and start dragging the kids around.

Plans for the summer are starting to come around. I am going to be on Team WORS again so if you are at the races and need a little last minute tune-up stop by the Park Tool tent and I will see what I can do for you.

We are trying to get an early season trip south planned for mid march to get an early fix on some single track. Right now we are scoping out the St.Louis or Kansas City areas, both are about the same distance and both have good riding, hopefully the weather will be cooperative at one of the two places, I think we will plan for either location in parallel and then decide once we have a good look at the weather.

New Car

2010-01-31T21:43:00.006-07:00

Last weekend Neil stayed home and watched the kids while I went to MN and visited my friend Steph and stopped in to say hi to my parents. I drove our newish car home, its a really nice. It has leather seats, a sunroof, the doors lock and unlock when they are suppose to and there isn't smoke coming from the hood after a long drive. We sold our old, new subaru and got a RED Ford Escape. I think Keenan likes it even though he wanted a orange car, but he likes his new truck.

Georgia is starting to stand on her own, she getting a little bit more brave letting go. She can also say UH-OH when she drops something on the floor which is her new favorite game at meal time. Keenan is almost saying complete sentences. He loves singing the Alphabet song, and twinkle, twinkle little star and counts everything he sees.

We are all feeling a little bit antsy to get outside. Neil and I have been on the trainers some to prepare us for our first nice spring day outside on the trails. Neil is getting ready for the cyclofrost race in acouple weeks, which is held up at the capital square.

Keenan is playing with Georgia in a box that we had laying around. She is so tough with what she has to put up with sometimes.

Georgia's Dedication & Keenan's new sport

2010-01-17T13:00:00.007-07:00

Acouple weeks ago Georgia was dedicated at Blackhawk Church on Saturday, January 16th, she did so good. Keenan was a great big brother. Her dedicated verse was from Psalms 98: 1 - I will sing of the Lord's great love forever; with my mouth I will make your faithfulness known through all generations. It fits her well, she is a vocal girl.

We had everyone that made it to the dedication over for lunch afterward. Everything turned out great and was very delicious. When Georgia woke up from her nap we had cake and opened up her gifts.

Keenan learned a new sport, hockey. He loves it, him and Neil went to a local park near our house that has a hockey rink and found a hockey stick that was just his size. He has been talking about hockey ever since.

Neil took Keenan and Georgia on their first wagon ride of 2010, I hope we can go on more very soon.

December Pics

2009-12-30T13:15:00.006-07:00

Sorry we haven't blogged in awhile. December is always soo busy. We started out the month redoing our floors in the kitchen and Livingroom. Neil and his Dad put in the tile while I took the kids to my parents in MN for a week.

Before:This was the old laminate flooring we had in the kitchen, very boring and plain and was starting to look very warn.

After: This is the new Tile, so warm and beautiful and has a neat pattern. It looks wonderul in the kitchen.

Before: This is the old carpet by the front door soo ugly. (this picture was taken this past spring, Keenan testing out the durability of the bouncy seat for her Sister)
After: I hated the carpet by the front door. I don't understand why people would put carpet by an outside door. So we brought the tile from the kitchen into the front door/livingroom, so we actually have an entry way.

When we got home Neil had already got the Christmas tree and Georgia is sitting on the new carpet all wrapped up with lights ready to decorate the tree.

A few days later we had a huge snow storm that dumped about 18inches of snow. The snow was up to Keenan's waist, he had so much fun playing in the snow.

Then we took our Christmas card pictures. Which out of all the pictures we took this is about the only one that everyone was looking and smiling. I will add some more pics. later from Christmas.

Keenan's Birthday

2009-11-23T13:42:00.003-07:00

Keenan's Birthday was Wednesday the 18th he loved blowing out the Candle!

We went to the Holiday Inn to their waterpark, He had a great time.

Saturday we had birthday party with a baseball cake.

Him and his friend enjoying opening presents.

California Trip

2009-11-14T20:15:00.004-07:00

We went to California last week to visit Neil's brother, his wife, and their new baby. My parents came down and stayed with the kids for 6 days. We left early Thursday morning for Santa Barbara. We have not been away from the kids that long so I was a little nervous.
Thursday - We got to CA around 12, got some authentic Mexican food which was amazing then Jenny and I got our toes and nails done, it was so nice to get pampered. That evening we took the scooter down to the beach and watched the sun set.

Friday - we all went to the Valley to some Vineyards, that was a lot of fun. They were so pretty and the wine was amazing.
Saturday - Neil and I went woke up early and took "scoots" out to get some coffee at one of the local coffee houses. Once Chris and Jenny got up and ready we loaded Asher in the car and went down to the Harbor. We walked through the prier and saw some HUGE boats, we walked around the park, and walked on the beach. It was beautiful! After lunch Jenny and I went to a cupcake shop in Monticeto called Whodidily, it was soo cute, it was very girly and so delicious.
Sunday - After church we went to the beach and Neil tried his luck at skim boarding. Skim boarding is like skate boarding on the sand after the wave goes out, there is a thin layer of water that you can skim across. Anyway, you run as fast as you can drop the board and jump on - think full run across a parking lot dropping a skate board and then jumping on with both feet = VERY BAD IDEA. He crashed a few times...pretty hard...but got the hang of it quick enough that Jenny and Chris were both impressed. Asher loved hanging out at the beach he is such a good baby.
Monday - The last day of our vacation, Neil and Chris went for a bike ride on the beach and on some mt.bike trails in the morning. We had decided to make a Thanksgiving meal with them that night we did all the fixings turkey, potatoes, gravy, dinner rolls, some friends of theirs brought sweet potatoes, and green beans and of course pumpkin pie. It was very good!! I'm looking forward to another Turkey dinner.
Tuesday - We left in the morning and arrived home around 7:00pm. When we got home Keenan was still up and his reaction wasn't what we were expecting. We were expecting him to scream with excitement and run to both of us for hugs and kisses, instead he said "hi" and then got his ball and wanted to play - oh well I guess boys grow up faster than we thought! Georgia had just been put to bed so I walked in her room looked over at her in her crib and said "Hi Georgia" she got this big smile and giggled it was soo cute.
The trip was a lot of fun, the kids did great at home, and my parents had a lot of fun watching and bonding with them.

HALLOWEEN

2009-11-01T05:50:00.004-07:00

Last night we had our second annual Halloween party. We had about 12 adults and about the same kids. All the kids are about the same age so they played really good together and had a lot of fun.

Creighton definately took home the best costume award with his Land Shark.

Keenan went as a UW basket ball player - which seemed seemed appropriate.

Georgia dressed up as a Lion

Speaking of Georgia, she is crawling around like crazy! She got it figured out and now there is no stopping her, she can't keep up with Keenan yet but that doesn't keep her from trying. It is really fun watching her go from laying and rolling over to becoming mobile.

The Great Pumpkin Patch

2009-10-25T19:02:00.004-06:00

With this past week being cold and rainy every day this weekend turned out GREAT. The sun came out at times, and it was really nice. On Saturday afternoon we loaded up and headed out to the Epplegaarden again, this time to pick pumpkins. We got a wagon and headed out to the field to find the perfect pumpkin. Keenan just couldn't get over all the pumpkins and just kept yelling "BALL - BALL" and wanted to run over to everyone and try to pick it up.

I didn't know if Georgia was going to be able to sit on the pumpkin, but Keenan was a good big brother and held her hand.
We were planning on getting family pictures shot this weekend, who would have thought that a pumpkin patch would be a great place for family fall pictures.
We loaded up the wagon and headed back to the barn to state our claim. It only took 10ft. and one good bump before one of the wagon wheels fell off. Fortunately a worker with a ATV was out in the field, we loaded the pumpkins up on him and he took them back to the barn for us. Both kids had a great time and just loved playing with the pumpkins.

Last WORS Race in 2009

2009-10-14T20:07:00.003-06:00

This weekend started on friday with the Saris Gala. Everyone had a really good time and it was fun getting to talk bikes all night.
Saturday we were planning on heading up to Sheboygan to pre-ride but after dropping the kids off at my parents place we decided to do some much needed carpet shopping. We found a SUPER good deal but as it turned out the roll was 1ft. too narrow BUMMER. After that I took Cathy to the mall for a mini shopping spree. It was really fun to just hang out. Sunday came early and cold. We hit the road at a crisp 5 am. We got to Sheboygan and helped set up the venue. Cathy got warmed up for her race and off. She had a really good race, the course was in perfect shape and Cathy got into a good groove after the first lap. She finished just as I was lining up. We took off with the usual Sheboygan speed. The first two laps weren't too bad but somewhere on lap 3 I realized that I need to ride more than a couple hours/week. I started to come around on the 4th lap and had a decent enough 5th lap to hold off a few hard charging riders.
Well now the season is over, the weather is getting colder, and it is now cross season. This weekend is the Badger Prairie 'Cross race. We have a really good course put together and I think if the weather holds off it is going to be really fun...however if the weather turns south then it will be fun for the spectators! Either way someone is going to enjoy it.

Nice weekend

2009-10-06T18:32:00.002-06:00

It might not have been weather wise a nice weekend, but it was nice in the sence the kids did really good up at the WORS race. We left Saturday afternoon for Bear Claw Adventure Resort hoping that the kids would sleep for 3 hours of the 4 hour trip, well that didn't work as planned, Georgia slept pretty good but Keenan only slept for about 15 minutes. The last 30 minutes was pretty crazy, Georgia has this high pitch baby scream and Keenan thinks it is game and tries to out scream her in both pitch and volume!! We finally rolled in and checked into our room. It was a 4-plex cabin with each room about the size of a single hotel room. It required some reorganization of the furnature to get all the pack-and-plays to fit but eventually we got it. Because the kids didn't take much a of a nap they went to bed early and because the room was really small Cathy and I ended up on the porch...45 degrees wasn't the most appealing temp to sit on the porch but we grabbed a few blankets and were able to relax.
Sunday Neil got up and went to help racers get their bikes ready at the Park Tool repair area. The kids got up and I bundled them up for a long day outside. We played for a while through the morning and then put the kids down for a nap. Neil got ready for his race and I packed a few things. We got out to the course just in time to see Neil on his first lap to hand him a water bottle. It was raining on and off but not hard enough to get us wet.
Neil had had better races but due to the fact that not many people were there it was easier for him to get some much needed points. His race was pretty muddy and hard but he made it through and rolled in just behind his team mate in 17th place.
We loaded up and headed home, surprisingly the kids did better on the way home so that was a HUGE releaf. In all it was a very nice weekend and was fun to get away with the whole fam. This weekend is the final race of the year already. If the weather holds out I think I am going to give the Sport class another shot.

Apple Orchard

2009-09-23T21:05:00.005-06:00

On Saturday we went to the Eple Garden with the kids. We had a great time. Keenan was a great helper picking them...

...and loved eating them!

Georgia wanted to eat the apples but you need some teeth to chew it up - SORRY! She did really like looking at all the trees and bright red apples.

The wagon got pretty full but Keenan was a tough guy and was able to pull it all the way back to the car. He loved running around on the paths through the trees.

House Project

2009-09-17T21:39:00.005-06:00

This past weekend we did some house projects. I went for coffee in the morning while Neil stayed home with the kids. When I got back Craig and Diane were over, the front door was laying in the yard and a lady was carrying our table and chairs out the garage!

Our goal for this fall was to get a new exterior door before winter because the one we had was really bad the little latch would get all frosty inside on really cold days. Neil and his Dad took out the old door frame and installed the new one. Once the door was hung I started painting...I was pretty nervious about the color but went for it anyway and hoped for the best. While I was painting Neil and his Dad moved onto the tree project to get rid of some low hanging limbs on our tree out front.

Neil started to climb the tree and cut down some branches, before I knew it the yard was filled with branches, it took 2 trailer loads and a pick up load to haul everything away. By this point it was dark and time for supper. We ate and put the kids down then Neil took off to Steinhafels to get a table we had picked out a couple day prior. It was in the clearance area so no returns, while he was loading it up one of the legs literally fell off. Fortunately the manager returned it, the bad part we still didn't have a table. That night we spent some time on Craigslist and after a little searching found what ended up to be a really nice table and chair set.

1 weekend = new front door + trimmed tree + sold and purchased new table

12 hours of Pitch Black Single Track

2009-09-07T12:20:00.003-06:00

Friday evening was the first of hopefully more night races. The WEMS Series put on a different type of 12 hour race running through the night rather than through the day. I took off from work a bit early, through a bunch of food, supplies, water, ect. together and headed over to Rock dale for the 12 hours of Pitch Black Single Track.

I got my pit area all set up, registered for the 12 hour solo race, and got ready. I had to run up to the car about 15 minutes before the race and all of the sudden my crank arm got really loose and then just fell off! I looked at it and my retaining bolt had sheared. Fortunately Kenny Ramm who was racing the 3 hour race had an extra bike. All I had time to do was put on my lights and pedals, no seat adjust, handlebar, shock pressure, didn't check the tires, or anything! We took off with a typical run, I was sitting in second (behind Ron who was doing a 6 hour solo) as we got on the bikes and took off. I sat on his wheel for a while and then took a pull which resulted in me getting a gap. Then my light started acting up...in acting up I mean quit working. Ron came around me and I sat on his wheel for the rest of the lap using his light to get through the trails. Back in the pits at the end of lap 1 I swapped out my head light and battery, then took off again. A bunch of people went by and I didn't know if any 12 hour solo guys got by me. I went on the attack - yes I said attack after all we were 35 minutes into a 12 hour race. As I was picking off what ended up being all 3 hour racers, my battery bounced out of the holder and fell off the bike. Because I was in such a rush to get going at the beginning of the race I didn't have a chance to put on my back up light, so now I was stuck in the middle of the woods in the dark. I felt around for a bit and somehow found the battery. I stuck it in the holder again and took off. About 1/2 lap later the same thing happened, again I was able to find it but this time put it in my jersey pocket. By the end of the lap I had gotten around Ron again. I made a quick stop for my back up light and for some food and then took off. Lap 3 I lost touch with the rest of the field and was out on my own, the next time I would see anyone was when I started to lap them. At 11pm the trails got a little quieter as the 3 hour racers finished, then at 2am they got really quite when all the 6 hour guys pulled off. Between 2-4am I was hurting bad, I had lapped everyone but the second place guy and although I was putting about 5-8 minutes on him every lap I was not feeling good at all. I kept just spinning and kept trying to find something that would taste good and get me out of the bonk I was dealing with. Finally at about 4am I came up on the second place rider and put him a lap down - Mission Accomplished! That was all it took to get me out of my funk and I started feeling better, now I just had to keep things smooth, not get a flat or crash and I figured I could pull off the win. Once the sun came up things got a lot easier, the laps started getting faster again and I was again having fun riding my bike. At 7am the second place guy didn't have enough time to make up the 2 laps he needed to get ahead of me so we both called it quits.

I was pretty sore but felt a lot better than I should have considering how hard I was going. I took the win in the 12 hour solo mens, and completed the second most laps, only being topped by the winning 12 hour 4-man team!

Huge thanks to Kenny for saving me with his bike, for Ray Nelson for helping with charging lights, the family for stopping out at all hours to cheer, the for the CORP who put on a GREAT race!

On the Farm

2009-09-04T12:09:00.005-06:00

We went to Neil's cousin's wedding a few weeks ago on his Uncle's farm. Keenan and Neil went everywhere on that farm. He saw the tractors, fed the horses apples, moooed with the cows, look in the airplane, drove on the golf carts, and danced. That night he was sooo tired.

The pictures were taken by Neil's other cousin Sheri Swanson, who has started her own photography business. We love the pics she took. http://kelilinaphotography.com/

Climbing the fence.

He loved driving the Tractor.

Family Portrait.

Galena Trip

2009-08-26T13:49:00.003-06:00

For Neil's Birthday present(which was in March) Neil's parents said we could take their Honda S2000 out for a day. Neil and I decided that Sunday is going to be a perfect day for a drive in a convertible. We dropped off the kids at the Craig and Diane's and away we went. We found sooo many curvy, up and down roads, Neil had a blast driving and I was hanging on to dear life going around some of the corners we went on.
We arrived in Galena mid-afternoon, I had never been to Galena so it was fun to go in all the neat stores and look around. Cute town! We walked around for a bit, had lunch and then saved some room for some ice cream. On the way home we found some more curvy roads and a road called "Roller coaster Rd" it lived up to its name. It was fun get away.

Pics of Border Battle

2009-08-24T12:27:00.004-06:00

Fast single track.

Fun burm

Border Battle

2009-08-20T07:30:00.003-06:00

I wanted to get some pictures up here but have had a hard time finding any of the race last weekend. I saw a lot of people shooting pictures but can't find any of them. If you have some let me know where to look.
So Cathy and I and the kids headed up to Minnesota on Friday for my cousin's wedding. It was out at their farm and was really nice. Keenan tore up the dance floor all night running on a complete adrienne rush for about 4 hours. He crashed pretty hard that night and the next day was pretty mellow as well. Cathy's dad and I headed up to River Falls Sunday morning to start wrenching on bikes. The forecast was calling for heavy rain all day and we drove in rain just about the entire way. About 10 miles out of town it cleared up, the clouds broke up a couple hours later and it turned into a perfect day. After wrenching on at lest 20 bikes over the morning it was time to get warmed up and ready for what I was expecting to be a fast race. Cathy, the kids, and her mom showed up just before the start of the Pro/Cat 1 race. The race got started in regular high speed fashion, we hit the only significant climb of the course right away and that strung things out a bit. The course was packed with incredible single track, which was fun to ride but hard to pass. By lap 3 we were already encountering a lot of lapped traffic which made staying tight with the train VERY important, if everyone didn't get through on the same pass they were gone. The pace was screaming fast the entire race. Lap 5 Seth Lens caught us again and said there was a group of 5 coming hard, my legs were hanging in there although I could feel cramps coming every time I was out of the saddle. I have never worked so hard for a top 30 finish in my life!
Next day I down loaded my power file and realized why I felt cross eyed the entire time - I was. I set my personal records in every category from Peak 5 second power up to peak 120 minute power! Again hardest ride of the year just to hang on to top 30 - man the mid west is a fast group!
Thanks to Cathy's dad for hand ups, he stuck every bottle despite being on one of the fastest sections of the course.

Georgia 4 month pictures

2009-08-05T12:12:00.003-06:00

They turned out so well. Our Friend Tina Bazala took her pics. She also has taken Keenan's pictures and our family pictures in the past. These are just a few shots of many.

Race weekend

2009-08-04T13:04:00.004-06:00

Friday we went to Blue Mound State Park in the evening I had never been to the top of the mound. It was soo pretty. Keenan loved running around in the big open field. After we got done at Blue Mounds we headed into Mt. Horeb and got some pizza at the Grumpy Troll it was delicious.

Saturday we ran some errands during the day and in the evening went out to Neil's parents house for dinner and to drop the kids off for the night.

Sunday we had a Mt. bike race in Franklin, WI. It was a beautiful day usually whenever we race there its about 100 degrees with humidity, but this year it was a 80 degrees with a nice breeze. I raced the sport class and had a pretty good finish, 3rd in my age and 11th overall. The sport class only had to do 2 laps instead of 3 due to the length of the course, which took me by surprise. Good thing Neil was paying attention to what I was doing.

Neil had a great race he got 4th in his age and 14th overall in the Elite class. He was racing really strong considering for majority of the race he was racing by himself because no one was around him.

WaunaFest

2009-07-26T15:29:00.004-06:00

We haven't been to a summer fest yet this year. Today we headed over to Waunakee for their Waunafest days. We got there just in time for the parade.

Keenan really liked that while Georgia was happy to just play in the grass in the shade. Maybe when I was a kid I sat in all the wrong places, but Keenan was getting totally hooked up with candy! Unfortunately for him after collecting it most of it ended up down the street to a couple little girls...I feel bad for their parents tonight.

After the parade we headed down to one of the parks and found the petting zoo. Keenan had fun petting and running around with the animals.

The pony ride started out good...

...but that didn't last long

No pony in the future at least for a year, we will see what happens next year with Georgia.

My two Favorite Girls

2009-07-20T15:35:00.001-06:00

Sun Burst Show down

2009-07-20T15:23:00.002-06:00

In a last minute lapse of better judgement I decided to try running a set of Stan's Crow tires this weekend. I put them on Friday night and then in the wet conditions of Saturday morning went for a ride. They hooked up pretty well even in the wet grass of Black Hawk Ski hill so I figured I should be fine.
Sunday I headed up to Kewaskum solo, Cathy's best friend of MN came down for the weekend so she stayed home and hung out. Apperantly Kewaskum hasn't recieved any of the rain we got here in the recent days so it was just super dry and dusty. We got started and I made it through the first part of the course ok. As we entered the field section on the second half I quickly learned it was going to be a tricky race. I washed out in the first fast corner, got on and almost dumped it again 3 minutes later. Once I accepted the fact that I had to take the corners slower than I was used to things got better. I ended up dropping my chain acouple times but got back on pretty quick. My legs felt great and every time I was off the bike (7 total) I was able to chase back to the group I was with. Yeah I probably could have finished higher had I not been off the bike, but that is part of racing, all I was really concerned about was that my motor is starting to feel good again.
Lessons learned...again - If you have a set up that works STICK WITH IT!!

Weekend Pics of Kids

2009-07-07T21:01:00.004-06:00

The tomato plants are out of control they are taller then Keenan.

AWWW!! They are sooo cute!

Keenan's first popsicle, he loved it and so did his shirt.

Eau Claire Fire Cracker

2009-07-06T12:15:00.004-06:00

It is amazing what a couple weeks can do and how much can change. Two weeks ago at Mt.Morris I was suffering in ways that I'd felt for a long time and wasn't going anywhere. This week my only goal was to make it through the race, no crashing, no bonking, just riding fun trails and if I could go fast that would be bonus.
We headed up on Saturday and Cathy went out for a pre-ride while I watched the kids. From the point we got there until we left, about 4 hours later, Keenan did not stop running! We walked through the kids course then said hi to just about every camper and every dog at the venue. Finally we got to the mist tunnel and he just couldn't get enough of that I think he ran through it at least 6 times! We ate some supper and then headed to the hotel for the first overnight stay with all the kids in one room with us. Our room quickly filled up with 2 pack-n-plays for the kids to sleep in, our cloths, 2 bikes, and our cooler for food and water. Both kids slept really good while Cathy and I tossed and turned all night on our piece of granite they called a bed.
Sunday I got up early and headed to the venue to help set up and then get to work wrenching on bikes for the first 3 races. Cathy got all the kids up, fed, and loaded pretty much solo. Her parents came to watch us race and they helped where they could. Once at the course Keenan was again off and running, it was little harder for Cathy to keep up with him as it was significantly more busy Sunday from Saturday.
During the morning I was looking at my bike and the crack that had formed was getting bigger each ride. When I pushed on the bottom bracket the frame would open up along the entire crack and there was only about .75" of tubing still holding the drive side chain stay in place. I talked to one of my WORS team members and he offered his bike to borrow. He was going to race the sport race and hopefully get done in time to give me his bike. Sure enough about 20 minutes before the start he finished and we started wrenching. Seat post, seat, fork air pressure, flipped the stem, adjusted brakes and shifter, handlebar, grips, ect. I lined up just before call ups and I was still adjusting everything on the line. We took off in a cloud of dust, I stayed toward the back to avoid any crashes and not to go out too hard. The first couple runs of single track were a bit slow due to congestion but once everyone got strung out I just put it in cruise mode. I made it through the first of 4 laps and was feeling good so I went for it. I dropped the group of 4-5 that I was riding with and gapped up to Scott Cole. He was riding a perfect pace for me and I knew if I could stick with him he would take me to a good finish. The next 3 laps we really got into a good rhythm and picked off a few riders. We could hear a chase group forming and they got within about 5-8 seconds of us at one point. I knew if they caught us I wasn't going to have enough in the tank to fight them off again so I took the lead in the next set of single track and just drilled it. We opened up a good gap again and then Scott pulled me through the open field. The last lap we really turned up the heat, caught Eric from MN who latched on. He made a move in the last double track putting me 3rd wheel. We all came into the final rock garden wheel on wheel. Scott washed out on a rock and had to run, Eric did the same and was off the bike. With both lines taken I dismounted while I still had momentum and got by Eric on foot. At the line it was Scott, Me, and Eric. This course was so much fun and having good legs was just icing on the cake. I ended up 2nd in the Cat.1 field = WORS bucks, and 14th overall = Cash.
Cathy did an amazing job juggling both kids for the entire day. They were both worn out and slept most of the way home, and then all night and about an hour later than normal in the morning!
I haven't posted pictures in a while so I will get some picture only posts up here throughout the week.

Mt.Morris = HOT

2009-06-24T07:25:00.003-06:00

Last weekend was race #4 of WORS at Mt.Morris. We headed up on Saturday morning so I could help with the learn to ride clinic, get a pre-ride in, and then be ready to race at noon. The learn to ride clinic was fun, I really like helping new riders learn the ropes and watch them explore the trails for the first time. On the pre-ride I quickly learned that this was going to be a hard race. There wasn't any long grinder climbs, all short and punchy, which ended up being my demise. The race started, there was carnage everywhere on the first lap, I managed to get through it pretty good which dropped me in the mid teen's after lap 1. I knew the heat was going to be hard on me so I backed off just a bit for the next couple laps in hopes of getting through all 5 laps. I was feeling pretty good but then on lap 4 my body shut down. I struggled to get through the lap, walking alot and drinking 2 bottles rather than just 1. I could not get my body to turn back on and by the end of the lap the leaders came around putting me a lap down. At that point I knew it was time to pull the plug.
After standing in the sun all day Cathy got lined up and took off. She had a good start and was sitting in 7th or 8th after the first lap. Lap 2 she had picked off a couple more girls putting her in 5th or 6th. She was feeling good but the 4th place girl was quite a way's up the trail so I told her to just keep going and hold her spot. By the finish she had caught and dropped her putting Cathy the 4th girl over the line!! At the awards she got to stand on the top spot in her age group!!
Sunday some clouds were rolling through that gave very nice breaks in the sun. The day started with the Super D. I was second into the woods, got around MacIej for the lead all the way to the bottom. He had a perfect attack that I just couldn't counter, we made it through the last rock garden and sprinted up to the finish. When all the times were tallied I ended up 3rd in Cat. 1 and 8th among the Pros = $$$. That would have been the only time I got on the podium all weekend. The last race was the Short Track. I rode a few laps but the legs were really spent at this point so I was hoping everyone else was feeling the same thing. We got started and things quickly got strung out. Everyone was able to keep their bikes underneith them for the most part. The laps kept ticking off and the time seemed to stand still. I was feeling decent and was able to reel a few people in throughout the race. With 3 laps to go the leaders came around. I jumped on their wheel for a bit but then with 2 to go they took off like a shot.
All in all though the weekend was fun, the trails ruled and although racing was hard it felt good. Not bad for the second race of the year for us. Eau Claire is next on the schedule and hopefully the legs will come around for that one.

Our internet is down at home so no pictures until next week.

So much for racing this weekend.

2009-06-13T12:09:00.002-06:00

Neil was planning on racing on Saturday (6 hour at Kettle Morain St. Park), but he had been running a fever the last two days and complained of a sore throat. I made him go to the dr. Friday night he had a 104 temp. OUCH and they think he has the influenza virus. Neil is on meds as well as the kids as a precautionary. It sounds like this is going to last about a week before he starts feeling better so no race this weekend and maybe next weekend. I have sterilized the whole house hoping that none of us get it. Hope everyone is having a nice weekend.

What do you see in there?

2009-05-28T12:11:00.003-06:00

He almost got stuck.

Yeah!!! He made it out!

I just love this stage that Keenan is in. He such a little explorer.

Iola Bump & Jump Race Report

2009-05-18T14:14:00.005-06:00

This was the first weekend in over a year that we loaded the bikes up and headed to a race. Even though it was only 44 degrees when we pulled into the parking lot we were able to stay warm while setting up the WORS tents and then headed out for some pre-riding. That night we headed to Don's place for a tour of the WORS head quarters and a spaghetti feed.

Sunday the sun was out, the wind had died down and it was shaping up to be a really nice day. I was working the CycleOps / Park Tool tent. It is amazing the amount of work people needed done to their bikes only minutes before the race! While wrenching on bikes and getting people set up I was trying to talk Cathy into racing. She had every excuse I have ever heard - I can't do 3 laps, I haven't been riding enough, I just had a kid 8 weeks ago. About 45 minutes before her race she finally agreed to suit up.

Cathy's race went really good, she got through the first two laps and then had enough left to really push the last lap hard. At the finish she was 4th in her age and 12th overall - incredible considering her 3 excuses were all pretty legitimate!

Just after she finished it was time for me to line up. We took off like a shot and the pace didn't slow through the entire race. I felt good and although I finished mid pack I felt good and was able to keep the race in check through the final lap.

It was good to see everyone again. Hopefully it will warm up for the next couple races so we can bring the kids. They were at grandma and grandpa's this weekend and had a lot of fun.

Race Weekend

2009-05-15T17:31:00.002-06:00

This Sunday is the first WORS race of the season. Neil is racing this season, he has been training as much as he can to prepare for the incredible fast pace of the Pro/Expert field. I am going to be the water girl for a few of the races and then maybe later in the season I will try my hand at racing this year. We leave tomorrow morning to head to Iola, Neil's parents are watching the kids Saturday and Sunday. It will be my first night away from Georgia I have that mother anxiety of leaving your baby for the first time, but I know she will be fine. It will be fun to see everyone at the race and catch up with people since it has been awhile. Check out our blog on Monday for race highlights and hopefully some pictures.

Mother's Day trip to Zoo

2009-05-10T21:45:00.003-06:00

At the Zoo

The tiger was active, that was neat to see, they are so pretty.

Feeding the ducks & geece.

St. Louis Trip Pics

2009-05-06T21:43:00.003-06:00

We went to St. Louis a couple weeks ago for a Birthday Party/Family Reunion. It was a lot of fun and the kids did wonderfully. We went to the St.Louis Zoo one day, went biking, shopping a cute little town near our hotel and went to a fabulous Italian restaurant located in "The Hill" area of St. Louis. It was a great time!

Neil and I went Mt. Biking one of the days we were down there. The trails were a lot of fun.

Keenan loves playing in the water.

We went on a tour of the penguin exhibit at the St. Louis Zoo. It was really neat. Thanks Grandma.

Keenan had fun playing and seeing all the animals at the Zoo.

We found a snake statue at the zoo. That is one of the animal noises Keenan can do ... HISSSSS! He is so cute when he does it.

Stimulus Check

2009-04-30T12:30:00.002-06:00

There has been a lot of talk about stimulus checks this year. They come in many forms, today mine came in a $186 warning.
We were on our Thursday "Gun-Show" ride at lunch. It was a small group and as we rolled through Verona we ran into one of the locals. I saw his car out of the corner of my eye as we slowly (yes it was slow) rolled through one of the intersections. I would have stopped after spotting him but was already through so I made the turn and slowly continued. After a 10 minute break and a warning for what is a $186 ticket we were back on our way.

So remember: Always wear a helmet and come to a complete stop at intersections.

Easter weekend

2009-04-14T08:08:00.002-06:00

This weekend we headed back to MN to see my family. It was Georgia's first long car ride. It started off kind of loud, we were a little nervous, but she settled down and slept the whole way. On Saturday Neil went for a 3 hour road ride, it was a pretty windy day, it was a nice hard ride for him. I went in to Rochester without any kids it was kind of fun and met up with my best friend. I had to picked up my dress for a wedding I am in in June, the dress fits, but it is a little tight I have 2 months to get back into shape.
My family always goes to the Easter early rise Sunday service at church which was at 6:30 AM, Georgia woke up at 4:30ish to eat and that is when my day started. We had a lot of great food and it was alot of fun seeing my family and friends.

Translation

2009-03-28T20:11:00.004-06:00

With summer on it's way...even though it doesn't appear to be that way looking out my window right now...I thought it would be good to give everyone adiquate time to learn "mountaines". I found this in my Mountain Bike Action magazine from last year and really got a kick out of it.

- In Racing News -

This summer is starting to look up. This year I will be racing on Team WORS. I will also be working at the Saris warm-up tent / Park tool repair area. So if you have some last minute tune-ups needed come see me. Cathy is planning on doing some racing as well. She is feeling good and might try to get on the bike next week. Her goal is be ready for the Subaru Cup but depending on how things go she might give http://www.wors.org/schedule/event.php?e=10a try.
Group rides are starting to pop up so hopefully the weather will shape up and we can get in the mix on some of those.

More Pictures

2009-03-21T20:28:00.003-06:00

Not much to say here, things are still the same: eat, sleep, change diaper - repeat. I am back to work full time on Monday so we will see how this next week goes. Georgia is growing good and looking great.

I think Keenan is enjoying having some of the old toys and baby paraphernalia out again. He just crawled into this bouncy seat and started eating his snack.

1 Week

2009-03-18T07:43:00.004-06:00

Well it has been a full week with Georgia. Things are going pretty smoothly, at least I think so. It seems like she is a little easier than Keenan, I don't know if she is actually less work or if we just have a little bit of a clue on what do. Anyway Cathy has been dealing with her most of the time. She is sleeping pretty good at night but she is still getting up a few times to eat. I have been trying to run Keenan into the ground, but I think the opposite is happening. The more and harder we play the faster and more hyper he gets! The weather has been just beautiful so the whole family has been on lots of walks. Cathy is feeling a lot better sooner than she did with Keenan so that is encouraging to her. I am going back to work on Thursday and Friday in the afternoons so I guess that will be the real test to see what dealing with 2 kids is like - solo!! Here are some more pics of the fam. Thanks for every one's support and encouragement.

Our family picture is filling up.

Even though mom is busy she still has time for her little boy.

This is a hand full!!

Keenan learned how to slide down the slide and is absolutely addicted to it!!

Like every boy, if there is water and mud Keenan is in it.

Please Welcome - Georgia B Swanson

2009-03-11T20:09:00.003-06:00

Well today was the big day. Cathy went in for a check up this morning and she was still progressing but not going into labor. The doctor was afraid that as soon as her water broke...which in his words could be any time...that labor was going to be really quick. So we decided to head into the hospital, let them break her water and just see how things move. Well the doctor was right. We checked in at 1:30pm, the doctor broke her water at 3pm and then Georgia was born after 6 good hard pushes at 4:49pm today!!
Here are some pictures. I want to keep this short to get some sleep while I still can.

She was 8lbs. 3 oz. and 20.5" long

Sorry for only 2 pictures. I will get more up here in the next couple days so stay posted.

Final Days???

2009-03-09T19:22:00.003-06:00

Well we are still pregnant. My due date is not until Friday, but after my Doctor appt. last week I thought for sure I would be having a baby girl this past weekend. Nope, she must be comfortable where she is. I had another Doctor appt. today and anyone else would be in labor and getting an epidural at this point...but my doctor just sent me home?! I am hoping that Neil does not have to play the doctor role at home or in the car. He is handy with tools and fixing things, but delivering a baby???

Keenan has been a bit more fussy lately, I think he is either cutting some teeth or he has figured out that things are about to be very different for him.
He is saying more words and we are able to communicate a little bit more with him. He also has been drinking from a cup and can eat from his own plate and spoon.

We will keep you posted about any changes that come this week. Hopefully sooner than later.

New Face

2009-03-03T13:24:00.002-07:00

We are still the same Keeping up with the Swanson page, but with a little face lift. I was tired of looking at our same old blog layout and decided to change things up. I did not want it to be too girly, since Neil posts things on here, but it should get a little better once we get some Mt. Bike pictures on soon, I hope! Enjoy the new page.

Finishing touches

2009-02-23T15:57:00.008-07:00

We are getting close to getting the last of the baby things done before she arrives. This past weekend Neil was making the baby's dresser/changing table. He only has the drawers to do and then paint it and he will be done. Then he is going to do her shelves for her room. This weekend I finished her announcments, and did some nic-nakey things for her room.

You can tell its getting closer to spring, everyone is talking about getting out on their bikes. Getting the new bike for the summer and all their new gear. I can't wait till its warm and we can get out on the bikes. We need to get Keenan a helmet for the burly now that he is old enough to ride in one with out the carseat.

Keenan's favorite new game is taking all of his toys that can fit through the baby gate and send them down the stairs. So Neil and I every night have to go down stairs and pick up the toys he has thrown down.

Fresh Tracks

2009-02-18T07:56:00.003-07:00

- 5am -
Cap. City loop + Hill Repeats = 2 hours
It's going to be a good day!

Cycle-Frost

2009-02-15T20:25:00.004-07:00

I needed some motivation to get on the bike and ride this winter so I signed up for the Cycle-frost race when it was first anounced. I have been doing just about all my riding outside throughout the winter...which proved to be advantagous for the race. After a couple pre-ride laps we lined up for the quick 30 minute race. We had about 30 yards off the line before the course narrowed for the first set of barriers. I got the holeshot so I didn't have to worry about tripping over people. By the first lap I opened up a 75ft. gap which kept growing for the entire race. It was a lot of fun to have a number back on the bike and hopefully this will give me some motivation to keep training through the rest of the winter and get ready for the summer.

The count down

2009-02-09T12:25:00.006-07:00

Well I have 4 weeks left. Things are going really good with the baby, she is healthy and growing, but for me I am getting more and more uncomfortable. Its amazing how quickly you forget the last month of pregnancy. It wasn't that long ago when I was going through this for the first time. This weekend I made up a list of things that I need to get her before she arrives there not crucial items, but it definitely helps to have them here and ready.

Neil wasn't able to get out on Saturday for a ride, but made it out on Sunday. He has been getting a lot of time on the bike the last month, which I love to see, he is just so happy to get on his bike and go for a ride. Neil and I are both getting antsy to get on the bikes this summer. We are hoping to do some races this year, WEMS and WORS. It will be fun to pack up all the kids and go biking for the day.

This was taken a couple weeks ago when it was fridged out.

baby Girl

2009-01-30T14:37:00.007-07:00

I have been busy getting things ready for our little girl. I have the room painted, and stenciled with sheep, we have a crib for her and Neil is working on a changing table and some shelfs. Her room looks really cute I can't wait till its completely done. We have 6 weeks until she comes and both Neil and I are alittle nervous, but we more excited to meet her. Neil has been doing some riding, hoping to get in shape before Mt. Bike season and I have been staying active by going to the gym 3 times a week and either walking, ellipticle, and body pump classes.

Keenan has been getting everywhere and getting into everything now that he is walking. He also has been saying more words, and understanding what I'm saying to him.

Mountain biking and Cars

2009-01-21T20:48:00.009-07:00

Last weekend my dad and I headed out to Detroit for the North American Auto Show for work. I figured if we are driving that far east we might as well hit up Ray's for some mid winter riding. I talked to Darren at Mongoose and he hooked me up with a Nugget to ride. I think Ray's is the best example of "you build it and they will come" I have seen. It is in the biggest abandoned warehouse Cleveland has to offer, and by the looks of things the entire neighborhood still hasn't found work since it closed. I didn't see any signs and we drove through a few parking lots and alleys until we came across a car with a bike rack, we drove toward it and then more cars parked with an open door down on a loading dock. As soon as you walk in you forget it is snowy and cold outside! Ray did an amazing job using every last inch of his portion of the warehouse.

It took some time to get used to riding with flat pedals and getting used to not having any earth under my tires. But after a few runs the jumps were getting smoother and easier to clear.
The pump track was something else I was not used to it took a lot more upper body than I was expecting and was a great work out in it's own way. We were only there for about 4 hours, enough time to develop 5 blisters on my hands, but not enough time to manage any really good crashes - mission accomplished!

From there we jumped back in the rental car and headed to Detroit to see what or if there were going to be any new cars for the coming years. I have been to Chicago for the past few years and this was similar but bigger and more concept cars. The American car companies were showing off their muscle cars and trucks while the over sea's companies were showing off their small cars and hybrids...and for some reason we keep asking ourselves why the American auto makers just can't seem to sell any cars. In all though I was glad to see the number of diesel cars that were being introduced or were going to be coming in the next year or so. Hybrids are coming along, some are done good and some are just putting an electric motor next to the engine in order to fill get a car in that market. The Audi R8 is still the best looking car on the market. This VW is a production concept, we should see it in a couple years - and yes it is a TDI.

Unfortunately Cathy wasn't able to go so instead she started on a project that could quickly spiral out of control into a full addiction - quilting. My mom gave her some material for Christmas and is showing her how to get it all cut and sewed together. They got about half of it done over the weekend and she is going to try to work on it again this weekend. I will get some pictures of the progress up here soon.

Really Cold

2009-01-16T07:11:00.005-07:00

This morning was probably the coldest commute I have ever done. My tires were as hard as bricks, despite only having 15psi in them and my brakes felt like they had grease instead of oil in the lines.
Reports from co-workers about -40 air temp just west of town makes -18 not sound as bad, but still cold.

Next week temps are supposed to get above 0 and even into the 30's! I may resume riding outside for fun rather than to just commute.

Christmas/New Year Pics

2009-01-07T10:25:00.002-07:00

Here are some pics from the holidays. Enjoy!

It was a nice sunny day on Christmas so we played in the snow for awhile.

He didn't mind being out in the snow. The snow suit he is wearing was Neil's when he was little.

Keenan loves hammering on things so he got a hammer and some pegs to hammer on.

We are going to MN this weekend to have Christmas with Cathy's family and I'm sure Keenan will get more toys to play with.

Happy New Year!!

2009-01-04T07:00:00.002-07:00

I hope all of you made it through the holidays with plenty of time to relax and see friends and family. We had a really good holidays, my brother and his wife were in town so we just hung out a lot with them and my parents. New years was pretty uneventful we just stayed home and had a couple days to ourselves.
So it has been a while since we posted last, and life hasn't slowed down. Keenan is walking everywhere all the time! It is really fun watching him explore the house and experiance so many new things. Our little girl is healthy and is growing like crazy. Cathy is tracking right on schedule for the middle of March - which is coming way faster than I thought.
The new year brought some time off of our busy work life and I was able to sneak in some riding. The weather wasn't too cold (actually it kind of was too cold) so with the motivation of not riding it really felt good to get out and stretch out the legs.
Well that is all for now we will get some more pictures of the family up in days to come.

Badger Time

2008-09-09T12:25:00.006-06:00

Sorry for for not Keeping you up with the Swanson's lately we have been really busy, with some family things that came up the last few weeks, but Neil, Keenan and I are doing fine. Unfortunately we had to give Mercedes to another home. The home is really nice and the people she went to are great and will give her the love and attention she needs. So we are trying to move on day by day and its getting easier each and every day.

This past weekend my friends from MN came down. They have been wanting to check out a Badger Football game, so I found some tickets on Craigslist Friday afternoon for the Badger Vs. Marshall game for Saturday afternoon. They were pretty good seats lower deck on the 40 yard line. It was a good game to watch, they made me a little nervous in the 1st quarter, but they came back full force at the end 2nd quarter and kept on rolling.

The next morning we slept in and around noon headed up the the Ironman to watch the transition from the bike to the run. WOW! Those people are incredible to complete the triathlon. We got some lunch on State Street and then headed back to the finish area to watch the top people finish. We were beat from just the day out I can't imagine swimming 2.4 miles, biking 112 miles and running 26.2 miles with in one day. As you can see Keenan is just ecstatic with enthusiasm for all the triathletes.

Busy Weekend and Week

2008-08-01T12:27:00.006-06:00

This Picture is for all the Gopher Fans, I thought you would like this.

Last weekend was kind of a busy one for us. We had family come in to town last Friday. Saturday morning we headed up to the Capital Square for the Farmers Market, then the guys went Mt. Biking at Quarry Ridge for a while and then the ladies went to some quilt shops. Keenan did so well even though his nap schedule was out of whack. Neil did some more Mt. Biking on Sunday and then we relaxed.

Tuesday I went for a road ride with the MadForcs ladies and I felt pretty good it was kind of a windy day so it made for a harder ride then I thought it was going to be. Wednesday was a busy day. I had a doctor's appointment because I have not been feeling well and come to find out that we are expecting another baby. We new we were pregant acouple weeks ago but thought we had miscarried, but what had happened is that I had been developing for twins so we either lost a baby or it had never formed. So we have one baby on the way due in mid March, YEAH!!! It will be a busy household, but we can't wait.

Fun in the Water

2008-07-16T08:00:00.003-06:00

We went to the water fountains in Madison(by Mendota Lake) yesterday and we had so much fun. There were a lot of kids all sizes. Keenan I think was the youngest kiddo he was the only one that could not walk. He loves playing in the water. The water was kind of chilly and after awhile he was getting kind of cold. We would take a small break and warm up a little and then head back to some more fun in the water.

Puppy dog Love

2008-07-15T07:34:00.004-06:00

Keenan has been really moving lately. He crawls everywhere and pulls himself up on things to stand, So everything in his reach has been pushed back or moved higher up. Mercedes has been so patient with him and doesn't seem to mind when he comes over to her.

Neil has been doing the Wednesday night time trials at Black Hawk Trails and has been enjoying getting his race fix in since we have not been doing the WORS series this summer. I have been playing volleyball and getting out on the bike acouple times a week. Keenan has been keeping us busy with his growing and hitting some huge milestones the last 2 months. We are looking forward to what is to come.

On the Move

2008-06-19T08:34:00.003-06:00

A lot has been happening this last month, at least for Keenan. He has been getting teeth, eating new foods and is starting to move around. Acouple weeks ago he got up on all fours and last week he started to army crawl on the floor. He does not like to stay still very long. He trys to get into things like the computer, phones and magazines things that he not suppose to get into. He has already been keeping us on our toes.

Season 1st's with a Mongoose

2008-06-14T17:03:00.005-06:00

This week held a lot of 1st's on my new Mongoose Meteore Team 29'er. This is the bike I have been riding this summer for the guys over at Mongoose. In short it is a SWEET bike! Mongoose did something different with their 29'er, not following the traditional geometry but instead compensated for the larger slower responding wheels by making much more aggressive geometry - can you say 74.5 degree head tube angle!
The bike handles amazing, it is quick, stable, light, and responsive. My size large aluminum frame is coming in spot on at 3lbs! I built it up with pretty standard parts, Stroker brakes, Sram drive parts, Manitou fork, Sunringle wheels, and Maxxis CrossMark tires. The one place I did take the liberty to try something different was the Shimano Ultegra triple road crank. I took the big ring off so I have a 39/30 double gearing. In order to compensate for a larger tire you need a small front gear. On paper this gearing is identical to my 42/26 double gearing I ran last year, and on the trail it feels spot on. If anyone from Shimano, SRAM, or FSA is reading this and wants to totally corner the 29'er market MAKE A 29'ER SPECIFIC CRANK and everyone will buy them. (at that point if you feel bad for totally using my idea I will have no problem accepting some of the royalties of your sales)
Anyway this is the bike.

So back to this past week: Wednesday I ponied up my $50 and went out to Black Hawk for the Chainsmokers TT's for my 1st race of the year. Because of the rain the course was shortened a bit but it was still good for 20-25 minutes. I caught my 15 second man about 1/2 way through the first lap and was then leading so had no one to chase. The course was clear so I was able to really lay down the power and carve my way through the single track. Did I mention that the Mongoose LOVES tight fast single track? The tires were hooking up perfect and I was able to roll in with the fastest time of the night - 1st place .
Today was the Horribly Hilly 100 this was the 1st time I have done this ride so I didn't really know what to expect. I through some CX tires on the Mongoose hit the trail at 5am to ride out to Blue Mounds for a 7am start. Our group took off late because all our number were locked in the van. Fortunately my vandal skills kicked in and I was able to take the radio antenna off the car and use it to pick the lock. We finally got going and started rolling through the hills, and then more, and then more - someone should have warned me that this was going to be hilly! I was hurting pretty bad by the end of it and had to walk the last hill a bit to work out a cramp. Once that was under control I got back on and finished on my bike. Fortunately I used one of our demo PowerTap wheels and could watch my power up the final few climbs, anything over 250 watts was cramps ville so I just kept the power stuck at 230watts used my gearing to get up the hills. After the ride I ate a bunch of food, by a bunch I mean everything I could get my hands on, changed my socks and then got back on the bike for the ride home. Fortunately I had a tail wind so that made the trip much more achievable. 115 miles for the day = 1st century of the year and 1st century EVER on a mt.bike.

Riding with a Champion

2008-06-09T07:46:00.003-06:00

This weekend Cathy had the opportunity to ride and hang out with Alison Dunlap at the MadFORCS dirt retreat. She wasn't planning on going until last week Renee e-mailed and ask for help as an instructor. Cathy was a little nervous about instructing because she hasn't had much time on the bike this year...or last year for that matter!
Saturday we headed out to Black Hawk ski hill and dropped her and the bike off. It was nice but the forecast was very unstable. After some introductions everyone got on the bike and Cathy got pared up with Abby Strigel as the other instructor. As a group they would work on skills and then rotated around for time with Alison. They made it most of the day before things started to get ugly. First it started to rain and then the tornado sirens were blaring. A few of the women made a couple calls and decided they were out of harms way so continued to ride the now water soaked trails.
Sunday was scheduled to be a ride and questions day but with a driving rain the women that did show up (Cathy wasn't one of them) just stayed in doors and hung out. Later that night Michelle and Dave invited all the trail workers and instructors over to their house for a dinner with Alison. It was really fun getting catch up with everyone that we haven't seen all summer with our lack of racing and everyone had a good time talking and getting signatures from Alison.
The rain has temporally subsided for now but more in the forecast. Hopefully things will clear up soon so we can get back on the trails.

Back yard adventures

2008-05-23T19:38:00.003-06:00

Since my brother and his wife stopped in a couple weeks ago our back yard has turned into a food producing machine...or should I say a bunny buffet. Our preanial herb garden has sprouted and we have discoverd all sorts of new herbs at our disposal and all our seeds are starting to sprout dispite the colder than normal temps.

Here are some fun pictures of the family in the back yard.

Keenan decided it was time to do some climbing

I wonder if hot dip galvanize is on the list of "things not to let your kid eat"?

The dog is in her own domain - we move to Madison and she turns all organic on us!!

Yeah I know they are small now but it's a start.

First time off road for 2008

2008-04-27T19:58:00.004-06:00

This is Cathy blogging I am not the usual blogger on our site but thought I would give it go.
This summer I joined Madforcs in Madison as a way to meet other women mt. bikers. I have been out on a couple of their group rides. We headed down to Paoli on Tuesday and then Thursday we hit Quarry Ridge for the first ride off road in 2008 or since being a mom. I was surprised with how quickly everything came back, the climbs weren't too bad and the single track flowed really nice. I was on the fence about racing but after that ride I decided to give it a go. Neil tried to talk me into the 3 lap race but I settled on 2 laps (which if I did the 3 lap race I would probably still be out there...somewhere).
So that weekend we headed down to my first mt. bike race since having Keenan. It went ok, turns out having a baby reeks more havoc on my body than I anticipated. I wanted to quit after my first 10 mile lap, but I gutted out and finished. I wasn't the last person to cross the finish line but I was pretty close, oh well. I some how managed to get 2nd I think they felt sorry for me, but at least I got a pint glass.
Neil is still waiting for parts to get his bike put together so I am not sure if we are going to Iola or not. Hopefully the weather will dry up a bit so we can get back off road and start putting in some more miles.

Sneaky

2008-04-10T07:48:00.002-06:00

Last night I was warming up from my ride and Keenan was hiding out behind the blanket - it takes better hinding than that to get away from the mom paparazi!!

When is snows it SNOWS!!

2008-02-06T22:06:00.001-07:00

Wow, I haven't seen snow like this for a very long time! I was a little disappointed this morning when I got up and found only a couple inches after everyone was talking about this HUGE storm we were supposed to get. When I rode into work there was a signficant amount of snow but nothing more than all winter. Coming home was a different story. Work let out early so at 3:30 I decided to give it a go and make my way home. After crashing in the parking lot, on the rode, at the Whitney Way intersection, and in our driveway I finally got into the garage.

If I have learned anything about riding this winter it is that ski goggles are a must when it is snowing. Plus I think they look SWEET!! I got my miles and day in for the frozen fools...this really should count for double!

Mean while at home Cathy and Keenan weren't planning on going anywhere. Keenan is really close to sitting up on his own so they worked on that.

I think the next couple days are going to include a lot of snow removal. I noticed we have an extrodinarily large snow drift on our roof that could equal about about 3 sumo wrestlers once it starts to thaw - I need to get those guys off the roof!

Babies, Bikes, and Bowl games

2008-02-04T19:39:00.000-07:00

Keenan is growing faster than a weed. We can't hardly take pictures fast enough to keep up with him. Last week was his 2 month check up. He was tipping the scales at 13lbs and 23" tall. He was also very excited about getting his first round of shots. He was a real champ...or I should say the doctor was quick enough she got all three shots in before he could muster up a good cry. He was pretty upset but got settled down once we were in the car.

Getting ready for a car ride with aunt Jenny's hat on.

He is just happy to be a baby!!

Today he just about rolled over. Just a little more and he will be on his own moving around.

Last night he slept the entire night! We put him down at 10pm and I was up before him at 6:45am. When we went to get him he was showing us how he could move around and was half turned around in his crib.

As for us, Cathy has joined a gym and has been able to get out a couple times a week to get back into shape. She is really looking forward to getting outside and back on her bike. I have been getting back into the swing of things and trying to get as much saddle time as time will allow. There are some interesting things shaping up for 2008, I should be able to give more details later in the month.

GO PACKERS!!!

2008-01-18T17:03:00.000-07:00

Thanks to Chris Fortune's (Owner of Saris) incredable genorousity he offered tickets to this weekend's game!! Being from Minnesota I didn't think I would get excited about this game. Based on the forcast we are going to experiance Lambeau Field at it's finest.

- GO PACKERS -

We made it through the holidays

2008-01-06T19:38:00.000-07:00

With both of our family's living in Minnesota the holidays usually means lots of traveling for us. Christmas we were at Cathy's parents place. It was really nice to have a few days to relax. The weekend didn't quite go as planned, grandpa ended up in the hospital for a couple days with excessive fluid build up and an ill timed snow storm kept her brothers from making it down. Fortunately grandpa just needed a couple days to get back on track and Carl was able to make it down once the storm lifted the following day. Even though pretty much nothing happened as planned it all still happened and we got plenty of time to hang out with everyone!!
After a short 3 days back in Wisconsin we headed north again for New Years/Christmas with my parents. My dad out did us all when he told us they bought a house!! It was a little weird knowing this was going to be the last holiday at the farm, but everyone is excited about them moving onto the next stage in their life. Plus they are only going to be 10 miles from us so that will help a lot with baby sitting! Monday the girls went into town to catch a movie and do some shopping and us guys borrowed some snowmobiles from my uncles and went for a ride. That night we all got cleaned up and then Leslie took us out dancing. We got there early so they taught us all some moves which helped us have a really good time that night. The next day was just relaxing and then I had to head home for work. Cathy stayed in MN for a baby shower the next day. She had a really good time seeing old friends and showing off Keenan. It got to be kinda long week but on Friday Dad brought Cathy home when he went to meet the inspector for there house. This weekend was just spent recovering from the past two weeks and embarrassing a new year!!

Swanson Fun

2007-12-13T21:52:00.000-07:00

The past couple weeks have been so much fun! Everyday after work I can notice changes in Keenan, either he has grown or has more expressions or is looking around more. He is doing really good with sleeping at night. We usually try to keep him awake all evening and then right after his 11pm feeding get him to bed. It seems like every other night he will make it until 5-6am and the other nights he gets up around 2-3am for a little "mid-night snack".

Tonight we were playing on the bed and he was trying to copy what I was doing.

He definitely takes after Cathy on the camera!!

Cathy, Keenan, and Mercedes getting their morning beauty sleep.

Besides playing with Keenan mother nature has been keeping us plenty busy! I really don't remember having this much snow piled up this early for a long time! Oh well I like it. The snow gets me in the Christmas spirit and is fun to do winter activities.
Speaking of Christmas, this weekend we have the kids Christmas party for work and then next weekend is Christmas already!

Winter riding

2007-12-02T10:21:00.000-07:00

All week the weather forecasters were predicting a major winter storm for this weekend. I wasn't getting my hopes up for much so when I woke up on Saturday morning and seen it snowing I figured it was just going to be a little snow and then be over. I called up Cory, met him at the Trek store before heading out to 25.5.

It wasn't until I was waiting for Cory that I realized we might be getting as much snow as they were predicing. We got to the trails and starting riding.

We only made it about 100 feet down the trail before realizing we had WAY too much air in our tires, down to 10-15psi to keep the tires under us. I love riding in the snow, it is a totally different type of riding - putting in full effort just to keep moving and at times just to stay up.

Most of the climbs were unrideable so we did a lot of hike-a-biking.

After about an 1-1.5 hours we finally got one lap done and decided to call it while we were still uninjured and only semi-frozen. Yes this picture is set up, we both tried to ride the bridge but couldn't make the corner and both ended up in the gully!

I got home, changed and then we all loaded up and headed down to the UW Stock Pavillion for the UW Forestry Club's tree fundraiser. They had a really sweet setup, we pulled right into the arena out of the snow, rain, and sleet and was able to pick out a tree and get it tied to the roof without freezing. After that we headed to the mall to kill some time, it was mostly freezing rain so our Christmas tree turned into a Christmas glacier! When we got home last night I brought in what I remember to be our tree and let it thaw in the basement. If the tree is thawed and if our basement isn't flooded I think we are going to set it up and decorate today.

Sleepless nights

2007-11-27T18:35:00.000-07:00

Well it has been a week since we brought Keenan home. Sleeping has been really hit or miss (more misses than hits I think), some nights he sleeps good and others we are up all night. I think we have a system down and if we can get through this week we should be set. We are all getting adjusted and so far it has been more fun than work.
With all the extra work around the house and due to cold or wet weather the bikes haven't been seeing much outside the garage.
Now that Thanksgiving has passed Christmas lights are popping up all over the neighborhood. This weekend is forcast to be cold, and either rain or snow...perfect weather for me to freeze while putting up lights!

Baby Pictures

2007-11-20T18:53:00.000-07:00

Yep that is right we have baby pictures!!
On Sunday morning at 1am Cathy got up to use the bathroom and came back to bed with some cramping, then all of the sudden they went away - hmmmmm. We stayed up and thought we would time them just in case it was a contraction. Sure enough it happened again, about 17 minutes later. After that we started timing them and they got really close FAST - 17 minutes, 15, 10, 7, and then 5. At this point we realized this was the real deal. We got up loaded the car and got ready to go. The contractions slowed to 6-7 minutes so we put in a movie to kill some time. When that got over Cathy was starting to hurt so we decided to just head in and see what they had to say. At 5am the main doors weren't open yet so we headed to the ER.

They checked us in, took us to Triage, and checked out Cathy to see how far dilated she was...only 3cm! She was really bumming because the contractions were constantly 4-5 minutes. We sat in there for about 1.5 hours to see how things progressed at about 7am her water broke so the nurse told us we weren't going home at this point and got a room ready. Cathy was doubling over in pain with each contraction at this point and was getting them ever 2-3 minutes. At 8:30am we got into the room and the doctor got an Epidural started. After that he pain subsided enough that Cathy was able to get a little rest.

A couple hours pass and family starts to arrive, they stopped in to say good luck and then congregated in the waiting room. At 2:30pm Cathy was set and ready to push. Things started happening fast at this point, doctors were coming and going and pulling in equipment as the baby was getting close. Finally a head, a couple pushes later the shoulder and arms, then with a good push from Cathy and a pull from the doctor and at 3:30pm Keenan C Swanson was born!!

He is bigger than we were expecting at 8lbs 4oz and coming it at 19.5" long. He has a full head of hair already and I am afraid he has my hairline...I was afraid that was going to happen.

We stayed in the hospital for a couple days and then today at around noon they let us take him home. He is super cute although that could be just the sleep deprived me talking. Cathy is off work for 12 weeks and I am taking this week off and will probably only work half days at best next week.

Well Keenan is sleeping right now so I am going to close my eyes for a bit as well while I can.
Thanks to everyone for all the support and encouragement you have given us, we can't wait to show him off to all of you.

Out of touch with blogging

2007-11-07T17:09:00.000-07:00

Wow I have been worse than ever on keeping this updated. If anyone is still checking this site you really need to get a life!!
Cathy is ready to pop any day now her official due date is monday the 12th but she is hoping it won't take that long. I think we have everything ready, car seat - check, crib - check, lots of stuffed toys - check, and a changing table. That should be it I am guessing...YEAH RIGHT!! I think we are going to use cloth diapers so if anyone has any ideas about this or were to find good inexpensive ones on line let me know.
After our cross race I decided to build up my Devinci frame that I had hanging in the garage. My brother and sister in law are staying with us for a month and we were going to do the cross race but I got into some seriously bad hamburger, I guess hamburger doesn't age as well as cheese. Anyway that laid me up for the entire weekend. Depending on what the baby desides to do we might head out to Stoughton for the race this weekend.
That's all for now, keep checking and maybe I will keep this more updated once we have someone else to write about.

Gibbs Lake 75% Payout!!!

2007-10-15T09:44:00.000-06:00

We were out at the course this weekend and I think it is going to be really good. Hopefully we won't get any rain or snow this year, although that made for a fun race it was pretty bad setting up or tearing down.
We changed up a couple things this year and I think we are going to have a good course, there is a little of everything, fast, rough, tight, and sweeping. We are doing a 75% entry fee payout, which means the more people that show up the larger the purse will be!!
We haven't had the flyer posted for long so pass this on to as many people as you can.
See ya this weekend!!