Doing The Thing They Could Not Do

I thought I'd spare you any pictures of stinky, sweaty, overheated boys. (I thought I'd spare me, too, so I didn't take any...)

The Cycling Merit Badge is a bear.

Training requirements include two 10-mile, two 15-mile, and two 25-mile bike rides - all of this in preparation for a 50-mile ride in 8 hours or less.

Jeff, Sam and Spencer decided to tackle the challenge. With their bikes finely tuned, every day or two they completed one of the lengths. This wouldn't be so bad except it's been so hot, as in SO HOT! With temperatures in the high 90's or into the hundreds, with humidity anywhere from 60-70%, they were leaving early in the morning so it wasn't so unbearable, except it still was.

One day they came home and Spencer was done. He was overheated and spent. He couldn't do it anymore. He vowed to never get on his bike again.

Fortunately, Spencer realized he can do hard things. He got back on his bike.

The 50-miler was this morning. Today was selected because the forecast was, mercifully, cooler. The boys left at 3:30am and were even cold for part of the ride. Jeff had to stop and help Sam warm up his hands a couple of times. Most of their ride was on country roads. They got to see a meteor shower and a llama farm. They reached their halfway point earlier than expected and made it home just after 9:00am. And they were smiling. :)

They've been asleep ever since!

Saying Goodbye

We met Tiffany when she was a graduate student in our little corner of the world a few years ago. We sort of adopted her. Then she met her husband here, graduated, got married, and moved 2 hours away. 

Tiffany just got her dream job in Utah so she and Greg are moving much further away. They came by today to say goodbye. We had a delicious Thai lunch from our mutually favorite restaurant and had a great time reminiscing old times. 

We wish you the best, Tiffany and Greg! Now go out and set your new little corner of the world on fire!

Craft: Painting Shaving Cream

Sadie came up with this herself.

It started with a sign-up sheet for something like Fun With Sadie. Jeff signed up. Sadie came up with all kinds of fun crafts and activities for the two of them to do together. Tonight it was just Sadie and Jeff at home and Sadie's fun activity was to finger paint with shaving cream. But then she decided to take it one step further.

Here are the steps as she explained them to me:

     1. Put some shaving cream on a piece of wax paper.
     2. Smooth out the shaving cream.
     3. Draw a picture with your finger.
     4. With a paintbrush, very gently paint watercolors on the shaving cream.

Well done, Sadie bug! :)

Som Sabadell Flash Mob

As if I haven't posted enough videos lately...

Here's one more, a flash mob in Spain, this one a little different from other flash mobs I've seen. We loved this, especially my violin playing boys!

I've said it before, but I love flash mobs. It's as if their only purpose is to make other people happy. Brilliant!

Enjoy. :)

What Makes You Beautiful - The Piano Guys Version

Okay, this is so cool!! This is one of my kids' favorite songs right now and the arrangement and video don't disappoint. (We watched it 3 times in a row!) We love The Piano Guys and are always thrilled when they post a new video. Enjoy!

How Savannah Washes the Dishes

Sunday Afternoon

I don't know how they were able to stay in this position for all the laughing!! Good times. :)

Friday Funny

The Birthday Girl

A big Happy Birthday to my baby girl! What would we do without our Sadie-bug? Seven years already. Sadie, you're growing up way too fast! I sure love you, baby. I hope this is your best year so far!

Sadie showing off her new birthday elephant necklace. (She LOVES elephants!)

We're Home! (My 500th Post)

500 posts! It sure sounds like a lot...until I realize I still have 9,500 left to go. :)  I guess that means I have a lot of happy things to look forward to!

Well, we made it home. We got in just before 10pm after 15 hours on the road today and 5,014 miles round trip!! That sets a new record for us. Wow!!

By the way, I've found where I want to live. We drove right through it on our way home and I wanted to stay there forever. Take a look:

Isn't it beautiful? After leaving Idaho on Thursday, we drove through Northern Wyoming before dropping down to Colorado. There must have been a good 2 hours of this scenery with gorgeous little (and big) log homes tucked right into the hillsides. We drove through an occasional town with a few stores scattered along the main street, but it was so rural and green and inviting! I'm not sure how I'd feel when all this green ends up covered in snow for months on end - and there's no college in sight which greatly reduces our job opportunities - but a girl can dream, right? I even had glimpses of Scotland as we had to wait for a huge herd of sheep to cross the road before we could continue.

I know we've driven through Wyoming several times over the years, but I don't remember seeing Wyoming like that.

I miss it. {Sigh.}

Okay. Back to reality! It's late and tomorrow will be busy. It's good to be home!