It's a Girl!

Well enough with all the stories of 'if you're really sick it's a boy,' 'if your leg hairs grow faster it's a boy,' 'depending on the heart rate it could be a boy or a girl.' I don't believe any of it any more! I wasn't sick with Finley, but much sicker with this one. My leg hairs are growing out of control with this one but not with Finley. The first heart rate on this baby was 151, today it was 130. Totally up in the air and I had no intuition. Well the baby didn't want to show us what it was for quite awhile during the ultrasound, but then she gave us a nice shot and it was very clear that it was a Girl. When the lady told us it was a girl I said 'oh crap!' She gave me this funny look and I had to explain that it wasn't that I was disappointed with a girl, it was just that we had no clue for girl names (once again). I'm very excited for Finley to have a little sister. I think they will be very cute and fun together. The baby and I are both healthy and on track. We will have our hands full and Brian is completely outnumbered now.

All Grown Up

I can't believe how big my girl is getting! We started our first day of preschool today. Fin's been excited for the last two weeks and couldn't wait to go. Of course we had to get her a backpack (I know she doesn't really need it but it makes her feel cool). We went to REI to find her a backpack and we let her choose her own bag and water bottle. I love she chose the green one, she must be my daughter. Plus I don't tote around a diaper bag anymore, she wants to bring it everywhere so we have snacks, a coloring book and pencils, water bottle and wipes. I love her to pieces and love that she wants to go to school. We go Tuesdays and Thursday's from 9-12, perfect amount of time for her and I. Lately she is into choosing what she wears. Yes, she picked out her outfit for the first day of school.

It will be good for her to have her own little routine and something to keep her feeling important as the baby comes.

The infamous first day of school picture

The pack may be a little big but I figure it will last through kindergarten

This is the coolest little kid pack I've seen. The brand is Deuter

24 Hours of Grand Targhee

Grand Targhee Resort hosted the annual 24 Hours of Targhee mountain bike race this past weekend, with solo and team riders lapping a 7.3 mile course (with an 800 ft elevation gain per lap!) from noon on Saturday through noon on Sunday. Goal? To do as many laps as possible in 24 hours. And stay awake . . .

We survived the weekend of 24 Hours of Grand Targhee. I must say that I'd be more than willing to return and help support this race. Not only did we have a hotel room to stay in, the weather wasn't bad, I didn't have sand stuck everywhere by the end, the scenery was beautiful, and the company was great. It was so nice have a full time mechanic on hand (he also doubled as a chef), and the expertise of K Day's dad to make sure the guys were staying on top of their game. It was a good thing we had an expert mechanic, because after the first lap Brian's crank bolt broke and we had to put a different crank set on his bike from an extra bike that was brought. I wouldn't have known where to start to fix that. The bikes had never been treated better, cleaned and tuned up after every lap.

The guys won the 4 man category by 5 laps and ended tying with a men's Pro Duo team for the most laps, 34! Once again I can't understand how they can ride their bikes for 24 hours, get practically no sleep, force food and water down, and still have a great time. I'll tell you what, with 6 guys around things were never dull. The jokes and stories kept us laughing when the hours were getting long. I'm not even going to get started on the 'funk' smell of the room, and how it was like being around Junior High boys at points. On Sunday morning the weather had turned cold and super windy. Of course most of the weekend I was in my thermals, ski socks, down coat and a hat as the guys pretty much only wore thin layers of spandex. I was proud of the guys for their determination and strength. It was also nice to have a few extra hands for support. Well done Kuhl / Scott team! Wait, what would a long weekend be without the never ending drive home (5 1/2 hours) and getting home to unload the bike and car coming to realize that one of the crank arms and peddle had come off the bike and are probably somewhere on the side of the road in Idaho. I think race season is over for us.

Base Camp

Pre-Race Meeting

Kevin Day starting off the 24 hours

The trade off between K Day and Tolbert (Bri's in the background on the dirt road)

Getting bikes ready for the night time

K Day keeping spirits high

Early morning cheering section

K Day cheering Brian on the final lap

Bikes catching up from a long weekend

Brian with the fast competion

Brian giving a smile knowing the pain cave is coming to an end

Brian crossing the finish line for the last time

Awards

Long Overdue

Sorry, my time lately seems to be all over the place and when I start to think about something I get easily sidetracked and then forget what it was I was doing. Oh yeah, I'm pregnant huh? Well the summer is coming to an end but not without a bang. I'd like to say that race season is over but we still have a few weeks left. I'd love to say CONGRATS to my awesome hubby for not only winning the last three races, but winning the overall in his category. He has been informed that the expert days are over and starting next season he will be bumped to the pro class. This means regimented training, higher entry fees, and a lap longer race. Next season will prove to be interesting with a baby on my hip and a three year old running around. Two more big races are to come before I can say this season is over. In two weeks we have the 24 hour race at Targhee, and the weekend after that is the Point 2 Point race in Park City. What do each of these mean? Well to start, the 24 hours of Targhee will include a four man team that takes turns riding laps for 24 hours. Yep, I know what you are thinking but the guys seem to love it. Luckily for me I won't be sitting in the wind and dirt like Moab. Park City Point 2 Point consists of a 75 mile course with a total of 10,000 vertical feet of climbing. Keep in mind this is all on mountain bikes. I seriously don't know how Bri can do it but I give him props. I am highly looking forward to this weekend of staying at Snowbird and watching the Tour of Utah end one of its stages on Saturday at Snowbird and then watching the Crit on Sunday. Wow there's going to be a lot of male shaved legs this weekend! After race season, well then we move into hunting season and then ski season. Never ending and never dull around here.

Finley is doing great. We finally hit the milestone of potty-trained! She is a big help to me and loves going to nursery (she insists she needs to go to school as well). She is also very excited to have a baby around and loves helping me get stuff ready for it.

I am staying busy working, being a mom, wife, a racer's wife, and trying to keep my sanity. The baby is doing good and healthy. We are still on track for Feb. 3, and the big ultrasound will be September 14 to find out what we are having. I love living in Heber and being a small town girl again. I love my house, my family and my life. Need I say more?

This is one of my favorite pictures of Fin.

Smelling the flowers while papa's racing.

First place at the Jackson Hole Race.

Start of the race (it's really hard to get a lot of pictures when I'm trying to watch Fin, and hand water bottles to at least three people).

First place at the Solitude Race as well as First place for the Overall Expert 19-29 men.

Growing Up

Finley had a play-date with her cute friend Kennedy last week, it's so nice to have someone her age. It was the first time that I actually dropped her off to play for a few hours without me being there. She did great and was so sad to come home. The girls went to the park, played with dollies, played kitchen, ate popsicles, played with bubbles, and put chap-stick on each other. Even now reading this while I write, I can't believe how grown up she is getting. Not too mention that she asks me everyday if she can go to school. Where is the time going?

Finley's Firsts

Ok so life is full of firsts and the last few weeks Finley has been busy. Last night we went to Deer Creek with some of our friends to go boating. Fin has been bugging me that she wants to go to the lake and ride in a boat. She has never been on a boat before so I'm not sure where she got the idea. We went and bought her a life jacket and she wore it home (yes strapped in the car seat), took it off only to put on her swimsuit and all the way home. She was a super trooper on the boat. She loved every minute of it! It was so cute watching her face and listening to her giggle. Of course she was so sad when we had to leave and is wanting to go swim in the lake again. Even when her lips were blue and she was shaking she was loving it.

Yes she even makes the funny face that her mama does when getting in the water.

Helping drive the boat. I think she would be great at Nascar Driver because going left was her favorite.

A few weeks ago we went to some free concerts down in Salt Lake. We went to see Bon Iver (who was very impressive live) and apart from the lack of personal bubble space it was really fun. Fin was pretty content to be sitting on Brian's shoulders eating a snowcone (yeah he needed a shower after that). This again was a first for Fin. It was the biggest hippie fest I'd ever been to. The people watching was awesome, music was great too.

Sorry this is a little blurry. We couldn't get much closer.

So this picture is cute because Finley was wanting to take pictures with my camera. Not too shabby.

What's this I see?

A jelly bean looking at me. I'm sure many of you have been wondering when baby #2 would be on its way, it's not much but here's a picture of our little one to come February 3.

I found out a while ago but have been sicker with this pregnancy then I was with Fin so I haven't said much. Its funny how much quicker the second pregnancy is being preoccupied with a two year old, work, bike races, keeping the house in order, and finding time for myself. We are so excited and Finley thinks the idea that mama has a baby in her tummy is pretty cool. She also loves to carry around the picture and say 'Babies Heartbeat.' We took her to the first appointment to keep her involved and hopefully excited to have another little person living in the house with us. I know she is too little to completely understand, but everyday she has to rub my tummy and say 'Hello baby, it's Finley. I love you.' She has been so good and it's nice to have Brian's help and patience.

The cravings have been different, tuna fish sandwiches with cheetos on them (don't ask, I've done it my whole life), pears, black cherry kool-aid, cereal, and as always wanting Chinese food daily. Unfortunately we don't have great Chinese here in Heber so Brian is lucking out more this time. To add to all of this my sister-in-law is due the same day at the same hospital. What are the odds? It will be fun to have all our kids close.