Noah-Bike Riding Fool

Last Sunday we thought the family was getting soft and decided to go out for a bike ride. It was really cold and everyone was complaining that their hands were cold but a funny thing happened halfway through. Noah remembered how to ride his bike!! We took the training wheels off last fall but he's never been very happy about it. He'd rather grab a scooter or a skateboard to play with in the circle. With soccer season upon us, we wanted him to get a little strength in those chicken legs. Suddenly he didn't want to get off the bike. First thing Monday morning, he wanted to ride. As soon as Dave got home he wanted to ride, same thing Tuesday, same thing Wednesday. When we told him that he might be able to get a new bike if he kept riding, that added fuel to the fire. Needless to say Thursday saw a stop at Toys-R-Us for a "big kid bike." The Huffy "Major Trouble" proved to be just that. Dave experienced a "some assembly required" moment when trying to put it together. The front forks were bent so that the tire wouldn't fit in. Noah was remarkable calm during the whole event and proved especially patient the next day although there were numerous phone calls to remind Dave to stop and swap out bikes on the way home. We got it together and off he went. The "Major Trouble" is an 18" bike which makes the 10" garage sale special from Papa via Summer via London look even smaller. The timing was great because on Saturday we Noah's soccer game at 10 and then jetted down the street to REI's Bike Bonanza!!



First we have Noah at soccer. This is his first season with any organized sport. You can tell it's his first because he stands around a lot. Don't yell at him to run or chase the ball because all that does is make him look at you kind of funny. He has a great coach from Australia who played semi-pro for years. We love all the Australian/soccer lingo. After his first practise Noah said he needed new "soccer boots". We especially like that he calls everyone "mate".

Here we have Noah in inaction. That's him in the back. The kid in the black hat was the best. Everytime he ran up to the ball, he's pick it up, set it down away from everyone else and kick it. I guess he's just another American who doesn't understand soccer.

After a rather uneventful first game, we headed to REI. There were free bike helmets at 11am. We all got one. Then the Sandy Police had a bike course set up. The kids did it like 3 times each. They had free mini Jamba Juices. Again the kids did it like 3 times each. There was also free popcorn and cookies. They had a tent set up with some seminars like how to fix a flat and basic maintenance. If you sat through a seminar, you got a free goody bag. It had a water bottle, a pair of bike socks, a set of tire levers, a bike tool and a power bar. The kids all got one as well. Summer has worn her socks for 2 days straight including to church this morning. After a few hours at REI we headed to a second soccer field for London's game. They lost 2-1.

Today was an even nicer day weather wise and after stake conference we loaded up everyone and all the bikes and went down the hill for a ride on the Jordan River Trail. We were quite impressed that all the kids were able to go 6 miles. It must have been the power bars we ate at the turn around point. Noah was great on the new bike although he was very scared and almost wiped out on a small downhill. When we got home, we used our new bike maintenance skills leaned yesterday and washed/lubed our bikes. Dave's was especially noisy and a little cleaning made it quiet right down.

Noah on Major Trouble.

The King of the Mountain.

Spring Flings

Dave had to work a bunch for a few weeks so he took a personal day and we pulled the kids out of school early and had some fun. The plan was to go skiing but the weather wasn't the best so we went downtown to see the Joseph Smith movie and spent some time in the CTR section of the LDS Museum. The kids had a great time, we had the place all to ourselves. They got to do a little dress up, color some pictures, build some temples and just had a great time.

With the warm weather finally here (at least on some days), Dave and Tee have been out riding a bunch. Some friends have gotten bikes as well so we have enjoyed riding the last week with them. We had a really fun ride on Saturday with 2 other couples. We dropped off all the kids at one house and off we went through northern Utah county and up American Fork canyon. It was super windy and the dirt was flying. We are officially in training for the Salt Lake Century in mid-May. We aren't planning on the full 100 miles, they have a 67 mile option that we should be sort of ready for.





Lastly we present Noah with his Salvador Dali-esque juice mustache.

California Trip and other Adventures

We took advantage of the kids having a few days off of school and went to California to visit Tee's folks over the Easter weekend. The kids did well enough on the drive. There was a little bit of snow coming over Donner Pass and naturally they had chain control up. Luckily we had chains (new in the box) and they went on easily enough. It added an extra hour and 1/2 to the trip but gave us a little more adventure on the way.

The kids loved the fact that they could wear shorts all day and play outside, Tee enjoyed spending time with her parents and Dave sat in front on the TV and watched the NCAA Tourney all day. It was a great trip.

Actually everyone enjoyed being outside. Tee's parents backyard is like a small biology class. They have orange, lemon and pomegranate trees, not to mention the bee hive Kirkham keeps and the turtles in the garden. The kids get a kick out of seeing Poppa try to get the turtle to eat a snail. Tee and Dave enjoyed the warm weather and went for a few bike rides. We were able to do a longer ride along the American River trail on Thursday and then a ride through Napa on Saturday. Tee's sister Noelle is living there and she took us on a great ride through the vineyards.

Easter Sunday dawned bright and beautiful and the kids were glad to see that the Easter Bunny remembered where we were. He brought too much candy as usual and "The Bee Movie" which the kids enjoyed on the drive home.

Noelle came and spent a few days with us there and enjoyed watching the kids did their cute kid things.

Speaking of sisters, Mindy took the kids to see the "Spiral Jetty". This is a unique piece of our door art that extends into the Great Salt Lake on the northern shore near Promontory. You can only see it when the lake is low.

This morning the kids helped Tee make cinnamon rolls for breakfast and then enjoyed a short hike and watching conference.

Summer's Bday

Summer turned 6 last week and she really knows how to take advantage of her birthday. She had the whole day planned from where she wanted to go for breakfast, lunch and dinner as well as movies, parties and gifts. She had to settle for star shaped donuts for her party at school, a swim lesson at the dive shop, "Horton Hears a Who" at the movies, dinner at Cafe Rio and presents at the house. Mindy and Ryan joined in for the movie, dinner and presents. Some of her favorite gifts were a keyboard (for the band) and a karaoke machine. Ask Summer about the band next time you see her. She saw "School of Rock", played Guitar Hero and has listened to a little too much Hannah Montana. She is pretty much all band all the time. Enjoy this clip of Summer after watching School of Rock a few weeks ago-

Bub, Di, Ella, Eva, Brock and Mindy (Ryan had to work) came over for a belated birthday dinner.

Winter Update

We have all been going a little stir crazy for the last month as it seemed winter would never end. We had a crazy amount of snow and were able to build all sorts of snow forts in the front yard. The kids have enjoyed the 5 foot high walls on either side of the driveway and they like sledding down. For a treat, we go up and visit our friends who live up the hill in Suncrest. They have crazy snow up there, like drifts over 6 feet high. Naturally we never took any pictures.


The school year progresses and all the kids are doing well. London entered a science fair with her project on oil and water called the "Groovy Lava Lamp". All the other parents did a good job as well.



Tee and Dave took another dive trip, this time to Roatan, an island off the coast of Honduras in Central America. We took a group there last year and got an even better deal this year so we went again. We had a great time and the kids enjoyed spending time with Grandma Smith.

And yes we really do look this goofy underwater.

Superbowl Weekend

Well, last weekend sure was fun. We started on Saturday. Dave had to teach a class at the Crater so the whole family came along and we went ice skating afterwards. Midway has a nice little out door rink that we try and visit every year. Dave and Tee get to break out their old skates that spend the rest of the year hanging up in the garage. Every year, it seems the kids get a little better skating by themselves. Afterwards it was into Heber for lunch at the Dairy Keen. Dave loves the "Train" burger they sell. A great big greasy burger with everything on it including a slice of ham.

Sunday started with snow and lots of it. We got over a foot of snow and even got a snow day from church! Naturally it was after Dave was called out to help shovel out the church. And of course there was a certain football game played that day. Dave was just amazed that the Giants actually made it there. The game was great and naturally the Giants pulled off the upset. That means a summer of hearing about how good Eli Manning is. Mindy and Ryan came over to watch the game and we all enjoyed too much junk food. We had cheese sticks, buffalo wings, 7 layer dip, cheese and crackers and pizza. Dave is in heaven since the Giants won AND the Mets signed Johann Santana. It was a good week.

London's Baptism and a Few Good Pictures

Last Saturday was a special day for our family as London got baptised. We were very excited to have all the Grandparents and a few Aunts and Uncles in attendance. London asked her dad to baptise and confirm her a member of the church and he was happy to be able to do so. We had family and some neighborhood friends come down to Mindy's condo clubhouse afterwards for a little snack. We are very proud of the choice London has made.


We enjoyed having family around especially since they got to share in another special moment later Sunday night. THE GIANTS ARE GOING TO THE SUPERBOWL!!!! Noah and I are very excited. Tee is mad because this means another few weeks of seeing me wearing my Eli Manning jersey. However she does want them to win since my friend Brad and I have a standing pizza bet if your team wins the Superbowl. (He likes the Steelers.)

Here is a great picture of Noah. Yes, he is wearing a monkey costume and yes he did wear it all day including during a shopping trip to the grocery store. As you can see, it was full day of work for our favorite little monkey.