Amelia's Birthday Party

We had a lot of fun with turning 7 today. The original plan was to take a nature hike in the park for some flower picking but because the rain was heavy at times we scratched that idea and went to plan B which was art projects, snacks, and cheesecake.

Amelia plays violin

Amelia Valentine

Amelia had a few offerings that pulled on the heart strings!

Amelia's Spelling Test - 1st Grade

I am proud to say she is following in her big sister's spelling prowess.

Martin Luther King Jr Week Homework Assignments

In honor of Martin Luther King Jr. Birthday and his I had a Dream speech, Amelia's Teacher asked her to list dream for her family - I was hoping for something brilliant and of course, she wants dragons to come alive! For the world, she dreams for "No polluting on Earth". She had a nice picture of herself. 

Amelia is doing well in school and in violin. She's doing the advanced words for the spelling tests and last week got individual and species correct. This week, the challenge word is probably measurement and healthy. 

Abby had to tell a story about a dream that she had for making the world a better place.

I'm telling you about my dream for the world. I would like to have stricter laws about hunting endangered species. I think this because in a million years we might be the only animal on the planet. I also think that trophy hunting should be illegal. Those are some of the ideas I had for making the world a better place!

in talking to her more about the topic (sometimes that's the easiest way to get anything out of her), she mentioned that the hunting she was thinking about was for the Chinese Tiger, especially. Going online to Wikipedia we found information about the South China Tiger which is dubbed Critically endangered. She says she  learned about the tigers in the Zoobooks magazine. She says that they are targeted because they are huge, elegant, beautiful creatures. The tigers are also just decimated by the lack of room, they have been impacted by losing habitat. She mentioned Quetzals as another animal that she was thinking about when she wrote her story as well. 

Okay, off to math, we're learning fractions and how to give an amount of cat food based on the weight of a cat. Fun Stuff!

Halloween 2011

Could the kids be any different? Abby was a Dark Scare, a creature she made up that
was probably inspired by "Toothless" in the movie "How to Train a Dragon" and Amelia
was less original as a Ghost.

Amelia at 5 Years, plus some

Amelia has been 5 for over six months now, but we just had her check up last month and I just found the sheet, so here's an update on her.

She is 44 1/4" which is 55% for her age and 43.8 lbs, which is 55%, so slightly above average. She's in kindergarten in Mrs. Tursi's class which has been a pretty good transition, except the long days means she's a little cranky in the afternoons. She's starting to sound out words and is having fun with all of the art projects in the classroom.

Abby bikes and Amelia Rides Through the Streets of Delft

A bike box in Delft prioritizes bikes over right turning traffic.
In the Netherlands, right turn on red isn't allowed.

Abby and Amelia joined us on the third day of the class, which would end up 36 miles later going from Delft to the North Sea and back. It was all day trip with stops at a greenhouse control system company, a greenhouse, a central market along the way, and the beach. Leaving TU Delft (the University), we wound our way through the streets of Delft which are chaotic at times and really fascinating when you're able to wander through them. When you are on your bike, the facilities seem like a joy and you want to bring them back to the U.S. When you are on your bike beside your 8 year old, they seem too narrow, with scooters zipping by and cars that are still too close for comfort.

Since Abby is an accomplished rider, all in all they are pretty good facilities.  
On this trip to the beach we added a stowaway in the form of Amelia. Where is she in this picture you ask?
She's on a tag along rack, riding on a pillow. We saw the Dutch do this on so many occassions, we thought we would try it. It turned out it worked with some modifications. Later, we took Susan's backpack off which gave her a little more room to look around. It was also clear that we needed to slide up on the seat of the bike to make sure she wasn't leaning back, but that wasn't so difficult.

All in all, a good day and a nice way to get from the beach and back. 

Solstice Celebration in Copenhagen

In Denmark, the solstice celebration is called Sankt Hans aften ("St. John's Eve"). In accordance with the Danish tradition of celebrating a holiday on the evening before the actual day, it takes place on the evening of 23 June. It is the day where the medieval wise men and women (the doctors of that time) would gather special herbs that they needed for the rest of the year to cure people.
It has been celebrated since the times of the Vikings making a large bonfire to ward away evil spirits. In Christianhavn, the bonfires is on the beach, and there is a community event with a band and beer tent. The celebration was complete with the tradition of putting a witch made of straw and cloth on the bonfire to recall the witch burnings from the 16th Century.

The bonfire on the beach was impressive.

Amelia napped on the way to dinner.

Gingerbread House 2010

A good start to the winter break for the girls as we wrapped up a trip to Peacock Lane, a visit to Aunt Katie's house, and a sleepover with the Farleys! In order to make sure the kids got to bed on time we tried to wear them out by taking ours to the park (the Farleys went rock climbing) and we settled for Gingerbread House decorating in the evening with the hope that all of the girls will sack out come 9 PM. The beverage on the table is Susan's really.


The girls made quick work of the gingerbread house and some of the candy even made it on as decorations.The Christmas music was playing and the kids debated their favorite song. The consensus was Jingle Bells and we were treated to a rousing rendition when they could remember the words. The four of them did a good job of putting it all together and it was fun for us to take a listen. Maybe some caroling later in the week is in order.
The girls really took pride in the decoration of the 2010 edition, but perhaps it was just the sugar rush that was helping with the smiles on their faces. Abby's favorite part of decorating was "eating the icing" Katie liked the candy best and Lucy liked the roof. Amelia enjoyed the extra halloween candy that we broke out to supplement the provided provisions. There was Dots and Smarties that were from October but does sugar really ever go bad? Lucy really got into the action and it was fun to capture them all into such a project. I don't think it took them more than 15 minutes.

Grace's Birthday and Cyclocross Nationals 2010 in Bend

We went to Bend for Grace's Birthday and it was the same weekend as the Cyclocross Nationals.
It was a wet weekend in Bend (pretty rare) and windy which made for tough conditions for the cyclists and good conditions to watch the race. A lot of mud puddles and slippery conditions.
We had a great time checking out the activity at the race grounds near the Old Mill. Abby was dressed warmly and was very curious about the bikes and the competition having been in the Kiddy Cross a few months earlier. She also had a good time running around the various sand mounds that the City uses for keeping the streets passable during the winter months. Amelia had a good time at the start until she did a face plant into a puddle and got muddy.
We got to the start of the race and managed to catch a huge pile up. Yes, those are bike tires in the air. Someone in the front of the pack took a spill and it caused chaos throughout the pack. The rider with the wheels in the air, tried to pick up some ground by sending his bike aerial and getting past some of the competition instead of having the problem of the bike getting caught up.
The conditions were very difficult and there was some pretty significant ponding that resulted in changes to the course throughout the week. I had a hard time believing that there puddles would be a good line, but many of the racers seemed to embrace it to avoid getting tangled up in the fencing, which we saw later in the action. It was a bit daunting to consider the course as we saw it, but I think it would be fun to try next year at the start of the season.

Tour de France, Delft Sunset, World Cup... is this in the Top 10 days of all time?

 
On the ride back to the hotel (from Rotterdam) after the prologue, we had a nice ride back with the sunset greeting us as we entered the city. It was a lovely end to a great day. Finished off by watching the World Cup and seeing a great goal by David Villa of Spain to advance. This day might have cracked the top 10 days of all time, which got me thinking. So you have to have the wedding day, the birth of your kids, graduation from college (especially for Dad), probably an OSU Civil War victory in there (when we beat Joey Harrington at home), visit to South Africa has to be in there, and then there's this (what a great day). It would have been better with the kids and more friends & family to enjoy it with, no doubt.

Grand Floral Parade

This Saturday, we rode in the parade with the Mayor's contingent of biking staff. The announcers didn't really call us staff probably because that might sound like we were "on the job" as opposed to just there having a good time. We rolled in and the first float we came across was this one from the Vancouver/Washougal folks and their princesses. It was pretty neat and the girls really liked it. There were lady bugs on it and that definitely caught her eye. We arrived with enough time to get sunscreen on and decorate our bikes with red ribbon and flowers provided by the organizers. The girls got a kick out of the flowers on their bikes, although Abby didn't like the rose that attached to her helmet (it was poky).
Susan is noticeably absent in the pictures because she was at the beach with Sheila enjoying some time away. The 4 mile ride was pretty slow going with lots of stops for the trains and the performances of the various bands that were in front of us. All in all a good experience, one I hadn't done for almost 20 years.

The Alaska Airlines / Horizon Air float was pretty neat, it had the Made in Oregon, White Stag sign as well as the Portland sign that signifies the Theater on Broadway.

Martin Luther King Jr. Final Resting Place

As a part of our visit to Atlanta, we got a chance to go see Dr. King's final resting place. The area is designated as a national park and the tribute to his life is nice. I thought there would be a little more to the facilities then what we saw, although we didn't have as much time as we would have liked to really take in the area. I am glad the kids got exposure to the area he grew up and the lessons of yesterday's society.

Morning Commute for the Kids with Susan's Broken Elbow

Susan's broken elbow has presented challenges to our initiative to be car free in our daily lives. Abigail has often been riding with neighbor Mike because she drives to pick her up after school. The xtracycle is a great tool for getting the kids there quickly and they seem to be proliferating throughout Portland as the bakfiets alternative.
I have been taking up the slack some days to get Amelia to school, riding the cruiser with the trail-a-bike. She sings to me as I take her to school and since it is only three days a week, I try to take her when I don't have morning meetings at the signal shop. It's been nice to get more time with the morning routine and nice that I am not travelling.

091214 Wet Carfree Peacock Lane

Peacock Lane is one of my favorite holiday traditions in Portland. My mom always would take us and drive through the neighborhood. I never liked that portion of the tradition, so for the longest time we would walk done the Lane.  
 
With a bakfiets, we have an opportunity to take the kids in the pouring rain and hit the streets. Tonight was the carfree night, so we had an opportunity to stroll through without the trouble of cars. The downside was the rain and the cold.  
Abby was super tired on the way home and either fell asleep or acted like it and was not wanting to wake up when we got home.
 

As we were biking there, Susan asked me if we were crazy. Maybe a little bit. It was cold, wet, and uphill to Peacock Lane, but hey why not?

Bridge Pedal - I'm Famous

I saw Jonathan Maus of bikeportland.org taking pictures as we were cruising up the approach to the Broadway Bridge and nine hours later it is posted to the web. I am glad he didn't catch me on the way home, because I was sucking wind!
Amelia was watching Susan who was on the right side of the yellow line!

Portland Bridge Pedal

 
One of the best events in Portland because of the combination of local products (Widmer Root Beer, Nossa Familia coffee, and bike mechanics galore - too bad there wasn't Voodoo Doughnuts or Burgerville), bikes, and bridges. The Oregonian is one of the sponsors and calls the ride "Perfectly Portland".
It is a great ride and it is great to see that many families out on the streets. There was a great article about the event in the O this past week.
 
Marcy and her kids stayed the night at our place so we were on our way from Sellwood to downtown when Chris called saying they were at the meeting point! We met up with MK, Tym, Henry, Dad, Chris, Del, and Deb and we were off. It was a beautiful day for the ride and we were happy to have the opportunity to be carfree on the Interstate Freeway bridges. We completed the 6 Bridge Ride and I rode the bakfiets. Susan questioned whether I was going to have trouble and while I didn't think I would, her asking me a couple of times made me second guess myself. All told it was a 25-mile trip which makes me wonder what a bakfiet mile is equivalent to in road bike miles. The hill up from the Oaks Bottom to our house was a beast, I was really dragging because I hadn't eaten anything on the ride. Abby did great on the ride on the trail-a-bike and I was surprised that Ameila and Matthew didn't complain any during the ride about sitting too much in the bakfiets.
The ride went pretty smoothly, it has been customary in recent history to have something disrupting bicycle flow through key spots or turns and while there was reportedly a train near the end that disrupted folks considerably, we didn't experience any of the backups that has traditionally plagued the ride.
One mistake on my part was not charging the batteries to the cameras, I took some photos, but the cameras did not make it past the Marquam and I normally enjoy taking more throughout the event.