Bike Club - First Ride 2009

Yay for Spring! I'm really liking the weather we've had the past few days. Less bundling and less hiding out indoors. Brian wishes it was still ski season, he thinks that the Chariot is easier to pull on skis than on bike. I think that it's easier for him to "keep up" pulling the Chariot on skis than on bike since he only has to keep up with me on skis! We'll probably ride with the Easy Riders when Noah comes with this year, otherwise babysitter?? Dave from bike club took these pictures (thanks!), I stole them from the bike club bulletin board. The first one is from before the ride when everyone was gathering, the second is from near the end when we were coming back into town. Noah's first bike club ride chalked up at 40 miles, and it was a tough 40 miles pulling that load!

Artesian Bread and other baking

You may know that I enjoy baking bread; you may have enjoyed some of my fresh baked bread at a potluck or progressive dinner. I found a new recipe for Artesian Bread that I tried out yesterday. The results were great, and it was a pretty easy one to make. Doesn't it look tasty??

Feeding Noah has made me a VERY hungry girl. On my days off, for fun, I bake. It adds a some interest to a day full of laundry, feeding the baby, and changing diapers.

Last week I baked cookies. I didn't get around to taking a picture of them, so they didn't get their own post. Ever since last summer's family reunion, I've been baking cookies with "Dad's Special Secret Recipe". I don't think he'll mind if I let the secret out to my small handful of blog readers... Here's the story. Mom set out a stick of butter for his cookies, just to be helpful, with the understanding that they use a stick of butter plus shortening for the full amount of "fat" called for in the recipe. He didn't know that she only set out part of the "fat", so he didn't add anything more than the one stick of butter (recipe called for either 2/3 cup or 3/4 cup, I don't know exactly). He thought they were a little different when scooping them onto the tray, but didn't know why. The cookies got rave reviews at the family reunion. They weren't greasy and thin like they can sometimes be. They held their shape well and had great texture. So, now whenever I bake cookies, I round down the "fat" ingredient to the nearest easy quantity of butter. I've been pleased with the results every time.

Let me know if you try the cookie trick, or if you have a great bread recipe that I should try. I'd love to hear from you.

Weekend with Grandparents

Noah got to do some excited playing in the exersaucer last Sunday (as pictured, thanks Grandma) and some quality lap napping with his grandparents.

While he was having all that fun, his parents went skiing - first time of the season that Brian skied without pulling the Chariot. He didn't know what to do with his extra layers when he warmed up! We need the Chariot to slow Brian down, he could have skied circles around me. The snow conditions were atrocious since we only had 2 inches on the ground, but it was nice to get outside for a little while.

Here's a few things that Noah has been up to lately:

He must have something soft and fuzzy to sleep with. And a full belly, but that makes anyone sleep better.

He explores his body with his hands - those ears are pretty neat to grab onto; when his belly is uncovered, he finds some little baby fat rolls to grab onto; and it's always fun to check out what's inside that opening between his chin and nose...

He rolled over! Either clothes or hardwood floors have made that an extra challenge for him, when dressed in nothing but a diaper on a carpetted surface he rolled right over and gave us a big gummy grin.

Waterpark fun

This past weekend we went to the Dells with Nate & Irene and Joe & Jenny. It was supposed to be more of a ski trip, but for a variety of reasons, the waterpark was the main attraction. Here's Noah's first time at the pool. I was glad that they had life jackets available to use. Noah seemed to enjoy his time in the water. He stared at the large objects in the kiddie area, and enjoyed floating in the wavepool.

We did get out skiing while we were there. There are 2 WI state parks within a short drive, so we spent one day at each. Mirror Lake is a skier's park, Devil's Lake is not. The warm weather made being outside pretty comfortable, but didn't do much for the ski conditions. I'm afraid that our season is pretty much over, boo. We'll have to drive north for a few more ski outings, and start thinking about biking for local fun.

Black River State Forest

We got away for a ski weekend at Black River again this year! Noah made the uphills extra challenging and the downhills fast. The weather was great, 20s and sunny. The trails were well groomed and well used - we saw half a dozen people while we were on the trails and a bunch more cars in the parking lots. Here's some shots of the fun. Brian found a creative way to "park" Noah and the chariot when we stopped for a rest break.

I took a turn pulling Noah this time (for more than 10 strides). My goodness! It's like molasses going up the hills. I'm not sure if I should be impressed by Brian or disgusted at myself that we are pretty equalized when he is pulling the load.

We actually saw another chariot in use for skiing while we were there! We've gotten lots of comments from other skiers about Noah's sweet ride. Since most people who ski are quite a bit older than us the comments go something like, "Back when our kids were little..." "...nothing that fancy..." etc.