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.