First Snow!

We had our first, and likely only, snow of the year today and it's a good one. We took June for a walk in it but she didn't seem quite as excited about it as we were. See the photos at my flickr site along with some others of Thanksgiving and "new foods".

PS Don't forget Bikes To Rwanda when you're doing your year end Giving.

cx

Mama gettin' dirty at Barton Park!

Daddy too.

It was muddy and raining and fun.

Happy Halloween

The family all came over for Halloween tricks and treats last night. We had some dinner, Samantha made her Gramma Shaw's macaroni and cheese dinner and also her famous popcorn balls! Allie brought rice crispie treats and Josh got some chicken. After dinner we got dressed and went out trick or treating in the neighborhood. It was nice to see everyone. Maybe this will be our annual family holiday. More pics are at flickr.

Barton Park cx race tomorrow.

Eat it!

So I found the camera bag and download cord. That means you all get to watch June take her first bites. It's kind of a long video but stick with it she gets cuter as it goes. It's pretty neat to watch a baby figure out something new. June of course is a quick learner.

I've also uploaded some fun pics to the flickr site.

Back at it

It's been awhile and so I'm just going to give a quick update and hope that I can be better about this.

We've been sick, all of us. I'm getting better...again. June seems to be better as well. Samantha is on the way out it looks like. We skipped the two Astoria races this weekend, it was Halloween 'Cross too. Bummer. Heard it was fun. I had a great race last weekend though and came in with a pack of guys I never ride with, they're always ahead of me. Samantha was having a good race too but dropped her chain and lost 9 places. She's been doing really great for her first season back.

June had her 6 month check up and here are the stats. 18 lb 14 oz, 26 in., and she's in the 95th and 60th percentiles respectively. Not bad at all, looks like she's starting to grow into some of the adorable baby chub. She is also starting on solid foods. Rice cereal for now but she should be trying some apples, sweet potatoes and squash next week. She's a pretty voracious eater. I have a video but lost my camera case and cord to download pics so that'll have to wait. If you have a mini Cuisinart you aren't using send it our way.

Today I cleaned out the garage a little more and I'm finally getting some open space to use. Getting ready for winter too, cleaning gutters, clearing off the deck, cutting back blackberries...

I've been working on a little side project as well. Just for fun but it might turn into something. Either a grad school project or a real project that I can hand off to someone else and they can give me a job! It's a bike loop in Toppenish so Dad can get to work safely, and other people too.

Still trying to get Samantha started on the special needs in-home pet care business too.

We went camping with June one last time this summer in Hood River for a weekend of 'cross racing. Sarah, Chris and the kids came too. They raced and had a great time. I'll include some pics and you can see more at the flickr site.

PS I also lost 20 lbs over the last couple months. I can fit most of my clothes again. Feels good.

This should be good for a laugh

Good Morning!

June's taken to feeding herself these days. At least on Friday's when daddy's home with her.

Hood River Cross Weekend

If anyone wants to come to Hood River Saturday or Sunday, September 20 or 21 and watch Samantha and I race and hang out with June you can! Just go here for directions and times for the races, etc. I race at 1:00 and Samantha at 1:55. If the kids want to do the kiddie race that's at 12:45. We are planning on camping at Tucker Park about .5 mi. south of Hood River if you want to make a weekend out of it. $20/nt to camp on Hood River, less for non-river camping, and they have showers too. It's a fun kick off to the season and not too far from Yakima, and even closer to Toppenish, hint, hint....
Hope to see you there!

I'm safer to be around now

I learned First Aid and CPR! Please don't feel like you need to test my skills though, I am perfectly happy if I never have to use any of it.

June

Here are some recent pictures of June for anyone that hasn't seen her in awhile. Enjoy.

At Cape Lookout State Park beach. She loves her dog!


Tummy time is good!


Reading with mommy.


Too HOT! Time to cool off in the pool.

Kermesse

I had my best start yet at a race this Sunday. Right off the front and I felt good the whole race. I will link you to the OBRA results but I apparently wore Samantha's race number, and she mine, so the results are a mess. Ooops! Hopefully my best race yet isn't lost forever. Samantha said she thought she was dying on the last lap and I can attest to her pale cheeks as she crossed the finish line. But she did cross the finish line. A little more conditioning should help. It was a great way to start the cross season off though and I'm looking forward to Hood River for a weekend full of racing and hopefully camping too. Two more Kermesse races left, though we'll miss the next one as we're going camping with Jeremy for his birthday again. Last year we happened on this great creek side campsite and drove up the way in the morning to a beautiful lake. This year we're camping at the lake. I want there to be a canoe for rent there but I doubt it. Samantha and I are going to take a basic skills canoe class next week so I'm a little anxious to get out on the water.

Cross Season is Raining at the Door

Photo by J. Maus
A week of rain in August? I guess that's Portland for ya...

It does however come conveniently at what has become the unofficial start of the cyclocross season, the Kruger Farm Crit Kermesse.

Between now and December we could be racing weekly! So, if you want to see us this fall check here and here, otherwise we'll see you next year.

xoxo, Tom, Samantha and June

Oceanside

Four days with the family at Oceanside was a great vacation. The weather was mild, we went for walks and hung out at the beach. Samantha and I got to ride to Cape Lookout together. Mom and Dad celebrated their 35th Anniversary, only 31 years to go for us! We also celebrated a bunch of birthdays and ate lots of cake all weekend long. Cousin Caitlin came in to town and stayed a couple nights and then came home with us too. The highlight was our first family charades game. Aside from moms addition of "Writing the Gettysburg Address" which I somehow conveyed successfully, it was a total party!
Other highlights were, hang gliders, eating sand, lighthouse, Octopus tree and yoga.

S24O

The bike camping retreat was a resounding success. We all sat through a great time management training at the office and then actually left on time for our ride to LL Stub Stewart State Park! The ride out found us at an impasse, literally. We figured it out and made our way down a country, gravel road to get back on track. The Banks/Vernonia trail was beautiful and tree covered taking us the rest of the way to the park. We checked in and found our campsites. After dinner we did a light-free night hike where I discovered the full force of my night blindness, it looked like this: and followed it up with some marshmallow roasting and chatting around the fire before bed.
The morning was perfect and we got some work done before we started back to Portland. Carl claims not to have pedaled from the top of the park entrance to the truss bridge, about 6 miles I think. It was the most amazingly mellow slope all the way back to Banks. We did have to stop for a blackberry break on the way. We capped the trip with a Zoo Bomb and rode home in the hot summer sun. Best day of work yet!

Upcoming and Updates

Tomorrow I am leading the new bike safety Ambassadors on a team building retreat in the form of a S24O to Stub Stewart State Park. This should be interesting as the weather report is HOT, HOT, HOT.

A long weekend with the family in Oceanside, OR will be a nice vacation before the chaos of another school year begins.

Clara is off to Rwanda for a month to make BTR a success. I hope. She'll be checking up on the bike shops and trying to locate two more potential sites. Also, COE and the Wooden Bike Classic will round out her visit.

The newsstand is moving forward, slowly, as they finalize funding for build out.

Juni's First Camping Trip

I had to work this last weekend at the first Cycle Oregon Weekend Kids Camp presented by the BTA at Ft. Stevens just ouside of Astoria, OR. It was a lot of fun and Samantha and June came out and camped with me. This was June's first camping trip and it was two nights too! She did great and we look forward to many more outdoor adventures.

Camp BTA


Night hike


There was a Civil War reenactment going on all weekend as well and they kept firing the cannons, they're really LOUD! The portable showers are in the background. I never thought I'd shower in semi trailer...not bad actually.


Part of the weekends events was a Jr. Ranger tour of the park ending at the wreck of the Peter Iredale. The best part though was this chunk of whale baleen, crazy!
...and wherever there is sand and water there is a crazy white dog known to many as Sampson, he ran his little ass off and for his efforts got a really good nights sleep.

Halfway to Texas

Samantha planned this hike with our friends Jason and Lacey from Seattle and we were going to meet halfway, go for a hike, catch up maybe stop for lunch and head home. Easy right?
Well, as it turns out the St. Helens area took quite a beating this spring and both parties ran into road closures, us from the south and they from the north. With no cell phone reception and a 2-hour drive back to I-5 we all got a little frazzled. The drive was beautiful though and we did meet eventually for a couple hours in a parking lot off I-5 to catch up.



A frustrating and hectic weekend was further salvaged when a cat-sitting client of Samantha's called on Sunday afternoon and offered us a pair of Lyle Lovett tickets for that evening at Edgefield. We both love Lyle so it was a no brainer. A little something to eat and a distant but clear view of the stage and a nice spot in the grass on what had to be the best evening this summer made for a relaxing night with good music.

Great!

We visited Yakima and got to spend time with the great grandparents




and the regular old grandparents too!

June thought it was pretty great all around!

We also saw "the kids", Lincoln & Sidney and they posed for this great brother-sister shot that any mom would swoon over, you can hear it now, "they're so well behaved."

Digest

Since my last post a couple weeks ago June has figured out that bottles aren't so bad

and is even starting to hold it while she eats. She found her feet too.

We got this cute picture of Sampson and June hanging out under the chair while gramma Brown was visiting.

Feliz Cumpleanos, Treinta y Tres

Happy Birthday to me,
I am 33,
We just had a baby
and her name is Juni!

Rollover

Not your cell phone minutes either...June chose to perform this little trick for gramma Brown while Samantha and I were on a date to see Hancock. We had been working on it for the last couple weeks but no luck. Gramma got it on film but it may take a minutte to get the photos as she has only recently entered the 21st century by purchasing a digital camera. As soon as she learns to use it she promises to send the pics along for all to see. Check flickr for them soon!

I want my MTV

I have to add this quick post as an update to the most recent BTR video post. At the Ritual Coffee event in SF last week a Street Team '08 journalist for MTV put together a great 3 minute plug for BTR!! Check it out here.

Bikes To Rwanda update + info

I mentioned that BTR is doing a lot this summer and I thought that I would post the links to the videos folks have made for and about us over the last year.
GOOD Magazine
Green Living Project (GLP)

...and look for a feature on BTR in the new issue of WEND magazine as well as on the GLP tour this summer to REI stores throughout the nation.

Also, when I picked up the mail today there was a letter, a flier and a cheque from a high school junior class in Vancouver, BC that did three bake sales this spring to support BTR and made alsmost $1500!! They enjoyed it so much that they petitioned the school to allow them to mentor the upcoming junior class to continue this as an annual event.

New Stuff

New blog, new pics of JuneBug on the flickr. Don't expect regular posts but I think it could be a good way to share.

In news:

Liam Jon Williams was born yesterday to Heather and Nick. We're really excited for them and for June to have a friend her age down the street. Pics to come soon.

BTR is getting some great recognition. Keep an eye out for lots of fun stories, events and developments this summer. BTR blog.

The newsstand is back online. Check out the latest drawings. The newest open date is mid-October, more to come soon.