Family Alive

No, we didn’t fall off the face of the earth.  I’m so sorry I’ve been scarce.  I have been writing blogs in my head, though!  Too bad they never made it to the keyboard…  Where did we leave off?

Yes, Analise’s bike race was incredibly cute and fun.  She was very teary and nervous all afternoon before we left, including getting upset with Josiah for wearing her helmet in the house.  She was saying things like, "I’m never going to be able to pedal (Don’t worry – Daddy will help you!)… I’m going to fall off my bike (Daddy will be right there to catch you!)… I’m never going to win the race (You’re going to do great!)."  When we left our neighborhood, I realized that we’d forgotten her helmet.  She burst into tears, saying "They’re never going to let me race without my helmet!"  Of course, we turned around and got it.  When she got to the start line, though, she was all business.  Brian walked right behind her, but she pedaled herself the whole way, nearly 3/4 of a block.  Another little girl, the daughter of one of Brian’s teammates, rode her little pink trike right next to Analise, and they brought up the rear of the kids race.  They nearly crashed into each other at one point, but the dads got them back on track.  They did so great!  Analise is already asking when she gets to do her next race.

Brian raced later in the evening.  I left the kids at home with a babysitter, and it was so fun to be out cheering him on without having to worry about them.  We also had a HUGE cheering section of friends from church – 15 people!  They were all really surprised at how exciting a criterium race is.  Brian did really well.  He finished 10th over all, winning a "prime" or prize lap of $100.  His teammate placed 8th, and between the 2 of them, they won $375, which they split between all of their teammates in the race.  Brian’s races are more often include the categories Pro/1/2, but this race included 3’s as well, which 4 of his teammates are.  So he had the benefit of racing with them for once.  It was fun to race in front of a hometown crowd!

On Sunday, we headed to Atlanta for another bike race.  Brian was in a stacked field with a bunch of pros.  He raced REALLY well, staying in the top 5 or 10 for the whole race.  He got a little boxed in coming into the finish, and he ended up 15th, but still in the $$$.  He also *just missed* a prime, battling it out to the last inch with a top pro rider.  We wound out the trip with a lovely shopping trip at Trader Joe’s and dinner at a noodle place (didn’t compare at all to Noodles & Company).

Last week was a recovery week, laying low after a super-busy weekend.  This past weekend was lovely, quiet and restful.  We visited Birmingham’s farmer’s market for some fresh food treats.  I’ve been cooking up a storm lately, too.  I’m trying to plan our our meals more regularly so we avoid going out to eat.  I’ve got a blog in the making (or several) with more details about some of the changes we’re making in our eating and some of the *DELICIOUS* meals we’ve had. 

Right now, though, I’ve got to head to bed.  I’ve got a cold, and as usual, we need all the sleep we can get in this house.  Hope to catch up with y’all again sooner rather than later!