Traveling Throughout the State

With Bikeman's races being scattered throught the state, we find ourselves on little "adventures" many weekends. One such adventure was a stop in the Dells. In addition to riding "the fastest go-carts in the Dells," we explored the empty lake bed of Lake Delton. As most of you probably recall, Lake Delton emptied out into the Wisconsin River when the flooded lake washed out Hwy A, taking an entire home and large portions of 3 other homes with it as the raging lake waters joined into the river. If you want to see this in action, there are many video clips of it on youtube.com. Just do a Lake Delton search.

The kids pose by the Lake Delton sign on a bridge overlooking the "lake."

Brainiac poses in front of a pier and pontoon boat that look oddly misplaced.

This is the neighboring home to the one that washed completely away. There is not much left of it...

There was business to be done on this little road trip, too! Bikeman had his 6 hour solo endurance race on Saturday. This particular race was 50 miles of rough terrain that would have most people crying "UNCLE!" after a mile or two!

This is the very last stretch of the trail. It is his final approach as he crosses the finishline. It is the only place along the trail where spectators can view the racers. I was happy to get a photo of him in action.

Here he is, trying to catch his breath, at the end of his 6 hours. He is relatively clean, actually, compared to what he has looked like on wet trails or overly dry and dusty ones!

Bikeman and I had a weekend away for a work-related outing of his. Grandma and Grandpa kept the kids and Mocha for us. We managed to get a picture of the two of us together... an unusual feat!

The kids pose outside a general store/cafe that we visit every time we are in the area. This time they had webkinz on sale... the boys each spent their allowance money on one. I got a coffee, of course! ;)

Brainiac and I waiting for Bikeman to finish his race...

and Chick Magnet and I...

and Mellow Boy and I...

A Determined Child

If you recall, at the end of last summer, Chick Magnet tried desperately to gather the courage to jump off of the diving board at a local pool. He didn't even dare look at the high dive! He was too afraid of it. I posted about how many times he walked out on the diving board like he was walking the plank. And how he stared down at the water, crossed his arms, and reluctantly turned around and marched off the board - defeated. He even had chanting from onlookers to encourage him, without any success. He swore then, that when the pool reopened next summer, that the first thing he was going to do is jump off that diving board! It must have been festering inside of him all year, because that is exactly what he did! Once he was giving the "all clear" by Mom to enter the water, he headed straight for the regular diving board and jumped in without hesitation. Day two rolled around and he decided that the high dive was not so high. Trying to block out how much I hated the high dive when I did it last year, I gave him the "OK" to go ahead and try it. I grabbed my camera and marched right along behind him to the diving area. There he was in his dry suit, about to make his grandest of entrances in to the pool. What a photo op for me! He climbed that ladder, marched himself chin-up and chest-out to the edge, and jumped without even a nanosecond of hesitation! I was so proud (and scared)! In that moment, I realized that all his talk of bungee jumping and skydiving will materialize in the years ahead, against my wishes, of course! When I found out I was pregnant with him - a little boy - I told Bikeman that if he ever wanted to break my heart, all he had to do is pick up rock climbing, skydiving, or bungee jumping as a hobby. Oh, CRAP! Am I in for it!!!

Couldn't leave out my oldest and youngest! Brainiac jumps off the high dive, too, but admits it makes her a bit nervous. (Thank the LORD! At least SHE has some caution in her being!) Mellow Boy remains almost overly cautious which is FINE BY ME!

Brainiac "Graduated" from 5th grade...

In church after a wonderful service...

By the beautiful, stained glass in the lobby...

In our city's Catholic school system, the 5th graders from the 2 elementary campuses join together at a third, middle school campus for 6th, 7th, and 8th grade. Because of this set up, the children have a beautiful 5th grade graduation retreat, mass, and luncheon at the end of the year. This year our first born, Brainiac, graduated. We are now proud parents of a middle schooler with an awesome head on her shoulders and an incredible heart within...

Our Summer Began with a Bang (and then some flashes of light)

Our summer break started off with LOTS of storms... we left our local pool early on opening day because threatening clouds were on the horizon. We no sooner came home and the skies looked like this!!!

We all love storms in our house... even Mocha! While the tornado warning sirens blared, we waited outside until the last possible second before hitting the basement.

The squall line was spectacular.

The problems arose - literally - later on, as our normally dry river conservancy...

...turned our yard into lakefront property. Abutting a river has always made us nervous, but we were fortunate to keep our basement dry.

A First Holy Communion Celebration

Chick Magnet received his First Holy Communion this past Sunday, along with 86 other parish children. What a precious time! This photo sums up the gift of that day...

If you look closely at the Communion candle he is holding, you'll see that the flame almost startlingly resembles angel's wings... I was dumbfounded when I uploaded this photo and saw those dancing flames!!!

As Chick Magnet put on his sport coat Sunday morning, his first response was, "I look like a PILOT!!!" Yes, buddy, you do!

After receiving the gift of the body and blood of Jesus for the first time, Chick Magnet made his way back to the pew. I hope that no one heard the muffled "ew..." that accidently came out of his sour expression after sipping the wine...

Here he is posing at the baptismal font. When he was a toddler, we had to physically restrain him from jumping in...

Thirty-five and still getting my heart broken...

Sometimes I am convinced that motherhood is far more emotional and leaves one far more vulnerable than falling in love. Unconditionally loved, ferociously protected, and forever worried about, children burrow their little way straight into the center of our hearts, nearly leaching our life right from us... OK... so that is a bit dramatic and perhaps even a disturbing way to describe it. But that's how I felt for a while yesterday.

Chick Magnet and I went to the dentist. As I believe all of you know, Chick Magnet has a very severe speech disorder called Childhood Apraxia of Speech. When he speaks, he is difficult to understand. The chance of him ever speaking like us "normal talkers" is grim. So there we were in the waiting room, watching the making of the Disney movie "Meet the Robinsons." They were showing the actors in the recording booths doing the voices for the movie characters. Chick Magnet's eyes LIT UP!

"Mom! Mom! I want to do that when I am a grown up!"

"That would be cool, buddy!" I reply half paying attention.

"Mom! Really! I want to do that! Look at it! Look at them!"

Chick Magnet sat quietly for a moment. Then his whole demeanor changed. His eyebrows furrowed. His lips frowned. His shoulders slouched. Then he said, as if choosing his words very carefully;

"Would they ever ALLOW someone with apraxia to do that?"

His eyes searched mine for a twinkle of hope. I struggled to sound as confident as possible.

"ABSOLUTELY! You can do WHATEVER you want to do! You can be WHATEVER you want to be, buddy!"

He contemplated my response a minute, and then in his sweet and slushy apraxic voice, began to copy the lines from the movie, practicing for his future career. I sat there feeling yet another crumb of my heart break off and tumble away...

The Tooth Fairy Sucks!

Bad, Tooth Fairy! Shame on you!!! Brainiac lost yet ANOTHER tooth this month (number 3!) and you forgot to visit her, not one night, but TWO NIGHTS in a row!!! What's going on? Are there more important kids in your tooth fairy-ing life? Do you not come to visit in our small corner of the Universe? Have we met some mysterious monthly quota? How DARE you break my daughter's heart!

Well, if she was on the fence before about knowing the reality behind the Tooth Fairy, she has surely joined "The Knowing" side now! She approached me this afternoon and said;

The Tooth Fairy forgot to come AGAIN, Mom! Maybe you should write yourself a note or something!

I am simply the WORST mom EVER!!! She told me to just give her the cash now, because she knew I'd forget to do it tonight, too... Needless to say, she made out well. My guilty conscience forced me to fork over some SERIOUS dough!

Thanks, Mom! Maybe we can just skip the whole "under the pillow" thing from now on!

Snow, snow, and MORE snow!

In February, we went on a ski trip with Bikeman's parents and his sister's family. We drove our family out to Crested Butte, Colorado, where we all met up. We had a blast! Here are a few photos... actually, there are many! I had a heck of a time narrowing my 400+ photos down to these ones!!! Enjoy!

We took our time acclimating to the altitude so that our kids wouldn't need oxygen as they all have in the past. (I'm happy to report that we remained FREE from any oxygen tanks or ER visits this trip!!!) One of our stops in Colorado was Fairplay - otherwise known as South Park. (Yes, like the cartoon!) Here Brainiac poses with a sign.

This was a cool little coffee shop in Fairplay... bizarrely named, but cozy and yummy!

Our scenic drive.

We spent the night at Mount Princton, a natural hot springs resort. Here are the boys trekking off to the river to soak in the balmy water.

Even though the air temperature was only about 30 degrees, the water was so incredibly warm that we never got cold!

In Crested Butte, we stayed at a wonderful condo, where we met up with everyone else. This is the great room in our condo.

Bikeman and myself posing for a photo that our daughter took.

Sunrise in the mountains!

A beautiful ranch and a nosey horse...

More snow than we have EVER seen! Many homes were so buried that they tunneled walkways to get to the doors! Insane!

Another view of our condo...

If you look rather closely, you can see Chick Magnet getting some air off this sweet jump!

The men on the chairlift!

Steep enough for ya? This is Bikeman's view before taking off downhill.

Our view at night.

Mellow boy and Chick Magnet taking a bath with their cousin, Princess Pickle Pants.

Chick Magnet on the slopes.

Mellow Boy and Chick Magnet chillin'...

Bikeman on the slopes.

Me, on the slopes.

Brianiac getting some air off a sweet jump...

Another steep and dangerous run for Bikeman.

Chick Magnet warming up by the fire.

All the cousins in Slogars Restaurant, waiting for the best fried chicken known to mankind.

Leaving the restaurant...

Brainiac on the slopes.

Princess Pickle Pants following Mellow boy down the run - INDEPENDENTLY!!!! YEAH, KIDS!

All of us gathered on the slopes for a family photo.

Mellow Boy and Princess Pickle Pants "refueling..."

Cuddling on the slopes...

Our daytime view from the condo.