This Guy

This guy makes my day. 

                                                                    
                                                                   Like every day. 

Motorcycle Trip

Two weeks ago we went on my dream road trip, 5 states, 1502 miles, all on the motorcycle to visit friends and family in the upper Midwest. Below are some of the highlights... 

All packed up and ready to head out at 6am. 

Watching the sun come up from the back of a motorcycle is for sure on my top 10 most want to repeat experiences now. 

First stop, the National Motorcycle Museum. Which we didn't know existed until we saw signs for it. It was pretty amazing. We got to see Evil Kenevil's bike and Harleys back when they were bicycles.  

I got my chaps for the trip and debated a lot whether to get the ones with the 'frillies' or not. Glad I did; watching them do this all day kept me from getting bored... 

We took almost 100% highway and enjoyed gorgeous scenery. When you are not in a hurry, that is the way to go. 

First night, Milwaukee. To visit this beautiful girl and her parents.

We kind of did a number on their living room.... 

They live right on Lake Michigan. So yeah, I got to go to the beach on my upper Midwest trip too. 

Back on the road, riding across Wisconsin. You know it is Wisconsin because of the ever present silo's and red barns.

Taking highway meant going through many little towns. This building is an elementary school. My little teacher heart leapt at the thought of teaching in something this cool looking. 

Next stop, Rochester. To meet this little guy. Who is named after this awesome guy. 

And to visit his parents. I wish you guys lived closer!! 

Quaker Steak and Lube. Possibly the most amazing burger ever. I thought I was going to die before I finished it. Next time I will have to make it into two meals for sure... 

My pilot got me this journal as a present while I was at camp. Let's just say he knows how to get to my heart. Blank paper in a leather bound personalized journal? Score times three. I will say that writing from the back seat is a bit of a challenge, but also pretty fun, once you figure out how to keep the pages still. 

Stopping at a small town gas station and seeing only motorcycles. That was a first. I guess it was the taco ride of motorcycles. They all wanted to know where we were from, since we obviously had road trip gear and were super impressed we were all the way from Omaha. I was impressed they knew where Omaha was... 

Neither of us had ever been to Mall of America before, and seeing as it was right on our way, we decided to stop. 

The highlight? Taking this boy to Legoland where he has wanted to go for 20 years.. :) 

Minnesota. And a rest stop. Which we were more than happy to frequent many of for a chance to stretch our legs and look for maps. 

Our final stop was Josh's grandparent's house in the woods up north of the Twin Cities. They are retired and Grandpa Bill spends his spare time chopping and managing wood for his wood-burning stove and making amazing wood projects like these. He has shelves of them, each more intricate and amazing than the last. 

They were thrilled to have us visit, and I only wished we had more time to spend visiting and exploring the woods. 

But there was work to head back to, so we pointed our noses towards Omaha and rode. 

Riding the last hour or so into the sunset was the perfect ending to an awesome trip. 

I am officially a motorcycle chick now, just in case there was ever any doubt before. :) 

Chilling with Auntie Em

Being an Auntie is the bomb... Especially when your brother randomly calls you up to see if you want to chill with your niece for a few hours. 

We fed the ducks. And ourselves. Not sure who ate more bread, Caroline or the waterfowl... 

We danced across the wooden planks (because they make a cool noise) and looked at the river. 

We went to Red Mango and Caroline got to pick out the toppings. And yes, she used both spoons at once....

Finally, we went home, put on our pajamas and watch Tangled until Mommy and Daddy got back. Thanks for coming to visit Caroline!! 

This Week

With the summer program over at work, I have time to do a few other things. Such as: 

Helping this awesome guy change a transmission...

Cataloging all the books in our Compass Library... (and this is just a small amount of them. My camera isn't big enough to get them all...)

Going shopping with the sister-in-laws and finding things we actually can live without...

And practicing my graffiti skills.

Next week has me taking some of our kids to Missouri for a week of sports camp. I will be without internet, but certianly having a blast and saving up stories for when I get home...

Warrior Dash 2012

Friday marked the ending of my six weeks of summer insanity (aka, Summer LEAP at Compass); an event which required celebrating. No worries, we had planned this one in advance. A little road trip plus a little running plus a few obstacles plus a little mud all equals the perfect way to celebrate, also known as The Warrior Dash. 

After an hour waiting in line for our turn at the parking lot, we quickly got our running stuff on and took a before picture. Notice how clean we are....

The Warrior Dash is a 5k adventure race with 12 obstacles. We ran across rope bridges, crawled under barbed wire (where Anna and I totally owned all the other guys), climbed up walls, jumped over fire, ran through tires and swam through mud. It was a total blast. Anna and I sent the boys on ahead and settled in at a slower pace to enjoy ourselves. Phillip took first in our wave with Josh right behind him, then they waited and waited for the girls to show up.... :) It was sure nice for us to have them cheering  when we swam up out of the mud pit and dashed across the finish line. 

It will take a few more times to be 100% sure, but I think I may have found my sport. I don't know when I have ever had so much fun running. Plus I have another number and medal to add to my recently started collection.... PS, the results came in and 7,700 people ran the Warrior Dash. Phillip came in 7th overall and Josh 29th. That, is what I am talking about.. :) 

Biking in Omaha

My check register shows it being just a little over 3 months ago that I bought my custom built baby named Eve and started on the adventure of being a bike commuter in the great city of Omaha. I just finished 2 weeks of loaning my car out, and hence commuting only with Eve. Well, I mean, I got rides from friends in their cars sometimes, and I got to drive my car on Sunday afternoon, and this awesome guy I know has a motorcycle and took me a few places, but I ran my errands and went to work on my bike. With that behind me, I felt it was a good time to write about a few things I have learned commuting in Omaha the past 3 months. 

 First, let’s set the stage. The last time Emily rode a bike was probably like 8 years ago, and it was on gravel roads with hills. Emily hated it. She had to ride to work until she got her driver’s license. At the time, she thought this was a horrible situation. This spring she thanked her Dad for it.  So, now we have Emily on a road bike (which she has never ridden before) on the streets of Omaha (where she has never lived before) competing with the traffic up the hills to work. Fortunately for me, I have this amazing man who gave me three pieces of advice. One: Stay off the sidewalks, they are suicidal. Two: Ride an arms’ length away from the curb so cars can pass you, but they have to notice you. Three: Be Aware! I was pretty sure there was more to it than that, but considering the amount of bike commuter experience he has compared to mine, I decided to try it. First thing Emily has learned bike commuting in Omaha. Always take advice from other bikers. Pretty much 100% of the time, if something bad (or good) has happened, and they can warn you about it, it will help keep you on the road. This applies to the simplicity of the three above rules. Especially the “Be Aware!” rule. Second thing Emily learned. Biking to work is a fabulous mood enhancer. When I ride 10 minutes to work as opposed to driving 5, I arrive cheerful and on a little adrenaline high. I am not going to deny it, I am a little addicted to the way it puts my day into perspective.

Third thing Emily learned. Everyone likes hot pink bikes, and people in my neighborhood are very happy to tell me how much they love it. I have heard everything from, “DUDE!!!! That is a sweet ride!” to “Get off the road you moron!” and everywhere in between. My pink bike also helped earn me the love of all the children in my apartment complex, who love to touch it, try the pink frog light, and ask me all about it. Fourth thing Emily learned, don’t bite off more than you can chew. This would refer to how much stuff she attempts to cram into her backpack when biking to the grocery store. Let’s just say it is really nice the store is only a few blocks from home… 

Fifth thing Emily learned (and last for this blog post, although there are countless more), just because you are a biker, does not mean you are the smallest thing on the road. Even though sitting between a semi and a school bus at a stoplight might make you feel somewhat vulnerable and puny, always remember there are pedestrians. Including pedestrians who don’t look where they are going, pretend to walk, stop, and at the last second walk out on the street in front of you. These pedestrians can be very thankful for the awesome brakes my man put on Eve’s front tire…

Lately...

My life has been very full lately. Summer at Compass has been both incredibly stretching and incredibly amazing. Just to give you a little taste of what I have been up to lately....

As part of our service learning project, the kids held a lemonade stand to raise money for childhood cancer research. 

Standing on the corner yelling at cars to stop and cheering when our first costumer arrived, laughing until I nearly cried at the commentary, and seeing how excited the kids were when they found out how much money they had raised are memories I will hold for a long time. 

A friend of mine came to teach dance. 

I don't remember the last time I saw them get into a lesson so much. They were loving it! 

Playdough math, and art... 

And jelly bean math...

And puzzles.... 

And drama... 

And pretty much my life has been really, incredibly, amazingly, full and blessed. 

And just in case you were worried that my life is consumed with work, I find time for other things as well. The above story? True story. :)