Sonic Boom kids' bike race...

This is a fun event that Gavin and Gage have done for two years in a row now.  The course this year was to do an entire lap of the normal race course at the Sonic Boom Criterium in Louisville, CO.  This race was actually way better than last year where they just did 3 blocks of the course.

Here are all the U-6 (under 6) riders lined up with their game faces on.  Gage and Gavin are both on the left side of the picture.  Gage is in the front row and Gavin is behind a few other kids in the second row.  Once they said "Go!" it was on though.  Gavin took off and raced his heart out.  While I turned around and saw him making the first turn, Gage apparently had run into to some other kids (or they ran into him) and had crashed.  He was crying about 15 yards after the start line.  I ran over to try to help him and just barely had time to look up and see Gavin come across the finish line first out of his race!  He had passed the 2nd place rider with about 10 meters to go and the crowd was going wild.  Unfortunately, I missed the picture opportunity as I was caring for Gage.

Gage was fairly distraught, but didn't seem to be injured.  Perhaps, just his pride was hurt by crashing in front of all the people.  He was pretty sure he just wanted to call it quits right there but I (Brent) felt strongly about helping him try to finish.  One helpful piece of motivation was that each kid finisher received a ribbon and a cup of ice cream.  Although it is a bit harsh, I wasn't going to let him have ice cream without him finishing the race.  After about 10 minutes of convincing him that he was fine physically, he finally decided he wanted to give it another try.  He took off and never looked back.  I did catch a picture of him finishing above and by the time he finished he was finishing with the last of the next race group which was the 8-10 year old's.  I am very proud of his willingness to get up and try even after something unexpected happens like a crash.  It seems like a larger life message to learn than just a single bike race.

Here are Gavin and Gage with their ribbons and Gavin celebrating his first victory on the bike.  He was so excited and we were so proud of him!

Here is one last picture of both of the kids with their ribbons and even Gage seems to be happy and recovered from his earlier crash in the picture.  The kids actually had a more enjoyable experience than I had, as it was my first race of the year and I started off strong but got dropped about 30 minutes into the race.  That first race is always tough, and this race is one of the hardest on the calendar each year so it wasn't totally unexpected.

Hiking with los muchachitos...

Could Gage be any cuter?!  Answer:  NO!  These are pictures of a fun hike I took with the boys in South Boulder.  An easy but beautiful trail we always love is the one up in Shanahan Ridge.

Can you see that they're trying to show you their thumbs like Devil's Thumb behind them in the mountains?  It seems like a lifetime ago that my brother and I were growing up in Devil's Thumb (the neighborhood in South Boulder), just taking for granted our beautiful surroundings with the big rock thumb in the background.

Gavin is pointing out the enormous bug on Gage's back, and might I take this chance to say just how BRAVE our little Gage really is.  When I told him recently that it's best to stand still when bees come around, I didn't really expect him to take my advice so literally and follow it SO well.  He stood as still as a statue and waited patiently for the bee to buzz away while Mama was about to throw down on the bumble business at any second...forget the advice I'd given him.

I love this picture.  For me, it captures the wonder and simplicity of being a kid.

Perhaps the thing I love most about hiking with my boys is watching them together in that venue.  It's one of the few places where they don't fight and really enjoy the adventure together.  This picture reminds me how much I want to prioritize hiking and just make it part of our family culture.

Thank you, Lord, for giving us all an appreciation of your creation and for giving us these fun family memories together.  And for allowing us to live in such a place where we can take advantage of this beauty SO close to home on a regular basis.

Uncle Adam's High School Graduation - Part 2 of 2

Here are a couple different pictures of the family.  Emily, Jackie, and Dad enjoying the ceremony after the hat toss.

Here is a different setup with Dad, Emily, and me. 

Here is Dad and Adam.

Here is Dad, Adam and Emily.

Finally, a picture of all the kids.  It was great to be able to be there and celebrate with Adam and support him.  We wish him the best as he moves onto Occidental College and the next phase of his life.

Uncle Adam's High School Graduation - Part 1 of 2

My sister and I (Brent) flew out to New Jersey so we could attend our half-brother's high school graduation.  Once there, Jackie passed at a mid-morning sauna-fest run with dad, but I decided to keep him some company on Adam's 3-speed cruiser bike.  Above is dad running over a bridge about half way through our run.  It is nice and scenic there with all the forest all around.

For the graduation day itself, we headed to the stadium and I saw this American flag being flown at the top of a firetruck ladder and thought it was worthy of a picture. 

It was quite hot at the actual graduation, which was held in the stadium behind Adam's school.  The bleachers were packed, but we had a great time watching Adam.  Here he is above walking across the stage.

After all the kids had passed there was the standard cap toss.  It seems like so long ago that I graduated myself, but seemed like Adam had a great time.

Lunch at Grandpa T's...

These were pictures taken at my dad's place on the river, back in June when we were there celebrating summer--the best (and only) time for us to visit with the kids--and Father's Day.  The sad truth of the matter is that we rarely make it up to Dad's more than a couple of times a summer.  It's lovely when we do, and the kids have so much fun outside just being boys!

Grandpa T was pointing out something slithery curled up in the wood pile...

Snakes like this one just come with the territory, and our boys EAT this stuff up!  This guy likes to hide in Dad's wood pile, so the boys tracked him down when they got that intel.

British soccer camp, part 2 of 2...

This is Gage with Coach Sarah, a fantastic coach with the younger kids.  These British coaches live in host homes over the summer--and some even into the fall--and if our home could accommodate it, I would LOVE to host one sometime.

Let's play "Where's Gavin?"  (Answer:  Front row in the white t-shirt, looking our way.)  I think that this shot represents all of the half-dayers in the program with their coaches in the back row.

British soccer camp, part 1 of 2...

This is the first year that Gage got to participate in the British soccer camp, and he did great!  We love this program--they really do a phenomenal job with the kids.  I wrote this last year:  It's a rare program that's both great with the content (soccer in this case) and great with kids, and this program excels in both!

That's Gavin in action on the left.  His camp was three hours a day this year, and though we were initially concerned about that, he did really well!

The camp cost includes a ball and a t-shirt every year, so we have a growing number of both at our house these days.

Gage is SO cute in his shades, and he's actually very good at keeping them on most of the time.  His camp was only an hour this summer, and some of their games involved the parents, as well.

Polka dot afro, polka dot circus...

If you've never seen Madagascar (1, 2 or 3...can't remember which one it is?), then our subject line for this one will be lost on you.  It's a riot, Chris Rock is the voice for the zebra, and you should see it if you haven't already.  Anyway, we took the kids to the Shriner Circus at the Broomfield Event Center, and we're glad we did.  I love how our little clown (see above), fits right in with his counterparts. 

It wasn't exactly Barnum & Baily, but this little circus was impressive nonetheless, especially for kids who have nothing to compare it to.  There were still elephants balancing on barrels and tigers jumping through fire and motorcyclists going up tight ropes and overpriced food and the like.  It was great! 

Happy hour with Mama in adorable downtown Louisville...

Mom and I enjoyed some yummy happy hour food and spirits :) at Zucca in adorable downtown Louisville.  My international friend, Malia, needed me to take her to Louisville this summer to prove to her that it's had a major face lift since we were kids.  She said she always thought of it as the red-headed step-child, but think again, Malia:  It's adorable.  (Don't worry:  She agrees now, too.)  From the patio and street-side eating on Main Street to the delectable and varied menus, WOW do I sound like I'm writing a review for a Colorado tourism guide!  Anyway, and back to the point, Mom and I enjoyed an evening out together that was delightful and free for me...until the speeding ticket I incurred on my way home, going way too fast when I was tired and leaving my brother a message at 10 pm on the back side of Dillon Rd, at which point my otherwise free meal suddenly cost me $100+.  That was rather unfortunate. 

Fountains with Gage...

My cousin, Sierra, calls these "selfies."  Ya know, the pictures that you take of yourself.  I've been quite impressed at the quality of some of the selfies lately, I have to say.  Of course, it's not too hard to take a good picture when your subject is as cute as Gage.  My oh my, he's a precious one.  And we love the fountains as soon as it's hot enough to enjoy 'em.  The goggles--and the kids' interest in them--is a new thing since swimming lessons.  I love how they love them. 

Pretender or Contender?

 

Tara has recently taken up more cycling due to a very unfortunate ankle injury that doesn't seem to be recovering as well as anyone would like.  In any case, she has been lacking at times for some real riding gear so I decided to loan her some of my older stuff.  She put it on and we decided she looked the part...if she could only figure out how to change her own tire she will be set.  All joking aside, I think it's great that Tara is getting more excited about cycling and hopefully we can ride a bit more together this summer.  She has also started to acquire some of her own gear but it takes quite a while.

Lounging Lizards

Tara is not one to miss a nice day of laying out in the sun.  This is a picture of Gage and Tara "lounging it" outside of the Paul Derda rec center on a nice hot day after some indoor swimming.  Hopefully they have lathered on enough sun screen for the occasion.