Falon’s World

This year, 4th of July happened to fall on a Friday, which made for a spectacular long weekend (well technically Eric and I already had taken Wed and Thurs off so… ). We loaded up our bikes, the cooler and the dogs and headed up north Friday afternoon. We got there a little later than planned but figured it wouldn’t be a big deal because nothing was supposed to be happening until the following day. Well, things got turned around and my Aunt and my little cousins ended up coming a day early. They were a blast to watch in the pool.

Here’s Nicholas performing his balancing act:

The weather was beautiful! And stayed that way all weekend

Both Paige and Nicholas love dogs:

We hung around the campfire for quite awhile after everyone was out of the pool, which was really nice for visiting:

The Rollenhagen’s were up so everyone partied pretty hard that night around the campfire. The next morning we got up and headed right back out to the fire to hang out – it was lovely and relaxing. Mark really enjoys all the dogs and tried really hard to entice Kya with some tasty treats – and it worked .

He said he loves her blocky head! lol

After the Rollenhagen’s headed home, Mom and Dad started to do some yard work so Eric and I went on a very nice 6 mile bike ride. I’m having some difficulty with my bike gears and my speedometer computer but it was still a really nice ride .

When we got back I thought it sounded perfect to take a nap but Eric had to get some work done so he did that outside on the porch with the dogs while I snoozed in the pitch-black coolness of the basement.

Afterwards we grilled out and spent another good time out by the campfire, heading to bed significantly earlier than the previous night.

Sunday morning we woke up, fed and let the dogs out and played with the Chuck-It some, then we decided to go for another bike ride. We started out on the Hart-Montague bike trail but when it came into Whitehall we decided to keep on the path there and see where it ended. We ended up going far beyond the point where we usually stop and then past the point where we said we were going to stop to the very end of the path. It was a fun ride, lots of woods, bridges, streams, rivers, lakes, flowers – just gorgeous. Towards the end we saw this in the middle of the forest:

That thing was ENORMOUS and really neat – otherwise there are no photos . BUT, we ended up riding a total of 2o miles!!!! I was exhausted and my legs were rubbery by the time we made it back but it was awesome and I felt so good about myself.

When we got back to my parents’ house, we rode up right as Dad was pulling up with their new lifted golf cart. So of course we had to take that for a little spin . After hanging out for awhile longer we decided it was time to head back home.

What a fantastic and relaxing weekend!

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Eric’s bike got stolen from the front of work a little bit ago and the insurance check (NOT covering the price of a new one, after the deductible) finally came. So, we went to the bike shop last night and Eric got a brand new mountain bike, pictures to come later I’m sure. I got a new gel seat, because mine was still bent out of shape from The Accident.

This happened to be perfect timing. We’ve started an exercise regime, the Couch to 5K method and I feel wonderful in the mornings! I love to get outside in the fresh air, not many people around. Eric, Kya and I go 3x a week and it’s lovely. Today we also added in riding our bikes to work. Which was hard for me. There were kind of a lot of tiny hills and my legs were tired after our workout. Plus, we were late . Oh well, I will only get better and faster .

So, Eric’s bike got stolen. From in front of work. Yes, it was locked. That really sucked. The insurance company covered it, but we had to pay a decently substantial deductible – that sucked too. I hate thieves.

Then we got Eric a new bike – which was really fun and cool

He was excited and rides it quite a bit:

Friday

We had one busy weekend planned with constant running from one event to the next. Unfortunately (for me), I had class from 8 am to 1:50 pm on Friday. Originally, the plan was for Eric to be completely packed up, with the boys and pick me up downtown after my class and we’d head straight out to Imlay City for our Ultimate Air Games event. What actually happened was that Eric worked until 2 pm, I walked home from the bus stop and he was just starting to pack up when I got home. Needless to say, we were late. Very late. Ended up missing the Splash I had originally signed up for and having to compete in the last one of the evening. The good news? Mason jumped off the dock for the first time!! To read more, go to my Leapin’ Labs blog.

Saturday

We got up bright and early and packed up. I showered and we headed over to the UAD area of the fairgrounds. We only competed Mason in the semi-finals because the event was running considerably behind schedule and we wanted to leave plenty of time to get to the football game. Hours later we finally reach Ashland, Ohio to find out our camping registration was for a campground whose website said they were extremely close to Ashland, but was really three hours away. Finally found another campground to pitch our tent and rushed hurriedly through Subway for dinner and into the game. Half-way through the second quarter (I was freezing by this time) the game was postponed due to lightning being sighted for “no less than 30 minutes”. One and a half hours later, the game is called “No-Contest” and we head back to the campground. It was (and had been for awhile) raining again so we just packed up and headed home. Eric got pulled over going 84 mph and swerving all over the road (he was texting), but luckily, the cop gave us a warning and let us go. He drove the speed limit for the rest of the drive home. Stumbled into the house and into bed at about 2:30 am.

Sunday

Slept in pretty late, finally got up and unpacked the truck. We had to put up the EZ-Up and tent because they were still wet (this is the 6th time we’ve been camping this summer, and four of those times it rained). I did all the laundry, washed the sheets and re-made the bed. We watched Music and Lyrics (which was super-cute and really funny in a subtle way, not a dumb-boy-movie-embarrassing-disgusting way…if you know what I mean…not that I don’t enjoy some of those too). Then we loaded up the bikes and headed out to the Musketawa Trail. We rode another 12 miles, but this time my speedometer was in working order so I know more information. It took us a total of 57 minutes and 52 seconds to go 12.084 miles (with two stops because my seat is bent crooked since the accident ), my maximum speed was 18.3 mph, with an average of 12.5 mph. I burned 315.2 calories and 38.6 in fat (based on my weight/height). Overall, a lovely workout .

Today our big plans were to go for a bike ride. Eric got up (at the crack of noon) and made breakfast – mmmm, pancakes. Then he wanted to take off. I, on the other hand, believe in digesting my food before shaking it up so I took a nap (yes, I had just gotten up). Eric mowed the lawn (for the first time in 2 months because it was dead) and the weeds look nice and green and, most importantly, short now. He also attempted to hook up my little speedometer thinger (it does loads of stuff) but unfortunately, I got a malfunctioning one so we have to make time to go for a replacement at K-Mart (which we didn’t even know where the closest one was). That made me really sad. After a couple more delays (all me), we finally headed out to Marne to go for a ride. I have been wanting to take more rides on other trails for awhile now, so I did some research and the Musketawa Trail is one that I found. This is the map of the entire trail (which we did not ride):

It was an extremely nice trail. There was not a whole lot of variety to see, but it was out in the country, which I always enjoy. Lots of orchards, fields and these:

Which for reasons unknown, amused me to no end. There was a boy that was letting his beagle run rampant (off-leash of course) down the bike trail, pooping and trying to trip up small children. I wanted to hit him (the boy, not the beagle) but figured my bike couldn’t handle the damage so soon after being fixed. We discussed how far we wanted to ride (Eric was making me nervous with his complaining so early into the ride) and decided (all me again) on 12 miles total. We hit exactly six (didn’t even make it to the next bench, lazy people) and then stopped so I could (hopefully) regain feeling in my butt, drink some water and head back out. We were quite a bit (it felt like) speedier on the way back and cut 4 minutes off our time, rounding out our bike ride to about 56 minutes. Not bad for a Sunday. It made me feel wonderful.

As we were riding past all these marvelous fields with paths, I couldn’t help but feel…horse-sick (which is like being homesick but for horses). I miss riding so darn much. I was dwelling on it quite awhile during our ride. Then something funny happened. Eric took this photo:

Later I found out one of my horse-loving friend actually did get to fulfill my dream of riding through the beautiful country. This was a photo that Brittany took on her ride.

Crazy huh?

I know I posted about my bike in three other blogs but I just want to have it in one together, and I don’t feel like editing the others…

New:

After the accident:

Fixed back up:

They couldn’t fit a bell back on with the new gear shifts and the back of my seat is all scuffed up and rough but other than that it is good as new – thank you babe!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Yesterday was a day for new stuff! We bought the boys a Lixit from PetSmart. They’re super cheap and really fun. Hook it right onto your faucet outside and the dogs can water themselves whenever they want to. Our biggest reason for switching to this is it takes forever for the water to run cold enough through the hose to put into the boys’ bowl. Also, we have to refill/clean it out a lot, especially on really hot days. And the flock of birds residing in our garage recently took to taking a dirt bath then bathing in the bowl – gross. They both caught on quite quickly though.

Our Crocs also came in the mail today ! I wanted to get dark olive Off-Road Crocs like what Jason (Eric’s brother) has but couldn’t find them ANYWHERE without the hunter-orange strap. So, I decided to get chocolate and I talked Eric into getting a pair, his are black. These are going to work great for canoeing/tubing and dock jumping events!

We set up Potty Bells for the boys to signal when they need to go to the bathroom. Mainly this is for Mason because he is struggling with how to tell us he needs to go. Mostly he just cowers and wets on the floor in front of the door. The training is hit-or-miss right now.

We got the ribbon and the bells from Hobby Lobby for a grand total of $2.10. They’re not as pretty as store-bought ones but they do the job. A great site, if you want to spend the extra money is here. Midas has caught on, Mason still gets too excited sometimes to actually touch the bells before we have to rush him outside.

We also bought the boys a toy basket to hold their toys.

When they’re lying around the house, it seems like there’s a million, but the basket looks sadly empty. I do have a couple of others that I want to pick up though, including a Bad Cuz and Invincible Chains. Midas’s Water Wubba should be coming today too! Although that won’t be in the basket.

We also got my bike back!!!! Yay!! Eric dropped it off at lunch and it was ready by that same evening, I was very excited. It used to look like this, then after the accident it looked like this, now it looks like this:

We went for a spin last night and it was a lot of fun!

And for fun, as I was uploading/watching videos this morning, this is what Mason looked like (makes me laugh every time!):

He’s smarter than he looks I swear!!!

Today Eric and I woke up and packed up to head up north to Pentwater beach. My aunt and uncle and two of my cousins came from California for a one-day visit. We cooked out on the beach and laid out and it was wonderful and relaxing. We stayed all day and I know Eric took a ton of photos but I don’t have them yet, I will post some of them later. Dad requested that we bring the boys to the beach with us. It worked out fine, they got some exercise, to be near and we figured out that if we put a bunch of sand in the bottom of the soft-sided kennels, they can’t move them. Now we have to find an easier substitute than sand.

It’s Later (8/2/2007) and now some photos:

My little cousin Maria and my other little cousin’s baby, Caleb

The Whole Fam Damily:

Me:

Grandma wanted to spend quality time with Midas (she likes to squeeze his head, so we took the pups out of their kennels for awhile):

My Dad and my brother playing Redneck Golf:

Crazy, busy beach:

Nicholas actually asked to be buried, silly boy:

We left the beach earlier than anyone else to go to the bike shop. Dad had to have his handle bars adjusted and I wanted to get a mirror for mine so I could see behind me without craning my neck. Lazed around at the ‘rents for awhile and then headed back home. Forgot something, came back, and left again (so Mom saw us leave twice and knows the tailgate WAS up). We do that a lot. As we’re going down the highway, Eric comments on how he must’ve shifted some of the stuff to one side in the bed as my bike is bouncing a bit more than usual. I look in the rear-view mirror just in time to see it fly out of the back, high into the air and smash down onto the highway. I screamed, Eric slammed on the brakes. No one hit it, and no one was hurt or in an accident, thank goodness! The tailgate apparently released and my bike is bent all to hell. I cried…a lot. The whole way home I got to see my brand new mirror, shattered and flapping in the wind :’( It was bad…a horrible ending to a wonderful day…photos later. I haven’t been able to look at it yet.

My poor “new” mirror :

It’s hard to see, but both my wheels were bent all to H*ll and my seat was bent

AND, my bell is gone :’( Such a silly, stupid little thing (like the mirror), but it really bothers me:

Friday I picked Eric up from work…severely late, which wasn’t really my fault…at all (long story). We jetted over to the bike shop in Grandville on Chicago Drive so I could pick out my brand new bike from Eric! I rode two and decided on the boys’ style because it was more comfortable and I liked the colors way better than the pastel-y girl’s bike with the flower-type pattern. Ok, so I’m not very feminine. Oh well – Eric doesn’t seem to mind. So, here’s my new bike:

Then we rushed home, packed up and headed up north to Hart where we camped out on by my grandparents’ RV on my other grandparents’ property – it was an absolute blast and I was so happy to see them! Unfortunately, no pictures of them, only of our tent.

On Saturday we went on our very first bike ride together with my new bike It was fun. We did get chased by two small ankle-biters though…which I then got to chase back. Good times. Then over to mom’s house for birthday dinner, which was absolutely DELICIOUS. Quick nap and we jet to Holland to pick up Eric’s brother’s computer. Finally we get home and crash. Sunday Eric slept ALL DAY long and I was bored. Then Sunday night we went on our first bike ride here. We rode down to the dock that we used to take the boys jumping at. It’s still high though . Here’s a map of where we went:

All photos courtesy of Eric (the map too).