McDowell Mountain Meltdown

Ty entered his second mountain bike race on Saturday. It was at McDowell Mountain in Fountain Hills and the weather could not have been better. Mike (Ty's dad) was down from Page and decided to enter too, so we had two racers to cheer on. 

Granna, Ethan, Jack, and Gavin

Ty stretching: Napoleon Dynamite style

The Woods boys...or should I say men?

Ty at the starting line (in grey, first on the right)

A beautiful start!

Now, some of you may remember that Ty's first race didn't go too well. He had a great start, but had to stop three times to fix flat tires. He really felt like he could have placed if it weren't for all the external problems. Well, this time, Ty had some internal problems. About 7 miles into the 12 mile race, Ty and four other racers were all in the lead and keeping within about 50 feet of each other. He was feeling great...until a certain power bar he had right before the race decided to reappear... He had to pull over for a second and make sure it all came up. Once his stomach felt cleared, he got back on his bike and kept going...until breakfast started to reappear. Ty had eaten three maple & brown sugar instant oatmeal packets for breakfast and all three packets made their journey upward one at a time. Then, when that was all through, Ty had one more huge puke--just for good luck. By this time, Ty had been passed by almost everyone in his age division and he was riding all alone. But good 'ol Ty--he didn't give up! He kept going! Because he was alone, though, he started getting confused about which way to go. He came to a fork in the trail and went left. Wouldn't you know it--he was supposed to turn right! A few miles later he realized he was nowhere close to the other racers, so he found a service road and, after hopping a fence with his bike, made his way back to the finish line. He ended up riding a total of 13 miles in a 12 mile race. Now that's going the extra mile! Way to go, Ty! I'm proud of you!

My oh-so-nauseous (and slightly disappointed) husband...

By the way, I told him to make a "sick" face for effect in the picture...

Page Week

Jack and I just got back from a fun week in Page. I decided to escape to my in-laws since Ty has been working longer hours and I'm lonely...

At Michael's basketball game:

Papa was his crazy self:

Haircuts from Aunt Les:

And we finally mastered stairs! Woohoo!

How do you suck on 3 binkies at one time?

Like this.

Jack was having a rough morning, so I let him have his binkies (usually they are for naptimes only). He was so excited to get them, and I think he must have decided that he needed all three of them in his mouth at the same time. He did this all on his own!

My baby is not a baby

This is what I found in my sewing room the other day. Looks like someone has learned how to climb on tables. Yes, those are scissors in his hands.

Blueberries

Blueberries are one of Jack's favorite foods. Can you tell?

McGladrey Party

Last weekend, McGladrey had a big "holiday" party at FireSky Resort in Scottsdale. This was one of the ritz-iest places I've ever been. Everywhere you looked, there were foutains and torches. The place is absolutely gorgeous. It was a really fun chance to dress up and go out for the evening. They fed us a beautiful meal and there was dancing afterward. Oh, and there was free alcohol, too! Woohoo!

New Year

Happy New Year! We had a fun party at our house celebrating the new year and my dad's 59th birthday. It was fun to have all of my side of the family over. We had a fire to roast marshmallows, too!

Anna, Noah, Becki, and Mom

The Polar Bear Club! Dad, Paul, Sam, and Ty all jumped in our less-than-fifty-degree pool! The ladies had a blast watching from the side!

We played a really fun game that involved a blindfold and two kitchen utensils.

Happy Birthday Dad!