Centro

I got to sleep in today and it was glorious. Then we biked to Centro for brunch, and I needed a spicy breakfast since it was 28 degrees when we left the house. We bundled up pretty well, but Luke and I wished we had scarves or ski masks because our faces were freezing. But Centro was the best. I wish I could say I branched out and ordered something different, but I just got the same thing I always get: Huevos Rancheros. The. Best. Breakfast. In. Boulder. And I LOVE Lucille's, I really do. But Centro is so exactly what I want. Perfect amount of spice and sweet, perfect portions. I swear I am not saying this because the Bloody Marys are also really good.

Dave had the special, Jack had the coconut fried bananas with vanilla anglaise, and Luke had a burnt grapefruit and a quesadilla.

After brunch, we biked to the Buffs game, which the won, yea! Then biked home just before 4, when the sun was already down behind the mountain. Short days, and cold. But my huevos rancheros sustained me until we got home and I made hot cocoa.

Friday Night

Originally, this post was about the costumes that Jack was wore on Friday (pirate), Sunday (fireman) and Monday (Power Ranger). But this is the only picture from Friday, and as you can see, "pirate" was just one of many layers.

The short version of this new post is: That's my purse wrapped in a plastic bag in the basket of my bike.

Long version? The plan for Friday night was to bike to the CU Homecoming parade, then drop Luke off at a birthday party at the bowling alley on campus, then bike to Pearl Street and have dinner, then bike back to get Luke, hang out, and then bike home. It was a great plan, a plan that I LOVED. Until it started raining. Then I started thinking... you know what would be fun? Laundry. Laundry, and wine. Drive to campus... drop off Luke, etc. I floated the idea but Dave ignored me and continued to pack layers of clothes for the boys.

We were all in the garage getting on bikes when it really started to pour. Dave said it was never going to work, but I convinced him we should just ride our bikes to a parade in a downpour. (Or else, he possibly used reverse psychology to convince me to go. I know I yelled something like, "No, I want to stay home and do laundry, but I am being a good sport so LET'S GO!") We thought it was raining hard when we left the house but it got worse. Just as one of our friends was thinking to herself, "I must be completely insane to be biking home in this," she saw us coming in the opposite direction and cracked up.

Once we got to the parade, it stopped raining and the rest of the night went as planned, and was very fun. And the next morning, I got to brag about how hard core I am. I ran into a friend on Saturday morning and told her about our adventure. She said. "Wow! You guys are hard core!" I said, "Ummmmm..." And she said, "I mean, your guy is hard core." But I am a good sport.

Colorado Trail

We dropped Dave off at Waterton Canyon on Friday afternoon so he could start the Colorado trail. He met us at Buffalo Creek on Friday night and we camped Friday and Saturday. Dave took Saturday to rehydrate and rest because Friday was brutally hot. That was good news for me because it meant I had all day to mountain bike with the ladies. I had more fun biking than I can ever remember. I can't really remember what it was like to mountain bike before I had kids, so maybe that was fun too - but since then I have always like the idea of biking, and I have done it, but I always felt like it was something I sort of had to do, and had to be back by a certain time, and I always sort of suffered through it. I don't know if was the lack of a deadline for my return so Dave could have his turn, or the weather, or the awesomeness of the trail, or the good company, or the fact that maybe the Wii Active 30 day challenge got my legs in shape, or a combination of all of the above, but it was awesome.

Sunday, I met Grandmom and Grandad on I-70 and dropped the kids off with them and they headed to Breckenridge to meet Dave for Sunday night dinner.

Lucy and I headed home for some girl time. More on that tomorrow!

Follow Dave's progress here.

Speaking of Sewing Projects: Revisited

There were some great suggestions that I just sew the zebra blanket onto the new bed, and I have to say that's a great idea! (Thanks Molly and FoW!) Of course, we had already implemented a MetaMegan style version of that idea.

Busted chewing on a shoe! It's come to the point that we wander the yard aimlessly searching for lost items before we bother looking in the house. Then we finally ask Jack where stuff is and he tells us.

In other news, today is the start of the big bike ride!!!! Once we finish working, packing, cleaning out the car, packing the car and whatever else, we are going to drop Dave off at the start of the Colorado trail. Good luck Dave!

Dave's Bike Ride

The boys and I successfully completed our role as support crew for the Bailey Hundo. It was a long day, but it was a lot of fun. We mostly just drove around from one aid station to the next and cheered for Dave, and I think we did a great job! It was probably harder to mountain bike the 107 miles on a single speed, but I'll let Dave tell that story!

Bailey Hundo

My husband is soon to be an old man: 40 this year on his birthday. How is he celebrating? Beach vacation? European ski vacation? Weekend getaway with the wife? Big party? Nope. He's going to bike the Colorado Trail. It's a 500 mile trail from Denver to Durango.

If that is how Dave plans to celebrate his birthday, you might wonder what he plans to do for Father's day weekend. The answer is a hundred mile mountain bike race called the Bailey Hundo. The race raises money for worthy causes (Trips for Kids and Colorado High School Cycling League) so if you want to donate, please click here.

Originally we planned to camp somewhere in Bailey, until our Buffalo Creek camping trip this past weekend. After I cleaned up puke for the 5th time (Lucy x2, Jack x3) , and tried to hike with Luke, Jack and Lucy, (they go in 3 different directions and Jack wants to be carried) I started to dread our next trip. I'm not sure how long it takes to race 100 miles on a mountain bike, but I am pretty sure it's going to take longer than the amount of time I want to spend in a campground with that vomit-prone crew.

Se we are staying in a cabin! Glory be! I am so happy. Since we won't be camping in the van, I may be able to drive to some of the spectator spots along the race route. I'd love to post updates throughout the day, but I suspect cell phone internet access will be spotty.

In the meantime, follow Dave's training plan on his blog.

And FYI: I will be running a comment contest in July again this year, and I will be purchasing the prize on our Colorado Trail Vacation.

Go Dave!

Yes Ma'am

Luke is a very busy boy this summer. His camp packs more fun into a week then I could probably provide all summer. And in addition to a daily (awesome) field trip, he also has two swimming lessons a week and a soccer practice and a game. And we bike to camp almost every day, and that bike ride is 1.5 miles straight up hill. It's serious. The first time we did it, I allocated 20 minutes for the 1.5 miles up hill and 20 minutes for the 6 miles downhill to work. I was sad when we got to camp 35 minutes later after much crying and gnashing of teeth and pulling of hair. (But I made it to work in 18 minutes!) The next day I brought a water bottle and a fruit twist for Luke to eat if we got to the top with out any complaining. We got there in 20 minutes with no stopping. Since then, I have forgotten the snack twice and we have had some complaining here and there.

Here is an excerpt from our conversation on the way there yesterday:
Luke: (After going really fast for a while) I need to stop and push my bike.
Me: Well, what you need to do is focus on pacing yourself. Pacing yourself means regulating the speed at which you are traveling, so you find a speed that you can keep up for a long period of
Luke: I KNOW ALL THAT ALREADY
Megan: You know, when I am talking, and you already know what I am saying, a polite way to respond is "Yes Ma'am." That way you communicate to me that you know what I am saying, and you get me to stop talking. But you do in a way that makes me think you are polite and then we are both happy.
Luke: (Silence)
**Time Passes**
Luke: This hill is really hard.
Me: When I have a bike ride that I do a lot that I find challenging, I like to break it up into sections in my mind. Then I can feel a sense of accomplishment after each section. For instance, I'd break this ride into 4 sections, one for each hill. The first section would start at our house and end
Luke: Yes Ma'am.


And then, interestingly, we had this conversation at dinner tonight:

Luke: Why do people get divorced?
Me: Some people are much happier when they live apart.
Luke: But you and Daddy aren't going to get divorced?
Me: No
Dave: No, I would never be able to find anything if I couldn't ask your mother where it is.
Me: Daddy and I love each other very much and we
Luke: Yes Ma'am.

Bike to Work Year

Riding your bike on a nice spring day is one of life's simple pleasures. Hot, windy, summer days are not the best, but it's summer. Bike riding is normal in the summer. Fall of course, is really the best because it isn't hot anymore and by now, you are sort of in shape. Late fall, into winter... that's when I usually hang it up. And by "hang it up" I mean ask Dave to hang my bike up in the garage so we can park the car in there to keep the snow off of it.

This year, however, I sort of mentioned that I might want to try to keep riding to work. In the cold. And dark. And based on the fenders Dave put on my bike, and the boots I just bought I must have said that I would ride in the rain.

From misc

Well, I won't have to deal with the dark until Monday, but I did ride to work this week when it was only 34 degrees. (Pats self on back.) It was fine. No problem. I never really got my temperature regulated for the rest of the day, so there are details to be worked out.

Other details:

From misc

I can pick Jack up from daycare, and I can go to the grocery store, but I can't pick Jack up and then go to the grocery store.

What a Pleasure (Fruita Times Two)

We camped at Highline Lake State Park this weekend again, and it was fantastic. We have a new favorite campsite, and according to two little old ladies, we are a great group of families who are a pleasure to observe. Children frolicked, bikes were ridden, food eaten, drinks dranken (wait, that doesn't sound right, but it does sound familiar), what could be better? Well, I guess I could have brought the memory card for my camera, but you can't have everything.

And the days of the camp host appearing with an unholstered firearm and threats of "keep it down or be kicked out" seem to be over. This camp host just wanted to talk about the thirty feral cats she has adopted from the park. (Found homes for 20, kept 10.) Okaaaaaaay. And she just threw out a, "It's technically 3.2 alcohol in the park only, so go ahead and put that tequila in your cooler where I can't see it." Sigh, I guess we still got a tiny lecture, but only because she was lingering to answer any cat questions that might come up. Who knew what kind of response I'd get from, "wild cats? I've never heard of such a thing!"

Oh, and Jack slept 5 out of the last 7 nights from 8am to 6am. Saturday in the van, he was awake from 6am to 7:30, when the effort involved in repeatedly poking me in the eye finally tuckered him out, and we both got to sleep for another whopping half hour. Sunday, I learned my lesson and after I fed Jack at 6am I said, "I am leaving to go to the bathroom, please get Jack back to sleep before I get back." Dave only had to be head-butted twice and poked in the eye less than five times, before he had Jack in a sleeper hold. And we all slept peacefully until 8. Especially Luke who was having a sleep-over with Scarlett in her eurovan.

Good times.

L'eggo My Lego

This morning, it was my turn to do the day care drop off, and before Dave left he helped me make sure everyone was dressed, sunscreened, fed and ready for school. Then as he was leaving he noticed we only cleared half the dinner dishes. From the front porch. Classy! This is important to the story because I think some baby food dripped onto the floor when he was bringing dishes in. I hope it was baby food at least.

Dave was out the door on his bike, and I was making the first trip out to the garage to load up my bike. Pump, lunch, bottles, attach trailer to bike. On my way out the door I heard, "Ewww! Yuck! Ewww! What is that?! Eww!" It looked like a tiny drip of baby food. It was brown and gooey, so let's just all agree that it was baby food. I said I would wipe it up in a second after I got back in from the garage because my hands were full.

Before I could finish attaching the trailer to the bike, Luke was at the door sobbing. "He ate it! Bean ate it!" The baby food? Sweet, problem solved. "NO! He ate my green lego! He ate it, and it's gone and now I will never, ever, ever be able to make the castle again! I want you to get it out of him!" Hmm, well, yeah I can't do that. I do suspect that the lego must have had baby food on it too, because Bean doesn't really eat plastic unless it is wrapped around cheese, chocolate, tortillas, cookies, any other type of food, or garbage. And the baby food spot on the floor had disappeared too so at least I didn't have to clean that up. But the really bad part was that I have been reading Parents magazine (aka 1001 ways your kids could die magazine) in the lactation room, so instead of saying, "That is what you get for not putting your toys away" or even "Hey, maybe leaving your legos on the floor is a bad idea!" I had to say, "Wow, I bet you are really sad that Bean ate your lego. I understand how you feel. I don't like it when Bean eats my things either." This was supposed to calm him down.

It didn't work, of course and when we were 3 blocks away he mentioned that his teeth were covered in boogers from all the sobbing. I contemplated my options but I didn't see any soft leaves around, and I didn't want to use my shirt to clean him up, so I road home to get kleenex. Which he used to wipe the boogers off his teeth. Off. His. Teeth. I just threw up a little thinking about it.

Then we rode another block and I started trying to cheer him up by mentioning that today was field trip day! Yea! Field trip day! And that is when I remembered that I forgot the car seat. So I turned around and got the car seat. And then we rode the rest of the way to school and work and I got there sometime just slightly before lunch.

Happy Fathers Day

Dave had a biketastic Fathers Day today. It started off with my delicious banana pancakes (if I do say so myself.) Then he was off to mountain bike White Ranch. When he came home for Fathers Day Family Time, he wanted to bike, hike and fish, so we tried to come up with a plan that combined all three. (Over achiever.) The way we did this was to immediately cross fishing off the list, even though that is my favorite thing to do. (By fishing, I mean reading a magazine on a blanket.) Then we got Jack all outfitted in the backpack, and he was fussing up a storm, but seemed prepared to nap in there when he got the chance. Once the backpack was all adjusted we got ready to leave. Dave attached the tagalong to his road bike and the trailer to the tagalong. Then the backpack got attached to the trailer. This took about an hour.

All the while I was trying to figure out the best route to our hiking destination. I googled and googled and finally found a bike map to use, and Dave and I studied it and we both memorized the first few turns and then forgot the rest. Before we knew it, we had biked 2 miles to get half a mile from our house. Things like this used to happen to us a lot when we would go hiking and we'd stop paying attention and just start following the dog. Anywho, we got back on track and on our way we ran across the coolest park ever! Dave said, "Luke do you want to stop at this park and check it out?" I think he was running before he even hopped off the bike. It was really fun and I think we could probably find it again. Dave and Luke and I all played while Jack napped.



Sadly, Dave was paged while we were there and we had to go home so he could work. Boo! But we still had a nice dinner, went out for ice cream and got everyone to bed on time.

Happy Fathers Day!

The Race is On

On my way to work today I managed to get over the really big hill without using my granny gear. Over a year ago I stopped exercising due to major first trimester fears, which were followed by second trimester heat exhaustion, followed by taking it easy to prevent pre term labor, which inevitably led to actual labor and recovery, winter weather combined with a newborn and going back to work, and then finally, laziness. But after a couple weeks of riding my bike to work occasionally, I may just be coming out of my year of sloth.

And that means the race is on. I like to race people on my way to and from work. Especially people who are all dressed up in lycra with really fancy expensive road bikes. I think my cruiser and my skirt with heels ensemble can take them. Most smart people pack a spare inner tube and a bike pump. I have a pump, but at 15 pounds it's more likely to contribute to a flat tire than fix one.

When I pass someone going uphill on my fabulous pink bike, and the someone I pass has the look of a serious biker, then it is makes my day. Or at least I assume it would, it's only happened once. Six years ago. And the gentleman said, "Whoa, do you have a motor on that young lady?" He was about 105 years old. But the point is, it could happen again!

Bike-tastic

Today I had many adventures while biking the kids to daycare, then biking to work, back to the daycare, back home with the kids, down to Pearl street to meet my friend Laura, and then back home. In my mind it was 18 miles, but google maps said 15 or so. I thought about plotting my travels on gmaps pedometer and then posting a link and then I thought, why share a map to my house and the daycare with the internets? Trust me, it was 15 miles that felt like 18.

The first thing that happened was that 3 blocks from home, the trailer came part way loose and got lodged in my wheel spokes. I don't know what I would have done if an kind, older, handsome gentleman, lazily driving to work, hadn't stopped his car to help me. (Thanks Dave!)

Secondly, there is a serious down hill section where Luke usually gets going pretty fast. So fast that he can't quite keep up with the pedals. Today he was really flying when he got to the sharp left turn and he slammed on the brakes, skidded out, rode it out into the grass, and then jumped off and flew through the air with an "Aaaaaaaah!" and landed 4 feet away in the grass. I could tell by the "Aaaaaaah!" that he was enjoying himself, but even so, it was risky for me to allow myself to laugh hysterically. (He tends to be quite sensitive.) But it was so funny. And I was glad that he laughed too. (And of course we were both glad that he wasn't hurt.)

What a Day for A Bike Ride

On Saturday we rode our bikes to the Farmers Market. Dave had Luke attached to his bike on the tagalong, and attached to the tagalong, was the trailer, with the baby seat strapped inside. If only we had a tandem, then we could have really been a spectacle. Or maybe, in some other town, we could have been a spectacle. But at the Farmer's Market we saw some crazier stuff. There was a couple in matching bike outfits, on matching recumbent tricycles. The man was flying a Colorado state flag. The woman was wearing some sort of desert storm hat/veil that completely covered her face. If she was worried about sun exposure, why was she wearing a sleeveless shirt? Are bugs a problem? Get a windshield for your trike! Maybe she was just trying to look mysterious, which totally worked if mysterious means really weird. Also, she had a tiny dog on her lap, and the dog was wearing a tiny pair of sunglasses. I have to admit that I stared, which I know is rude. But I didn't take a picture, which I now regret.

On the way home, it finally occurred to me that the Dave, Luke, Jack train was a good enough spectacle to warrant a picture on my camera phone, but when we stopped at an intersection, I took a picture of a guy on a unicycle instead.


(You can see the corner of the trailer, and Luke's arm on the right side of the picture.)