First Day of School 2022

Wow, Julia is now in high school and Jonathan is now in middle school. That's pretty unbelievable when it feels like I was just in high school myself. It seems like yesterday when these two were just little kids running around the house barefoot.

I went with extra large photos to commemorate how big this first day of school was for all of us. Including Bailey. Undoubtedly this will be a big adjustment for both of them, but I'm confident that we'll be able to tackle this together, and that they will do well in this next chapter of their young life.

Happy 10th Birthday Freckles!

I can't believe that Freckles is ten years old!  She's such a sweet cat, even if she looks a bit grumpy in these photos wearing a birthday hat. To celebrate we gave her some yummy tuna flavored canned food. She wasted no time scarfing it down!

FoCo Fondo

I finally was able to do a race this year!  After a long spring and summer of craziness I finally felt "good enough" to roll up to the start line. In a lot of ways this race was about me proving to myself that I could still compete...

I drove myself up to Fort Collins and shared a hotel room with Steve. We had a good time eating delicious Thai food with the rest of the COS Racing crew Saturday night. We got absolutely dumped on with rain that night, which was either going to be a a really good thing or a disaster for me regarding course conditions. It turned out to be the former.

There were 405 registered for our distance & the event hit the 1000 mark overall. About halfway through the race I found myself off the front of the main group after a technical double track section, so I went for it, which isn’t something I’ve ever done. And probably not the best idea given my lack of training!

Kudos to Curtis Singmaster and Erik Hartel for the awesome team tactics and trying to slow the group down. I was away solo for the last hour and should have stayed away, but both quads started cramping and I had to back off. It’s like I haven’t raced in several months! The group blew past me with a few miles to go.

I am really happy with the day, the results, and team (we had multiple AG podiums). Glad to be back racing again...and at the time of writing this post a few weeks later, glad to be back to feeling like myself again!

Sunset Tour

At some point vacation has to end. I went on an easy ride our last night in town with Winston. It was one of those perfect Spokane summer evenings, and a really fitting end to our trip!

Mount Spokane

This was a fifth year in a row that I was able to ride my bike up to the top of Mount Spokane!  It's always such a great ride up...and of course, down!  This year Alex put me in touch with a couple of people from his cycling club, Matt and Jenna. We had a great time and conversation on the ride!

Having Fun in Spokane

More highlights of our 2022 trip! 

Jonathan and I were able to go for a ten mile bike ride along the Centennial Trail while the girls walked Bailey. We had a lot of fun together. Jonathan laid down a sprint for me and we had to come to a screeching halt at one point due to a bull snake blocking the path.

We also hit up another Spokane County pool on the South Hill. This one was free to get into and had a fun waterslide. I still have a scuff on my back from the bottom of the pool after bombing down the slide. The kids loved it.  Nice little pool and a good way to spend an afternoon.

The money shot of the trip is from Loon Lake. This is our favorite spot to go swimming and have been there a couple of years in a row. We waited this year for the perfect weather and it ended up being the last day before we drove back to Colorado. 

Siemer's Strawberries

We had a lot of fun today picking strawberries at Siemer's Farm. This was our first time picking strawberries, since we are usually in town during cherry season. But the weather this year had been really cold and rainy, so the season was a little bit delayed.

We went up to Greenbluff and had a nice picnic lunch, then headed to the usual spot for some cherry picking. Although we were surprised and slightly disappointed at first, it turned out well after we were directed to Siemer's.

Their strawberries are really sweet and delicious but didn't last long in the fridge. Apparently they just grow naturally there and they don't even have to water the plants!

Some Spokane Highlights

This year's trip was a little bit different from past trips since we stayed up on the South Hill. We weren't sure if or when we could go, since we were planning around Julia's cheer schedule. Waiting for a little bit, plus the general increase in prices, meant a different location this time.

We joined the South Hill YMCA for a few weeks, as well as took advantage of the new waterslide and pool nearby for the kids. We went back to Liberty Lake again this year and took the inflatable kayaks for a spin on the lake.

Matt and Julia joined us one morning for a casual walk along the Spokane River with Bailey. It's such a pretty spot to go for a walk or bike ride!

Spokane Cycling Pictures

One of my favorite things about going to Spokane every summer is getting out and seeing the the area on my bike. There are so many beautiful areas to see and explore, and it's nice just to have a change of scenery.

Here are my favorite pictures from this year's rides. By row: Saltese Flats, Hangman Valley/Valley Chapel Road, the Palouse Highway, and headed out to Cheney...