April, May, June - Whoa, how did we get in a time warp?

What have we been up to over the past several months.....how to sum it all up?

Easter, great Spring skiing, the infamous pole, peddle, paddle, a trip to Kansas, the also infamous dirty half trail half marathon, outdoor concerts, wonderful sunsets and rises, Ralph to Arizona, Mom and Dad to Africa, Jeff and Casey on a climbing trip to Wyoming, and the demolition of our >1200 ft rotten deck pretty much puts it all into a nice little nutshell. Oh and trying to train for my first triathalon inbetween all the above without Ralph, mom and Dad, or Jeff and Casey home (this means Nora accompanies me to everything.)

Nora has proven to be a pretty effective little coach for me; she insists on bringing everything from stuffed animals to books to snacks to wooden frogs with us on runs and then yells "go faster" as she has me run with her in her stroller to all the parks around town. We've come up with a pretty efficient swim ritual, where she goes and plays in the play room at the fitness center while I swim as fast as my arms will pull me and my legs with propel me for my allotted 30-40 minutes. Last week I got a little red trailer called the st

agecoach off craigslist. Now we can go on some road rides together too. Yep, 3 weeks of training with coach and the race should feel like a day off (thats what I keep telling myself anyway).

Nora, Ralph and I rode up McKenzie Pass. It's not a far ride from sisters but it is a challenging climb, especially with Coach and all her nessecities.

Despite warm sun in Sisters, the weather only allowed us enough time to feed one little chipmunk before the wind and the clouds froze us out

The pass is yet to open for cars due to the snow. Road biking without cars is a wonderful thing

Not a bad snow pack for June 28th!

Second annual girls night out at the Brett Dennon Concert

Farm fresh eggs in Kansas

Midwestern sunsets

Fun on the farm

Checkin out this years wheat crop

Facials with Auntie Rena

Kiddos checking out their loot

Easter egg hunting -whoooo hoooooo!

Spring skiing at Bachelor

2.5 and looking for a major label sponsor

I'm not sure Ralph and I can keep coining Nora our shy, quiet little girl. It just doesn't seem fitting as she's zooming past us on her bike yelling "I'm fast like a rocket ship!"

While she has moments of dare-devil-ness, she's still her little intellectual self. She is very curious and quite analytical, especially for a 2 yr old (an unbiased opinion of course). She asks thoughtful questions. She often asks "why do I take naps when it's not dark outside." While looking at a waterfall fountain in Vegas she asked "how does the water get back up to the top to fall down again?" She asked me where wind came from the other day and when I asked her if it was from trees sneezing she laughed and said "Mom, trees don't have noses, Silly!" Duh.....it comes from butterflies flapping their w

ings.

Our snowy Spring has got her bewildered; while I was trying to bundle her up to go outside yesterday she said "Mama, it's Spring, I don't need so many jackets and hats." She also notices all the "new life" like the "tiny green buds on trees" (thanks mom, she told me you taught her that).

She alternates making us laugh and shocking our socks us. She memorizes books then reads them back to her stuff animals. The other day while driving to a friends house, out of the blue she informs us that "tug boats can push and pull heavy barges and super tankers have to be careful not to spill any oil." Ralph and I just loo

ked at one another, mouths agape.

Checking out the view of the strip - it's really very un-inspiring, especially during the day.

Ahhhh... now there's a better view, just 12 or so miles up the road at Red Rocks

Nora, Ralph, Jeff and I headed south towards warmer temps and met up with some of Jeff's buddies and mom and dad for a week of climbing. Mom and Dad drove what we affectionately called the "mother ship" down (their RV) and we camped in the desert for a week. Nora was a top notch little camper. She absolutely LOVED sleeping in the tent. Having her very own head lamp and sleeping bag were also topics of conversation that she was very proud of. We had a great time. Red Rocks is perfect for Ralph and I.....loads and loads of long, multi pitch, but EASY climbs......Such a key combination!

The mothership, headed into town for a buffet.

Jeff, Dad, and Nora watching Ralph and I

Ralph and I watching Jeff, Dad, and Nora

Nora, upset that we were too late to catch Mojave Max, the tortoise at the visitors center.

Wild burros at red rocks ----these guys made her forget all about missing Mojave Max.

Pink pig on one of his many red rock adventures

Don't worry it's bronze

Nora loosing interest in watching Ralph and I climb
I was the sole female spoiler of daddy day care at the mountain. Beer, Chili fries and hot chocolate, the perfect snack for little athletes and dads.

Ah ha, the recipe for a good hard nap....SKIING

She insisted on wearing her wings so she could "fly like a butterfly" on her bike.

While she can stand on her skis really well, she can't turn or stop or snowplow. She goes in whatever direction you point her and whatever way the fall line slopes. Pretend baking - oh so fun!

I know this is Nora's blog, but I couldn't resist sharing this video. This climb was so cool and this gives a little glimpse of what we were up to in Red Rocks. Nora was there too, of course. She was riding her bike around and chillin at the mother ship with mom and dad.

Christmas

December brought us two forms of snow. The white precipitation that falls from the sky and a horse from Grandma & Grandpa Kaplan.

We drove south to Santa Barbara on Christmas morning to meet up with G&G Kaplan and Rena so Nora had a Christmas pre-screening on the the 23rd. She woke up to a big brown spring-loaded horse and when asked what she would name it she quietly declared it as "snow" the horsey.

She also got a big dog whom she named Clifford. Clifford was a hot commodity between the three of us in the car as he doubled as a great pillow

Gifts from Katie Hess. Thanks Katie!!
Enjoying some nice weather in Cali.
Christmas take II.
Ralph got tired carrying Nora and tried to hitch on a ride on me for a while
Understandably so, Nora now thinks all lady bugs come from Santa Barbara.

Family outings