Family Time!!!

We made it home from the hospital on Thursday. Things are going really well and we are all settling into our new roles. Katie is recovering nicely and feels stronger everyday. Elijah hates the car seat, baths, diaper changes, and sleeping between the hours of 2AM and 7AM. Elijah loves eating, bouncing, burping, the burrito wrap, and sleeping with me or Katie between the hours of 8AM and 1 AM. The dogs are being really good. They struggled with the crying the first night. It was like they wanted to help us by sneaking little licks in whenever Elijah was within reach. Buckley and Mona are also protecting the house with a new vengence. Don't even think about slowing your car down in front of house.
Now that I'm getting some energy back I'll be slowly getting back into the swing of training and dealing with some unfinished buisness. I hope to get the basement cleaned out/organized, weed through boxes of bike stuff, and get my back into a better place. I'll try to keep photos and entries rolling as time allows.

FEB 12th @ 1738, 6lbs 8oz, 20 inches.

Our baby arrived after 22 hours of labor and an emergency c-section. His name is Elijah. Katie and baby are doing well. We are all recovering from a very scary but amazing experience.

We know it's getting tight in there! Today was hopefully our last appointment before delivery day and things went quite well. Here's a random thought from my errands today: Why am one of the few people out there that washes my hands and drives the speed limit?

IS IT BABY TIME YET?

We are told it will be sometime soon.

12 DAYS TO EDC!!!!!

Well hypnobirthing class is done and now begins the waiting game. Our goals are to keep Mona from going crazy, get the hospital bag packed, and enjoy some trips to restaurants and movie theaters. Mona is our oldest dog. Right before we found out that Katie was pregnant Mona started getting weird. Mona suddenly became my best friend and totally ignored Katie. It was crazy because while Mona and I get along, she's not the biggest fan of men. I enjoyed a couple weeks of Mona just following me around, resting her head in my lap, and actually listening to me. Just when I got used to the new obedient Mona she reverted back to her old self, independent and fiercely protective of Katie.
Fast forward about 9 months and a new Mona has emerged. Mona is now a super freak! She can't stand us leaving the house, she's incredibly insubordinate, and she's really curious whenever we get home. I should also mention that she is trying to chew her way through her crate, it reminds me of Prison Break. It wouldn't alarm if we came home from work to find a tunnel though the basement wall and under the driveway with an opening under the jeep. Two questions remain about Mona's recent madness: Would she take Buckley? Does this mean that Katie's going to produce a child soon?

Nesting?????

Does cleaning the baseboards with Q-tips count as nesting? If so, then she's been doing quite a bit of nesting. This last three days have been filled with cleaning, some baby shower action, frozen pipes, furnace failure, a gas leak, one sleepless night, and more cleaning. All I can say is when you're on, you are really on.
Disaster has been avoided and we can continue on with our lives. No more crawling around the basement on my back installing pipe warmers and insulation, or sleeping in hotels (due to no furnace and gas leak) with two freaked out dogs. Something tells me that we'll be going through plenty of Q-tips over the next month.

The New Year

Looking back at the past year has been interesting. Last year was great but this year is going to top it!!!!! We finally get to see what's been growing in Katie's belly. We've spent the last week deep cleaning, lightening our load, and getting things in order around the house. We've finally finished our Must Be Done By February List and can focus on resting, birthing class, and enjoying sleeping through the night.

Merry Christmas!

Random Picture Post

Happy Holidays!
Here's a random picture post. Mainly cross photos.

Slacking Away In SLC

Wow! First update in a long time. Here's a few pics to tide you over.

TROLLS

Here's what I learned this weekend: Trolls live under bridges and can also be found on the start line at cyclocross races. I was little late to get to the start and lined up on the 2nd row. 3 riders to my left was the troll, he's a short-stalky fellow that just cannot ride a bike. The gun goes off and I make it about 20 yards into a perfectly flat/straight paved start before the troll sweeps into my front wheel from the right side. I go over the bars, landing on my hip and the troll. We get our bikes untangled and I try to re-mount(while doing this I'm directing profanities at said troll). My chain is jammed and my wheels will not turn, so I turn around and run back to the pits to get my B-bike. Now the whole field is hitting the course and I'm just rolling through the start. I'm pleased that I picked my way through field and rode as hard as I could for a mid-pack finish. The word from people lined up behind me is that the troll was having a hard time clipping into his pedal while sprinting. After bouncing off a few people he took me out. What did I learn?
1. Line up as far away from trolls as possible.
2. Thank the lord for B-bikes.
3. Don't waste time and energy yelling at trolls who crash you out on the start line.


Zack watching me warm up. Why was he having such a good time?


The dreaded off-camber section.


My mad profile.

After the race we went to get some food and saw this:

How does one manage this?

Quick Pic Post

Road Trip

Not really, but we did drive 2.5 hours to a cyclocross race. Where we'd go? Pocatello, Idaho for Poki Cross. First race of the year and it felt like my first race ever. For some reason I raced in the A flight and it hurt quite a bit. It's been a long time since I've been lapped and I was lapped multiple times. I'm lacking fitness and confidence right now. The fitness will come but I really need to gain some confidence.
I ran vittoria tires tubless on ksyriums. No burps but I ran way too much pressure for a grassy/bumpy course. Time for a cross workout and more tire pressure games.


Kracht working the barriers


Bobby Francis burning some matches


Working on my attitude.


She's pretty and she yells at me while I'm racing.

News Flash!!!!!!!!!!

I'm going to be a dad.
We've know for about 4.5 months now, but today we saw what's been growing in Katie's belly. I am blown away. Our baby is pretty damn cool (per Katie)!



Here's Katie on the ultrasound table. Why no pictures of me? Cause I had the camera and I was too busy crying. It was one of the most beautiful things I've ever seen. Fingers, toes, 4-chambered heart, and "it" has attitude. Why "it"? Because it was a surprise and we want to keep it that way.

What have we been doing?

We've been busy living the good life for the past three weeks. Check it out!!!!


Veggie chili cheese dogs!!!!


The original cheese dog




Seriously, it's been rough


Real Rough!!!!

I've been doing some interval work and the occasional ride in hail/rain. Cross season is just about here. And I'm just about ready. Look for some pics and updates from the first race soon!

Obesity Pandemic Looms

While I was eating my breakfast this afternoon I came across an article on AOL regarding obesity in the world. Read it and let me know what you think. Here's the address: http://news.aol.com/health/story/_a/obesity-pandemic-looms-experts-say/
n20060903130109990009?cid=474
Here's picture to offset the tone of this post.

Mona hates cameras, loud noises, large men, and having her naps interupted.

I rode this bike for a little over 3 hours yesterday and watched a bad football game.

Cross is upon us!!!

And I'm feeling all dressed up with no where to go.......

My "A" bike is here and the training is entering full swing. There's just two burning questions that I have: Where are we racing this year? When can we buy our passes? Our local promoter has the dates set up, but no venues listed. I am staying positive. We will have another great cross season.


Buckley and Murph locking horns


"What?? It's for fashion not because I chew on my ass!"

Blogger Down

I haven't been able to access the blog for a while. Look for pics and some big news later this week.

It's been a crazy week since my last update. Trying to cram training in with work and life makes time fly. Works really been getting crazy. August is a special time of year in the ER. The trauma bay got quite bit of action over the weekend with way too many alcohol inspired accidents. Also, one of my intoxicated trauma patients decided to try and choke me and punch my favorite EMT. It must be scary to get trashed, drive your car over a light post and then slam into a tree, but there's no need to take out your drunk-ass anger on people trying to help you. Wow! That was my first work related rant ever.
Training Log
Fri: Tempo V1 on trainer 1:32 w/ work friday night
Sat: work, crazy shift
Sun: work, another crazy shift
Monday: rest/run/yard work
Tuesday: 1:25 Mix V1 on trainer
Goals:
Weds: some Z1 before work
Thurs: climbing
Fri: 3 hrs Z1