Saints to Sinners 2011

Saints to Sinners is a relay bike race from Salt Lake City to Las Vegas. It's a 512 mile race that typically is done by teams of 10 or 5. We had a team of 5 until the day before the race when one of our members dropped out. We couldn't find another rider so we resequenced the relay and rode it with four. 29 hours after starting in Salt Lake City we finished in Las Vegas. I didn't get too many photos, but here are a few. The scenery was great. Starting at 5,500 feet in elevation we rode to 10,500 then back down to Las Vegas which is close to sea level. The weather ranged anywhere from 104 degrees in the desert Saturday morning to 40 degrees in the pass during the middle of the night. Each rider rode approximately 130 miles and we went trough plenty of water, gatorade, granola bars and trail mix. The hot meal at the end was well worth the effort. The shower was even better!

10th Anniversary Weekend

For our 10th anniversary we left the kids with my parents (thank you!) and took a weekend getaway trip to a small town north of Bodega Bay called Jenner. We stayed in a neat remote lodge out in the middle of nowhere on the coast. Very pretty and secluded. We spent Saturday wine tasting and riding bikes in between wineries. Sunday we went kayaking on the Russian River. Along with the great views on the river and the coast we saw River Otter, Sea Otters, Harbor Seals, Osprey and some cows who came to drink at the river. The kayaks were extremely quiet so we got very close to the animals in their environment.

A's Game July 2nd

Connor and I went to the A's vs. Diamondbacks game on Saturday night with my parents and my Uncle Fred. This was Connor's second baseball game ever. His first was a Cincinnati game last year where he was more interested in ice cream than baseball! This time he was very attentive to the game, rooting for the A's the whole night. During one of our trips around the park to explore we met an usher who asked Connor if this was his first A's game. Connor nodded and said yes. The usher produced an official major league baseball that he had picked up from a foul ball and gave it to Connor. Connor hasn't let the ball out of his sight since!

June 2011 Rock City

Rock City is a nice little spot in the Mt. Diablo state park. The rocks are easily accessible, large and fun to climb. There are many niches and holes made by nature to crawl in and climb around.

June 2011 Photos

Connor finished his pre-school year with a carnival. The kids helped out in the booths and Connor sold lemonade. I had another race, a long course triathlon in San Jose. The kids and Susan were the motivation! They came to cheer me on along with my dad. For fathers day Dad and I took Marisa and Connor to a helicopter show. We got to go through all kinds of helicopters and my Dad had a great time talking to all the pilots. Another weekend we went to a U-pickem farm where we picket 20+ pounds of strawberries, cherries, peaches, apricots and blackberries. There is nothing like fresh fruit. The strawberries were amazing!

Random May Photos

Susan and a friend run a 10K. Susan ran the 10K less than 12 hours from getting back from the cruise. The kids got lost in long grass waiting for mommy at the half way point. The last part of May found Marisa's softball team completing their first season. Finally, on one afternoon with particularly good weather Connor and some of the neighborhood kids set up a lemonade stand. One of the first customers was a police officer who happened to be coming off duty. He passed out deputy stickers for each kid.

Marisa's 7th Birthday

Marisa's 7th birthday was magical! At least that was the theme. We made magic wands, guessed jelly bean flavors and had a magic show complete with Marisa and I pulling a rabbit out of a hat!