Spring of 2009, A Recap

Well, this is probably the longest entry I will ever have, or at least I hope it is. Due to uncooperative internet connections, this entry has been long coming and has been a bit time consuming. Alas, I shall update you on our past Spring. A lot has gone on including four birthdays, many lost teeth, a Shakespeare play, basketball games and more, but our newest exciting addition has been our backyard track.

Ted and Téa lead off on the new track with Lexi not far behind.

The riding starts to get a little faster after they get a couple of laps under their belts.

Lexi leads Cooper here.

Cooper and Ted start dicing - Cooper is on the Honda 100 and Ted is riding a KTM 530.



It should be no contest, but dad plays fair this time.

Off the tabletop, neck and neck.

Cooper getting some air.

Here is Ted in the dig and build up phase. The track was all ready to go the day of Téa's ninth birthday - sweet gift, huh?

The track was started on the last day of school. Téa's best friend, McKenna was able to come over after the school picnic and spend the night, so they had a great time playing, being silly, and then woke up together on Téa's birthday.

Lounging on the tractor after Ted was done for the day. McKenna wasn't all that happy about the mess because she wanted to ride, but Ted let them both help move dirt prior to those popsicles.

Striking a pose.

Now they're up...

...and now they're down.

While we were playing in the yard, Lexi was flying to and from Los Angeles for her friend Allison's birthday celebration. Allison's dad works for SWA, so they got to sit in the cockpit!

(Ted was a little jealous.)

They went to the American Girl Place and visited Hollywood.

They flew out, had a party, shopped for dolls, visited the Mann's Chinese Theater, as well as Hollywood, and were home before eleven. It was an experience Lexi will remember forever, I am sure.

May 22, 2009 - NINE years old!

She wanted macaroni and cheese and chose to go to the Macaroni Grill. We went with our good friends, the Edgar's, and the waiter sang Happy Birthday to her in Italian, opera style.

To make things interesting she had her face pushed into the cake, Ted Williams style. She was a good sport obviously - no tears, just laughter.

May 16, 2009 - Silver City Ride

HELP! I'm in up to my pegs! This was just above Silver City. Ted and I took this trip without the kids and enjoyed many a snow drift. There's nothing like riding through snow in 80 degree weather - it was great!

We visited "the Nativity"

and crossed Sinker Creek over 40 times! The creek was at the bottom of a canyon so it was really cool scenery.

In some places we traveled right down in the flowing water. I love crossing creeks, so I enjoyed this immensely.

On our way down from the top, we explored many trails. One led to this huge mine - Ted thought it was cool, I thought it looked a bit dangerous.

The following pictures were taken by Cooper and Lexi as they both sprouted an interest in photography this Spring. I picked out a few of my favorites.

Auntie Christi-esque I'd have to say. She likes to take pics of gates too.

Friends - TéTé and Madison

Spring is here!

Mother's Day 2009

We had my family over for dinner and Ted pulled out the Honda 50. He gave the little ones rides which they thoroughly enjoyed. This was before we built the new track.

Max, my nephew, waving to everyone - he was stoked!

Max, Cailtin, and Ted, riding threesome.

Ted teaching Max to pop a wheelie.

Lovin' it

Let's pretend she's in the middle of a flip. She could be, but given the form, I'd have to say not. It was fun pic that I couldn't pass up - whatdya think - should Nike use it in an ad?

Max and Caitlin hanging out

This Spring Téa all of a sudden decided she wanted her hair chopped off so I made a deal with her. She'd let me braid all of her hair and I'd let her cut off her hair after that. She conceded and so we spent three and half hours braiding hair, wore it around for a couple of weeks, and had her hair cut shortly after we took it out.

Here she is with her locks of love.

Lexi was a fifth grader this last year and at Foundations Academy, soon to be The Ambrose School, the fifth grade puts on a Shakespeare play. It is a real big production and they did a fantastic job. It was professionally taped and photographed so I did not do much picture-taking myself.

Lexi was Ariel, a fairy, in The Tempest. She was phenomenal in the performance and she looked so beautiful with the golden sparkly, flipped out "do". Ted and I were extremely surprised by her hidden talent - our Lord definitely gave her a gift in acting.

Here are a few more photos compliments of Cooper:

"Perspective"

Black's Creek, opening day 2009

Ted and I made our way over to Black's Creek for a little ride on opening day. We rode to the mine, climbed some hills, hit some whoops, and enjoyed a nice warm-up ride for the season.

"How am I supposed to kiss you with that helmet on?"

April 10, 2009 -Paradise

We set off to ride in Paradise with our kids and the Edgar kids, Danny and Alexa. We had a really fun adventure as our girls were learning to ride their new KTM's on some hillier trails. They had a lot to get used to, but did great. We found a canyon that some friends had told us about called "Skateboard" and that proved to be tons of fun.

Going down and

coming up. My favorite is the climbing.

Mid-ride check shows a thumbs up - that's always nice.

Ted found a fresh sand dune that needed roughing up.

Ted down - a rare moment.

We found a scorpion blended into the sand and rock.

This a view from inside "Skateboard"

Téa watches from above as the next in line attempts the climb.

McKenna came over to play one day and decided she wanted to try riding motorcycles. We gave mom a call, got the okay, geared up, and Ted gave her a little crash course, no pun intended.

Thumbs up - she's hooked!

Téa catching a little air off the dung heap - formerly known as the tabletop, presently known as the llama's toilet.

Biker chicks

April 6, 2009 - 200,000 miles and counting

One night, Ted mysteriously tells Coop and I that we need to go for a special drive with the camera and offers to buy us ice cream, coffee, or whatever we want. We comply with great interest, and the requested camera, and he lets us know that we have to drive seven miles to get where we are going - we were excited and intrigued, but confused. We guessed and guessed and finally he pulled over for the photo-op. The Ranger had survived long enough for us to get this photo.

All zeros!

Remember the braids I put in Téa's hair? They can be entertaining if nothing else.

Medusa? - scary!

April 5, 2009 - the perfect little date

Ted and I went for a little three hour excursion to check out the nearby hills of Boise at the end of 8th Street.

The view from up top

stopped by snow

Did I mention that our youngest is a monkey? One of her favorite things to do since she was probably three years old is to go onto the roof of the garage. Here's her new route:

Step one: shimmy to the top of the basketball hoop.

Step two: stretch with all your might across the gap.

Step three: make your way to the summit and proceed like you are on a balance beam.

March 31, 2009 - Boise's District Spelling Bee

Lexi got to represent her school's fifth grade this year at the district spelling bee. She was a bit anxious about the whole thing, but did her best. She ended up missing on a word which she had never heard (the best way to miss I told her.) After three correctly spelled words, she got "Lindy" - a jitterbug dance.

March 28, 2009 - Big Willow

A little afternoon trip to Big Willow to try out the new KTM's on some hills and on some trails. It was an Eyeore sort of day with a drizzle here and there, but we enjoyed ourselves. Some friends who just started riding brought their new bikes out to ride a bit with us towards the end of the day.

All smiles from T

Cooper, Cindy, Téa, and Lexi - Ted rode sweep and manned the camera

Cool shot of Téa as she crested a small climb

Here she attempts another good climb on her new KTM 50.

T & T

After riding on the off road trails a bit, we were riding near the car and Téa happened upon a little jump. She did not land in the upright position, but walked away with no injuries. It raised enough interest that the rest of us took some turns at it.

Me

Téa looking on after her big jump and subsequent crash.

Lexi

Cooper

Another rare moment Ted thought he needed to catch on film. I don't usually willingly stand out in the dirt and sun, but Téa wanted to fly her kite - I have no idea where she went.

Lexi and Grammi on Lexi's 11th birthday. Happy birthday MoMo!

My baby hippo - isn't she cute! She ended up loosing one more tooth before the top ones started growing back in. No corn on the cob for this kid!

The girls played their first year of basketball in a Christian league called Upwards. They started every game with spotlights and announced each player as they ran through the tunnel. Both of the girls appeared so short in comparison to the other girls in their age brackets, but they both really enjoyed it and the games were fun to watch.

Here's Téa on guard.

Bummer, I just accidentally deleted Lexi coming through the tunnel - sorry!

Here are the girl cousins at Caitlin's second birthday.

Cooper in S.F. days before his 14th birthday. He and Ted took a road trip to attend the funeral of a longtime friend, Tim Dombrowski, who lost his battle with cancer.