Fall River Century

I loved growing up in the Fall River Valley. It was a beautiful, quiet, peaceful place to be raised. I am proud to call it my hometown. This is one of the reasons why I was so excited when my husband wanted to ride his bike in the Fall River Century!

M's longest ride had been 65 miles (and I thought that he was crazy to ride that far)! His new challenge was to ride 100 miles and it turned out to be a sweltering day in my hometown! But he was up for the challenge.

The kids and I headed up with him so that we could be his cheerleaders. We brought along bells and our words of encouragement. We planned to meet him throughout the day. This is what it looked like...

M's first rest stop (with his cheerleaders) was in Cassel (only a short walking distance from my parents' home). The kids grabbed their bells and walked down the street to cheer their daddy on! As you can see, he was so excited to see us! This rest stop was after 44.2 miles of riding. He started at the fairgrounds in McArthur, went through Glenburn and Dana, to Burney Falls, and continued on 89 to get to the Cassel turn off. Next he was off to Fall River (on the back road) heading to his lunch break.

The kids and I went back to Grandma and Grandpa's house to pass a little time. Grandma, being the wonderful Grandma that she is, had water guns all ready for them to play with. Their favorite thing to do was shoot the water bugs in the pond. :)

Next, we caught up with daddy in Pittville. At this point he had been riding for 65.6 miles. We came up behind him, rolled down our window, and began cheering while we rang our bells. He later told us that it was a little bit embarrassing, but that he loved every minute of it. We joined him at his next rest stop where we ate lunch and helped him to stay hydrated. At this point, he had been riding for 69.3 miles. Next, he headed up Lassen Bench back to 299.

The next rest stop was going to be at the end of Day Road (a ten mile long road upon which I grew up!) The kids and I stopped at my childhood home and were greeted by the current owner (thanks, Bob!) He let us come in (much to my surprise and delight). I was able to show my kids my bedroom (which still had my wallpaper hanging). Boy, what a rush of memories! That was a trip down memory lane that I will never forget. Z said that it was so great to see where I grew up. I'm so glad that he enjoyed it. The picture above is the view from the community center at the end of Day Road. BEAUTIFUL!

M arrived very tired and sore. At this point, he had been on his bike for 83 miles! This was the best (and most needed) rest stop by far! The ladies of Day Road were incredibly hospitable. There were homemade cookies, fruit, popsicles, gatorade, sunscreen, showers to ride your bike through or to simply rinse your feet. And below you can see the awesome bike rack! :) Ok, so it wasn't a bike rack, but it was perfect. :)

M spent a little while at this rest stop cooling his body down and getting rid of the cramps in his legs. He only had 17 miles to go! The hardest 17 miles of his life!

This is my amazing husband and our two VERY proud boys at the "finish line". Wow, what a feat! M will remember this for a long, long time! He definitely made a lasting impression on his wife and children.

That night M and the boys slept in our tent at the fairgrounds. A and I thought that we would get the tent all set up for daddy. That was another feat in and of itself! I am not much of a camper and have never set up our tent before, but by the time daddy rolled in, it was finished!

Time is a Flyin'

Today I looked at the calendar and realized that our summer is slipping through my fingers! August will begin before we know it! Next week, we have an appointment to get our school books for the fall, yes, that's right! School books already! To be honest, part of me is ready to begin. The other part is holding on to summer with all of my might!

During July we have cheered daddy on during his 100 mile bike race in my hometown, visited the creek, attended a family reunion, attended two weeks of VBS, and just plain spent time with each other! It has been loads of fun!

Water Works Park

We were blessed to be able to go to Water Works Park in Redding this week. We arrived at the water slide park a little before noon. The kids (and mommy and daddy) had so much fun! We rode on every attraction (well, at least Z and daddy did), we applied sunscreen over and over, we lounged in the Lazy Lagoon, and we ate a picnic lunch out at the car! In fact, we had so much fun that we did not leave until they closed the gates at 8:00!

I brought my camera, but found out VERY quickly that I had left the memory card at home. So, I was able to take three pictures. Oh well! You will just have to believe me when I tell you that we had a great time! :)

A Whispered Prayer

I was sitting at the computer checking my email when behind me I heard the sweetest thing. I turned around to see my 3 1/2 year old daughter, hands over her eyes, face down on her coloring book praying to Jesus. This is where I came in. "...and thank you Jesus for Jacob and Liam. Thank you for us. In Jesus' name, Amen."

After she ended her prayer, she picked up her crayon and continued coloring. What a sweet, sweet little girl. Childlike faith right here at my dining room table.

Yes, this is a picture of her peeling a cucumber in front of the refrigerator without asking mommy.

Girl Time

When the boys are away at first mommy's, Little B and I try to have some fun girl time. We usually go shopping, paint our fingernails, or do our hair. On this particular day, the hair salon was open. :) Little B brought out my brush and began to brush my hair. She then ran off to the bathroom to get her container of hair accessories. Before long, I had too many clips in my hair to count! The best thing is that I remember doing this with my mom when I was little! Then it was Little B's turn. Daddy decided to take a few pictures of our master designs. :)

Once our hair was completed, Little B decided to jump on the bounce house that we had set up in the backyard (thank you Grandma Goodie)! She jumped and jumped and jumped! Her favorite part was turning it off and letting all of the air out. She would then turn it back on and run into the middle of it and would stand there as it filled up around her. Too cute! I love girl time!