Day 3

Humboldt to Clarion, 40 miles.

Phew...another boiling hot day. Another 40 miles. Gabby had a rotten cough so she opted to stay with Gran and Gramps today instead of ride. Sean found out that it is a heck of a lot easier to ride with one less 40 pound kid! We were evenly matched today.

First stop was Thor...a tiny little town with a jail on the street...hee hee. Gavin had fun climbing on the tractors in the street (used for bike parking) and Uncle Robby grabbed him and yelled at him for 'stealing' the tractor and threw him in jail. Gavin thought this was hilarious so he kept going back on the tractor and getting thrown in jail.

We were happy to roll into Clarion today just to try to escape the heat. At the edge of town some group was selling big cold glasses of fresh squeezed lemonade....man does that hit the spot. I think that between the four of us we downed about 7 glasses and then filled our water bottles with it. Yum!


We got the bikes packed up on the motorhome. We with our sore tushes were all pretty happy that we were taking the next day off...spending the night at Dave's in-laws in Cedar Falls where his preggo wife Patty and little girl Devra were staying for the week. They are all kinda cousins to us since Dave's sister is Sean's sister-in-law...so Gabby and little Devra bonded over shoes bracelets and purses. It was good to have a hot, real shower and sleep in the AC! We also had a wonderful feast. Tomorrow...the water park. :)

Day 2 Continued

A cool pic of all the people pulling into one of the pass through towns...this is typical...so many people and everyone is happy and having a great time. I read somewhere this week that one of the best things about RAGBRAI is that it restores your faith in this country, gives you a real sense of community even in such a huge group of people. That is bay far my favorite part of this ride...it sure isn't the heat and all the work! :)
Our camp site in Humboldt. Surrounded by thousands of tents, RVs and busses. It is amazing how well this thing works. Dad grilled some great burgers tonight, hit the spot!
A beautiful Iowa sunset sky. I just looked up from my camp chair...and there it was. Beautiful.
The kids crashed easily tonight! :) Princess Gabby claimed the motorhome couch as her offical bed for the week, we would carry Gavin into the tent with us each night so he wouldn't get into trouble in the RV. One day he was trying to start the generator...geeze!

Tomorrow we ride in the morning...to the halfway town, Clarion.

Day 2

Laurens to Humboldt, 36 miles


So Mom drove us to the half way town today and we got on the road about the same time the majority of the other riders were getting there. Our first stop was a Firehouse for some giant hot dogs...wow, we really ate a lot of hot dogs on this trip! And yeah, that's one of them Gavin has in his mouth. One of the fire guys brought his hat over for the kids to try on...it was heavy!

Back on the road...hot hot hot. Every time you stop on this ride...you just start to sweat, dripping sweat, it even gets into your eyes! You feel pretty cleansed after a shower at the end of the day! :)

Gavin crashed in the Burley today...this would be the ONLY nap he took the entire trip. Poor thing, when he woke up and got out of the Burley his foot was numb and he totally fell. It was an agonizing 5 minutes of pins and needles after that...not a fun way to wake up from a nap! Dave from the well known Dave's RAGBRAI Page took a picture of him snoozing and said he would put it on his site. It was pretty funny!

Day 1 continued

Camping in the overnight town, Spencer, the first night was really cool. They had a parachute show and great fireworks. All Gavin wanted for dinner was a corn dog and corn. Ever seen a foot-long corndog before? This boy ate the whole thing! I had my first of many pulled pork sandwich that night...most people GAIN weight on RAGBRAI...there is so much food to eat and you are so dang hungry all the time it is hard not to.

Uncle Robby promptly claimed the couch in the motorhome for a nap on the drive to the overnight town...the kids didn't really let him sleep much! hee hee

Barry brought the team these funny jester hats that light up and blink...they turned out to be a great way for him to find the motor home very night when he rolled into town in the dark. Love this pic of Gran and the kids in their hats. We are looking forward to winter to wear them...they were a little warm to wear now!!

Tomorrow we plan to drive to the half way town, Laurens, and ride to the over night town, Humboldt...so we can take it easy in the morning. :)

RAGBRAI 07 Day 1

Rock Rapids to Melvin, 40 miles

The first day of our second RAGBRAI...we are the last out of the campground...just like last year. Uncle Robby was riding with us and Barry from New York and Dave, Matt and his Dad. My parents met us this year to be our support team...and the fact that I didn't have to use KYBOs (port-a-potties) all week was a wonderful thing. Our team is Katz and the Dogheads. We actually made a logo!

We stopped for breakfast about 10 miles out...breakfast burritos, with eggs, sausage, cheese....grits, oatmeal....just about anything you could put on a tortilla. Barry had a HUGE bowl of oatmeal with honey and sugar that he called cow vomit....ugh, thought I would vomit just thinking about it. We filled up and were on our way.

Next stop was Mr Pork Chop, a legend on RAGBRAI...this was his 27th year selling pork chops and his last since he is retiring this year. Luckily his family will continue the RAGBRAI tradition but Mr. Pork Chop's legendary pork chooooooooooop call will be greatly missed by many. They filmed the kids a couple of times trying to imitate his call...it just might show up on the Mr. Pork Chop website. Anyway, as we were pulling in to the farm..well there was Lance Armstrong hamming it up with Mr. Pork Chop. Uncle Robby and I were a little bit ahead of Sean and the kids so by the time Sean caught up to us (with my camera) Lance had just taken off....so those little yellow jerseys in the distance...Lance and his posse. Robby thought he would be funny and yelled out when we got there..."Hey, isn't that that dude from Dodgeball??" Very funny Uncle Robby.

So we finally pulled into Melvin, the half way town...the end of the ride for us. It was soooooo hot, it is really shocking how hot it is, especially when you stop moving and just sweat like a pig.
Mom and Dad were parked by this cool grain silo...had a really cool blue grey color so I tried to get some pics..this was the best of Gavin. Man was it hot!

So we packed up the bikes and drove to the overnight town, found a place to camp in the fairgrounds and settled in.

I can't stop!

I got so many gorgeous shots of my roomies....girls, can't wait to send them to you!

Check out the cool tats Rusty Pickle was giving out!

More CHA!

CHA Favs!

The product was hot and all but check out all these hot Mamas! We had so much fun! I can't wait to do it again!

For TRICIA!

Team Tallywackers on RAGBRAI!

Gotta go....more later! Miss you!

Getting Ready

Getting the bags packed, ready for a super fun weekend at CHA and then 7 days of hot riding h*ll in Iowa. :) So far the hardest part is packing for two very different trips all at once, plus the kids. I get serious anxiety over packing...always worried about not having what I need and then mad if I end up with too much. I just really like to be comfortable in my clothes....and that's not easy these days. I think I have switched sizes at least 10 times in the last 7 years. Sigh.

Can't wait to have some fun with the girls...see all the amazing talent at CHA. I am ready to be overwhelmed and amazed and I can't wait to get there!

8 random facts

Hmmm tagged by Minda...my DT sister at TallyScrappers

1-post these rules
2-each person tagged must post 8 random(... hopefully interesting) facts about themselves
3-tags should write a blog post of these facts
4- at the end of the post 8 more bloggers are tagged and named
5-go to their blog and leave a comment telling them they're tagged

My ranDoM fActS:

1. I love love love the ocean and SCUBA diving in it. Being under water is the most peaceful feeling in the world.

2. I once taught high school science in the school where they filmed 90210 and Buffy the Vampire Slayer.

3. I have a thing for fun linens and dishes. I love shopping for them and getting new ones whenever I can.

4. I always have to lie down when I have blood drawn or a shot...or I will pass out.

5. I've lived on the West Coast, the East Coast, the South and now I am stuck right here in the middle...the Midwest. I think I liked the West Coast best.

6. I was a biology major in college and my favorite subject was Parasitology and Genetics. :)

7. I can not play any instrument...at all. Although I am starting to learn violin through DD's classes.

8. I wish I was neater. I love organizing things and I love a tidy house...but I just can't get there!

k, I totally don't have 8 bloggin friends who haven't been tagged yet...so I am picking my WI buddies to tag...Julie, Shannon, Nicole. You're tagged! :) Hey, does Jen have a blog?

"Mama...

....can you get me some hair gel?" What???? My four year old is already becoming vain? The last couple of days he has used...aloe vera gel and then Purell hand sanitizer in his hair to try to get it spikey on top...I have no idea where he got this from. It is pretty cute. :) But I guess I better get him some real hair gel before he uses something really bad!

Fireflies

Lightening bugs...one of the best parts of summer. Gavin caught about 14 of the little buggers. I talked him into letting them all go the next day but I think a few escaped in the house. Wasn't really sure what they eat, to put into the jar. Other bugs maybe?

Gotta love em!

Happy 4th!!!

Love this country...and I am so proud and grateful to have been born here. Happy Independence Day!

Gab and Gav got to do a little neighborhood bike parade and carnival before we went to our pool party today. But Gavin is a little grumpy and wouldn't let me take his pic....can you believe that?? Geeze, what's a SBing Mom to do? But of course my little model was ready and willing as usual, showing off her face paint!

Now for the fireworks! Have a wonderful day!

Scrapmaina!!

Gotta love em! Got to meet Julie and Shannon for lunch...so much fun catching up with each other. Then I finally got to meet Jen and another cool scrappin' chick Sarah, another friend of Julie's. It is so nourshing for the soul hanging out with these girls. The time just goes too fast. I got a measly 2 1/2 layouts done...but that's okay because it was just so good to be there....repeat after me Jen.... :)

Thanks for a great day girls!