Dirt Crits & Round 2 of the Birthday Parties

This past Thursday was the second week of Ralph's Dirt Crits at Castlewood. The July 2nd race was my first race of the season (2nd MTB ride for 2009) and my goal was to finish. All I can really say is I mission accomplished. This week's goal was to pick off a few more riders and that I did. I would suck at road racing (or at least crit racing) and the dirt crits are similar. Short, fast courses with zero uphills and zero downhills. Not my style of riding, but fun. My goal for next week is to move up a few more spots. Within the next couple weeks I would like to be where I usually am- chasing the fast guys- and then (if not before), doing the same back on the SS. The big goals are this fall...

Of course, the racing itself is just part of the fun of the dirt crits. These are as spectator friendly as they get and, as usual, Erin brought the girls. I heard Madeleine cheer "Go Daddy!" a few times in between laps and it was awesome. After my race, we all hung out, ate hot dogs (thanks Pfoodman!), and watched the B and C races. Madeleine and I cheered the C race on from the creek crossing with her cheering "GO, GO, GO!!!" as loud as she could. That, too, was awesome. And hilarious. More than a couple of racers chuckled as they rode past, probably feeling guilty by being coached by a barely two year old.

Yesterday was round two of Madeleine's "TWO BIRTHDAY PARTIES!!!" and we all had a great time. I set up the waterfest that Aunt's Ann and Sally gave Madeleine, along with a couple baby pools, and we turned the kids loose. Lucy, Alicia, Sid, Sophie, and Connor all helped Madeleine party and what a party it was. Not counting the pool-time, highlights included watching the kids eat the chocolate chip cookie cake, and watching Madeleine lay a big fat kiss on Connor. I joked I didn't kiss like that until I was 18, though I'm not so sure it was really a joke?

As always, a few pics:

At the start of Thursday's A race, I suggested/joked to teammate CP, who was sporting his helmet cam, that he should give everyone a head start, you know, for drama. I didn't think he would take me seriously. He did, and he still cleaned house. And congrats to Chris for earning another State Champ jersery at yesterday's race. Couldn't go to a nicer guy.



Cheering on the racers "ON DAD'S SHOULDERS!!!":



Outside in PJ's and up way too late:



"Lucy, this was cool a minute ago when you had it on your head":



Kickin' it at the pool:



Note Dad and Hadley, both having bottles:



Cookie Monster herself:

Happy Birthday Madeleine!

Our little firecracker turned two on the 4th of July. The birthday weekend started off with Daddy's bike race on Thursday night. Madeleine fell asleep on the way to Castlewood but then enjoyed watching the races in her kids-size Bass Pro Shops chair and running around the park.

Aunt Amy arrived on Friday afternoon and all the girls headed to the zoo. It was a zoo! Madeleine really wanted to ride the train but the line was crazy. Instead, she got to ride the carousel and see the penguins. The penguins were a big hit.

Madeleine's birthday arrived with lots of rain so our trip to the park with Aunt Amy turned into Aunt Amy coming over to play. Then we had a party with Poppy, PaPa, D, Butch, Aunt Amy and Uncle Todd. Madeleine had so much fun opening her presents and wanted to play with each one immediately. Everyone was entertained by potty Elmo who, after drinking, informs you he needs to go potty. The party was a lot of fun for all of us. In appropriate two year old fashion the party ended with the two year old on the ground screaming "no, no, no!!!"

Sunday, we went to Faust Park with Aunt Amy, Poppy and PaPa. Madeleine got to ride the carousel twice and play on the playground. We were sad to see Aunt Amy head back to New York and hope we get to see her again soon.

The other big event on Madeleine's birthday was the start of the Tour de France... keep an eye out on the blog for a picture of Madeleine sporting her USPS jersey. I need to stop writing so I can try to cram 3 hrs of coverage from today into 45 minutes!

Before heading to the zoo:



The Birthday Girl:



With D and Butch:



Madeleine and Hadley:



Blowing out the candle:



Hadley and Aunt Amy:



The end of the night:



Madeleine's First Day at her new school:

Fish, Father's Day, & Stuff

Erin's already posted about our recent weekend's events, but I felt the need to elaborate. Two weekend's ago, Paco, Dominique, kids, and dogs hosted their first (hint, hint) fish fry of the year. As usual, it was fantastic.

Erin's already mentioned it, but I took advantage of her and the girls being at a baby shower and rode out to "the farm." I felt a little bit toolish, riding a carbon road bike in team kit west on Clayton. Not because of the bike or fashionable lycra, but because on my back was my ancient, faded, purple and turqoise Dana Designs 'Bomb Pack' with a Sage fly rod sticking out the top. But really, who cares? And if anyone knew where I was headed, they would have been jealous. In reality, I wasn't even sure if it was going to work at first, as the setup was clumsy with the case sticking out quite a bit, but after a mile or so I barely noticed it. And I felt much better as I waved to Eddie (aka Nico Toscani) riding east in team gear, also carrying a pack with something (it looked like a tennis racket?) sticking out. Waving (no, shouting "ED-DIEEEEEE!!!") is part of why I love cycling and racing in particular. I've met so many neat people over the years and see at least a couple every time I get on a bike.

At Paco's, the fishing was unbelievable as usual. Jim, Paco, and I caught what we needed for dinner (probably 20 fish) in maybe an hour, throwing at least that many back. The place really is nuts, and it's always a treat to get to fish there. Looking into the lake with the sun at my back, you could see the bass fighting for your lure. I caught the only fish that wasn't a largemouth and it was an enormous bluegill, almost as tall as my hand. I also hooked what would have probably been the biggest largemouth I've ever caught but stupid me had tighted my drag on my previous cast (to haul in a small one through the moss) and forgot to reset it. I saw the monster strike and it broke my 4 lb test as soon as it hit. Oops.

The weekend after the fish fry (last weekend as I write this) was Father's Day weekend. On Father's Day morning, my mom came over to watch Hadley, and Erin, Madeleine and I rode over to Grant's Trail. We had just bought Erin a new Trek FX series hybrid/29r when she got pregnant, so Sunday's ride was her first in over a year. She was a little cautious at first but soon got back into the swing of things and our roundtrip ride was ~15 miles. All of us had a great time and I can't wait until Hadley can join us.

Last week also saw Madeleine's last day of daycare before she heads to her new school. It's sad for us all but time to move on. And we're happy knowing Hadley is in good hands.

Madeleine and I headed over to Grant's Trail again tonight but just as we got to the trail, she fell asleep. So I turned around and headed to the Custard Station. She woke up when we arrived and she heard me say "ice cream." Big suprise. After our usual Oreo cement, we headed to Kirkwood Park to burn off the extra calories.


A few pics from all the fun:

"OK, I think we have enough":



Bike rack or fish rack?:



Paco at work:



Largemouth heaven:



The girls at the "gym":



Holly, one of Madeleine's teachers since Day 1:



Yolanda, also from Day 1, now with Hadley, and one of the best people ever. Madleine loves her, clearly:



Father's Day ride:



Hoosie'ing it up in the front yard in Glendale:



Big and little sisters:



More rock climbing action:

More fun

This past Saturday was another fun-filled day for us. Madeleine, Hadley and I started the day by going to Jim cousin's Sallie's baby shower. Madeleine was very excited to wear her party dress and shoes. It was quite a grown up party for her to be attending. I was impressed that she sat at the table in a booster seat without any problems… I did clear the china coffee cup, wine glass and water goblet from her place setting though before she sat down.

After the shower, we picked up Gracie and headed out to Paco and Dominique's for a fish fry. Jim took advantage of me having both of the girls to ride his bike out there. We all had a great time. Madeleine had a blast playing with all the kids and on the swing set. It was so cute to see all the kids sitting at the picnic table together enjoying their fish which was quite tasty. Madeleine had so much fun that she threw a category 5 temper tantrum when it was time to leave. Jim told her we could come back to play again and she stopped crying long enough to say alright and point that she was ready to go back right then. Jim and I really enjoyed seeing our friends too. With two little kids and both working full time, it sometimes feels like we are always a step behind and trying to catch up. It was really great to have a fun, relaxful night with friends. We really need to do that more!

Future Rock Climber

Enjoying the tasty fish

Wait... isn't the boy supposed to be opening the door

Checking out dinner

The Catch

Hadley in her "Party Dress"

Lake Weekend

Last weekend Erin and I and the girls headed to the Lake. Cousin Bart was there with family and friends and Madeleine had a blast playing with Bart's kids Ella, Georgia, Owen ("Onion") and his neighbor's kids.

Our swimming lessons at the Webster Y paid off as Madeleine couldn't wait to get in the water with the rest of the kids. It was cold for sure, but she kept chanting "Get in. Get in." until she and I got in.

A fun weekend for sure.

Pics:

Ready to "get in":



In:



Georgia "in":



Dock girls:



Late night with Hadley:



No shit, Madeleine walked the whole way up:



G's funny:



Girls:



More girls:



Pool maintenance at the Lake:

Hadley's Baptism Weekend

We've had so many fun weekends since my last post I've been reluctant to even try and catch up. But I promised I'd get better about posting more regularly and Erin promised I'd post the "fun" parts of Hadley's baptism weekend so here we go.

It's now a couple weeks past, but Memorial Day weekend was a busy one for us. Hadley Rose was baptized on Sunday and Erin's friend Tara and my brother Dave both flew in to be her godparents. Dave came in Thursday night and he and I headed out to the Mill Friday morning to try and catch some fish. I was excited to fly fish for the first time in over a year and brought an 8 weight Sage RPLXi I've had on loan from a friend for so long I should just buy the thing. I hooked into a nice crappie on my second cast and figured it would be the first of many. Wrong. I didn't even have a strike after that and spent most of the morning watching Dave work it hard with only one small bass and tiny gar in return. I should have figured. The river's been high most of this spring and the water had just come down. The level was right but the color was wrong. I told Dave we were probably 24 hours early and look forward to at least one good day out there this summer. Dave and I left the Mill around noon to pick Tara up at the airport, stopping for Lion's Choice on the way. Friday night we took it easy and grilled at our place.

On Saturday, the Krewet's took Tara to the Missouri Botanical Garden. I hadn't been there in years and we all had a blast in the kid's garden. Amighetti's was the logical choice for lunch and that night we headed to the folks' to check out my mom's new kitchen and let them cook for us.

Sunday was Hadley's big day and lots of Krewets were in attendance. Hadley was a champ and made it through awake and smiling as usual. We had a little party at our place afterwards and everyone had a great time. Our only mistake was not ordering enough Jimmy John's sandwiches. Or maybe not telling Dave and Bob to take it easy. Later, we figured those two alone ate 20% of the little subs.

A trip to the zoo was planned for Monday morning but rain forced us to change things up and we headed to the Magic House instead. And again, another place I hadn't been in years. Dave joined us as well and the highlight for me was watching he and Madeleine squeeze through one of the many tunnels.

This was the short long story. It was a great weekend and we were so happy to have Dave and Tara share it with us.

As always, a few pics:

Dave's leetle gar:



Botanical Gardens:








Butch & Smiley:



Baptism and the aftermath: