Oops

Oops, its the end of June and nary a pic of the boys...has been a bit of a self absorbed month with the Ride and all...please forgive oh faithful blog followers (all 4 of you!!)

The dudes at Maplewood Farm for Kayna's 4th Birthday. Too bad Jasper was too afraid of the pony to enjoy the free rides!

Cousins came to town for a sunny weekend of fun! What a bunch of heartbreakers they will all be when they grow up!

RTCC 2010 Wrap-up

A few post-ride pics from the Children's museum in Seattle - so fun!!

Despite ominous weather forecasts, when my alarm rang at 5am on Saturday morning the skies were mostly blue as we sailed out to Guildford Mall in Surrey in record time (save for the RTCC traffic jam on 156th St). After a short opening ceremony the gun sounded and we were off - an amazing 2252 riders! As a team we had decided to start and end the ride together so we were pretty much the last ones to leave the mall, but it was quite the sight to see the "sea of pink" roll out and it was nice to feel like a rock star for a day or two with all the positive attention. Thanks to the Surrey RCMP we had rolling road closures all the way to the border and thanks to some excellent planning (and a NEXUS card), Tanis and I managed to make it through the border in a about 10 mins flat. Tan and I had also promised eachother to ride together the entire way (almost!), which meant a leisurely pace to save poor Tan's knee, but was great for me as well to absorb some of my surroundings and just enjoy being out on such a gorgeous day. As I mentioned in an earlier email, I have travelled the I-5 hundreds of times but never really stopped to appreciate or explore the small towns that dot the highway. Who knew Blaine has such a cute waterfront and main street. And who knew that Bellingham had such a historic town centre? 80% of the route was also pretty much flat, or as close to flat as you can get which was amazing planning by the ride organizers. We had one long climb in Bellingham headed to lunch, but the thought of a break from the saddle and some good grub (and a few extra strength advil) was enough to help me push through. I have to give major props to the entire ride committee and the volunteer crew for putting on such an well run event. Every pit stop was well manned, with food/drinks/bike mechanics/medical/honeybuckets and the ever cheery "cheering squad" - there was not one moment that I felt unsafe or insecure while on the road which was amazing. Camp was in Mount Vernon and was also a great experience, especially rehydrating with free vino blanco from Barefoot Wines!! Tanis and I chose not to rough it (thank GOD!) but soon discovered the drawback was that the 2 taxi-cabs that service the Mt Vernon area were runing on overdrive and we had to wait and wait and wait and wait.....ah, but the soft beds were sooooo worth it in the end! Day 2 started out a tad soggy and cool, and progressively became more soggy as the day wore on. This made for a very short and chilly lunch stop, and one blessedly looonnnggg stop at a coffee shop by a large percentage of Team Finn to warm up and get set for the final few legs of the journey. One of the best things about soggy day two though was the last half of the route. Basically we entered a long paved trail system (ala Seymour Demo Forest) which must have been an old train line at some point as it stretched through beautiful woods for over 40ish K or so, give or take. Last pit stop was a mere 14K from the finish at Marymoor Park in Snohomish county and most of TF gathered so we could journey the final leg together, led of course by our fearless leader Pat Sullivan. It was quite a sight to see a long sea of pink stretched out for half a kilometer as we wound through the narrow trails surrounding the park, and then, finally the finish. A few tears were shed, and my beautiful family was there to greet me (except Griffin didn't recognize me avec helmet/glasses and really bad hair). We spent the night in Lynnwood with a bunch of fellow Finnsters and their families and had a chance to kick back, have a few beers and a great # of calories and talk about the hilite reel from the weekend together. Can't wait for 2011!!

This is what I know from RTCC 2010:
- That 2252 riders all rode 250+ K over 2 days through sun/wind/rain and collectively raised over 9.2 million dollars
- That the 125 amazing riders on Team Finn raised over 514K and counting
- That when times got tough (in the cold and rain on day 2 with everything hurting) I just had to think of the courage and strength of one amazing little boy named Finn Sullivan who in the week before he passed away even in so much pain from tumours all throughout his little body, and an epidural to numb his body from the waist down still had the strength and determination to get up and walk the steps he so desperately wanted to walk.
- That thanks to your generosity, all the money raised goes directly to the BC Cancer Foundation and will provide the funds for important research projects, clinical trials and medical equipment such as a new PET scan
- That this money and this equipment will save lives
- That I really, really, really dislike wearing spandex
- That no matter how many miles of training rides you log, nothing will prepare your butt for 250+K of pain
- That all those little towns you drive thru at 100K on the I5 actually have charming little main streets and city centers, take the time to slow down and see them sometime
- That the volunteers, crew, police and RTCC staff were absolutely AMAZING - we were well fed, well looked after and I never worried for one second
- That extra strength advil really, really, really is a wonder drug!
- That I am a lot stronger than I give myself credit for
- That I will run, jump, bounce, sing, dance, love and ride again in 2011

A finntastic weekend!!

Check out most of Team Finn 2010 basking in all our pink glory at the pre-ride Sunday dinner this past weekend. I for one have never seen such a buffet outside of Vegas which affording us much pre-RTCC carbo loading!! The ride is now a mere 4 days away and I am shockingly underprepared, but I will depend on sheer will to get me through...it will be an amazingly powerful experience in many ways and I am looking forward to it!

May Musings

Choo choo!

My Little Starbucks Addict - he actually ran around the playground away from me so I wouldn't take the cup away!

Trip to Playland with Grandma - Jasper is a bit of a daredevil now, waterlog ride, kiddie coaster, and his new fave - the jumping motocycle ride - he probably rode that thing 10 times in a row!

Got Matching Shirts? We did on Mother's Day - aren't I soooo lucky!

The Dudes at Rebecca's third bday party!

Hamming it up on the deck

Griffin enjoying a shiatsu massage - even Mom doesn't get to sit on it!

Again I have terribly neglectful of our poor blog, but on the bright side and perhaps better use of my time this month - Mamanista has an awesome new website that has just launched (www.mamanista.ca), my legs have gotten to pedal a few hundred kms in preparation for the ride, and we celebrated a whole bunch of birthdays - (Mom, Uncle Greg (40!!), Everett, Papa C and tomorrow - Jasper!)

Jasper at 4

Aaron and James were teh very BRAVE volunteers to hold the pinata!

Mmmmmm! Cake!!

Never a normal smile for the camera these days, but at least its not a scowl!

Present time!!

Proud Grandpa and his littlest!

My beautiful boy is 4 years old!! Here's a summary of all things Jasper thus far....
- He's a smidge over 3'7" tall - yep, my boy is going to play in the big leagues!
- He's just shy of 40lbs
- He is wearing size 5 of almost everything, and going through clothes like wildfire! Good thing little brother can use them as well one day!
- Jasper is already reading and writing - he finished his first book (Mat from the BOB series) over a week ago at phonics and has been spelling his name for awhile now (even though he's a lefty - poor kid!)
- He subsists on 4 basics food groups - Chicken Strips, Milk, Cereal and Peanut Butter toast!!
- He has MAJOR crush on Triana Aleman, even though she will only play with him when her friend Ava isn't around
- He is both happy and sad that Griffin is getting older - he now has a plymate, but now he also has competition for all his things!
- He is a FUNNY little man (he gets this from Daddy) - he cracks me up regularly at the dinner table with his facial expressions

We love you Jasper - you are a treasure and a joy, even if sometimes you drive Mommy bonkers with the incessant question asking!! xxoo

40!!!

My big brother turned the BIG 4-0 today! Quite a milestone indeed and hopefully when he reflects on his life thus far he should smile - a beautiful wife and 3 gorgeous daughters, a good job, a lovely home, lots of friends and family - definitely all things to celebrate and not lament! So, yes, of course there will be many an old fart joke, and very likely a few "losing your hair" jokes but who would want to go back to their poor, angst-filled 20's or god-forbid pimply teen years anyways?!
HAPPY BIRTHDAY GREG - WE LOVE YOU! xo

Mother's Day 2010

Oh lucky lucky me. A gorgeous warm May Mothers Day began with a sleep in, then my two gorgeous boys bringing me a card and matching t-shirts in bed - so dorky - I LOVE IT!!! Had an amazing 65K Mothers Day ride around Richmond with a gang of mamas (and others) from Team Finn. Too bad I forgot the sunblock on the legs - yeeoutch! Basically this ride is exactly a quarter of what I will be doing in June - GULP!!

Ah-Doo-Doo

Lately we have been trying to increase Griffin's vocabulary by having him repeat the names of various household objects/body parts/people etc. We thought him soooo clever when we would say "Jas-per" and Griffin would reply "Ah-Doo-Doo". However, we soon realized that Mommy, Daddy and various other words were also "Ah-Doo-Doo" so perhaps he is not so clever, but very cute at least : )

Griffin does have a few words - nose, jump, up, mama, dada and has learned most of the major parts of the body. He is enjoying school and never ever cries when I drop him off, only when I leave him in the car on Wednesdays when only Jasper goes to school! He has crested 28lbs, and loves to sing, dance and jump. And boy does he ever jump, or launch more like it these days, I am predicting a few future emerg room visits for stitches in the not too distant future. Jasper continues to kick a-- at Super Mario Kart (which makes me motion sick to watch let alone play) and is starting on some two letters words at phonics. Griffin has also recently learned the power of fighting back when brother does something he doesn't like, and not that i condone hitting, but sometimes a little taste of your own medicine does you a little good : )

Griffin's First Day at Escuela!

My Big Boy! Griffin started escuela this past Monday and was a total star! Good thing he has big brother next door in the preschool class to watch out for him. Seems as though he is already a hit with the ladies young and old(er)!!

Birthdays and Bunnies and Big Brothers!

Spent a gorgeous April Saturday down in Deep Cove, throwing rocks and hanging on the playground. A big shout out to my darling Jasper for being an awesome big brother last night - while at dinner last night there was a little boy who kept pushing and hitting Griffin until big brother Jasper stepped in and kindly, but firmly told him to stop it - I was SO PROUD!

Easter bunny visited twice this year! Not good for Mom's waistline!

Griffin was more interested in computing than egg hunting!

We had a nice pre-Easter dinner with the Days complete with Al's fabulous home cooking and a pre-easter egg hunt. It is really neat to see all the cousins getting along so well and even LC and Griffin starting to hang out, they even egged eachother on as to who could stand on the chairs the most times before going ass over tea-kettle!! I think LC won, or shall I say lost...

I of course celebrated my 29th birthday this past week and was spoiled rotten. Things got off to a very good start at the Team Finn Wine Tasting Festival on April 7th - you know you are in for good evening when you have already done 4 laps of the tasting tables by 9pm! Anyways, my buddy Kelly and I literally closed the place down with the lights getting turned on and our coats being firmly, but politely hand delivered to us by the manager of the pub - go girls, woot woot!!