More biking

As I write this, I'm feeling that maybe we need to enroll Henry in soccer, baseball or some other sport--we're a bit to bike focused right now. I finally found a used balance bike on Friday and we're guessing that Henry's already logged 3 miles on it if not more. Usually he rides it while Derek walks/jogs with Zoe. Then they have to stop for me to catch up (or I stay at home).

Part of the reason for logging so much time on the bike is that the city had a special event this weekend where major streets are shut down to cars and people can bike/run/walk/rollerblade on them. There is food, obstacle courses, music, kids activities, etc. Unfortunately, my non-biking riding pregnant state kept me at home so I can only experience it through the pictures and the stories from Henry and Derek. I'm very sad I missed it since Henry had a blast on the bike obstacle course (see pics below). Thankfully, there is another event scheduled for later this summer that I hope to make it to.

First ride on the "new" balance bike on the bike path near our house.

Henry enjoying the open road with some other cyclists.

Part of the obstacle course.

Notice the ducking even though he had about 2 feet of clearance.

Up and over the ramp.

I'm not sure how many laps Henry did of the course but Derek guessed about 9 or 10 times. (followed by a long nap this afternoon.)

Memorial Day Weekend Highlights

Three years ago this weekend we posted this after I (Derek) had completed my first marathon. That marked the second post of this blog. A lot has changed since then, what with the birth/raising of child number 1. Now here we are again with a baby on the way (due date is one day off from Henry's due date).

This weekend I did not run the marathon. However, we did go cheer for some friends that were running (both the full and half). Here you can see Tina and Henry poised for cheering (note the orange cowbell in the grass).

Saturday night we had a nice family night out on the town. After a dinner at home we headed out for some ice cream by the lake. Henry was in heaven. Ice cream + watching boats = loads of fun.

 No weekend (or weekday for that matter) would be complete without a bike ride. Now some of you may remember that Henry can ride his bike without training wheels. This doesn't mean he wants to at this point. I (dad) have had to practice restraint in not pushing him to do something even though I know he is perfectly capable.

A picture of Henry playing with his Automoblox (I/we are in no way getting paid to advertise for these toys but honestly, they are awesome).

Meditating.

And finally, an interesting sidenote. This weekend we had the vehicle pictured below parked outside of our house.

You can read all about them here. Now, I'm the last person who'd be against promoting 'permaculture' and ways to be more sustainable. However, I'm not sure I agree with their Slogan 'cause it seems to me their skills are really from a previous millennium. Anyway, it's an interesting group of folks to watch and talk to.

Boys on bikes

This past weekend both Derek and Henry participated in a local bike race. Derek did a criterium race for his age group and ranking and Henry did the kid's race. I sat on the sidelines, cheered them on, ate snacks and gestated.

The start of the race. Henry has the British flag helmet with the red bike and is in the middle of the picture here.

Midway point of the race.

Finishing. Notice the guy at the end giving away cookies to all the participants. Derek was a bit sad that was not included in his race. Also notice Henry's bib number--he was so excited to have one "just like Dad."

Derek's race was actually right before Henry's. The entire time Henry was asking when his race would start. It was a long 45 minutes for him. Here Derek is in the front. (photo courtesy of Adam)
Here are both Derek and our friend Keith on a corner. (again--thanks Adam for the great shot) Keith is just to the left of Derek with the matching Mad City Velo jersey (the team they are both on). I'm always a bit nervous with these races since it's such a tight course. Inevitably there is a crash, but thankfully both Keith and Derek finished the race with functioning bikes and no blood. Thanks to all those who came out to watch. It was a fun time indeed. Can't wait until next year.

Quick Visit

Grandma Janet and Grandpa Delmar flew in from Ohio a few weekends ago for a very quick and fun visit. We did a horrible job taking pictures and then Derek and I both got a nasty cold that Monday so therefore no blog post.

They came to visit and to go to a car show but the weather wasn't nice. Henry, Grandpa and Derek saw the whole thing but Grandma and I didn't see everything and did some huddling by buildings to keep warm. It was so nice to have them visit before the craziness of having an infant comes. Also, it was great to actually be with my mom on Mother's Day. Not sure when that has happened last. I think I'll always remember that visit. Thanks again Mom and Dad.

Got Eggs?

So this weekend we finally got the chicken coop to the point that it could safely 'host' chickens. This meant we needed to finish painting the inside and put wire mesh up to keep them from getting out or getting eaten whichever would come first.

The first picture is of Henry and I painting the inside and soon after this picture was taken Henry (totally by accident as far as I could tell) painted the entire side of my head from my face to just past my ear. I guess that's the hazard of painting with a 2.9 year old in tight quarters.

Once the painting was done and proper security measures installed, we drove to the local farmer (about 40 min away) and picked up our 4 chickens. Here you can see one of them just below the actual coop. Which is where they spend all of their time since it is also where their food and water are located.

Here's the only decent picture I have of the chickens so far. They move really quickly. Oh and finally, we have and egg! The most expensive egg we have ever purchased.

I should mention that we've been surprised with how much fun it is to watch the chickens.

Easter Weeekend

Tina mentioned in the previous post that we were working on building a chicken coop.  Though that isn't all we did this weekend, it did dominate a good portion of it. So first some pictures of the progress. 

 Site preparation:

Coop moved into place. This is as far as I got Saturday with the addition of tar paper on top to shed some rain.

 

Today (Sunday) Henry started the day by doing some craft projects with stuff sent from his Grandma Janet.

Then we decided to head over to picnic point to enjoy the weather. Then we headed outside where there was running.

Splashing.

And bike riding.

New Arrivals

Most of you probably know that we are expecting our second child--due sometime in early June. Sorry there are no accompanying pictures of me right now--it's just not my favorite thing to document. We're very excited and starting to get things ready around here which makes it seem a bit more real.

However, the other exciting arrival this spring is that we have ordered chickens!! (as in live chickens that will live in our backyard and lay eggs we can eat) According to city law we can have 4 chickens in our yard. We have all been busy working on getting the chicken coop ready and prepping the area it will reside in. Above is a picture of Henry's contribution this morning. Derek was leveling the area where the coop will be and Henry was moving the worms to a new home. He was very busy. We will have more posts to follow showing the coop and the chickens once we pick them up.