Tour of California 2010

Big George Hincapie

Today was stage 7 of the Amgen Tour of California. This year the Los Angeles stop was a time trial. This was a great way for us to see all 85 riders multiple times. The course was a loop that had to be done twice. It started in Downtown LA in front of the Staples Center and the top of the loop was up near the Disney Concert Hall. Like last year we made the day of it. Now that we have two more children to add to the mix it's a bit harder, but it's still fun and we are STILL determined to do the things we like to do. Sometimes our activities are harder, or slower than usual, but we are still enjoying them. Today was no exception.

We took the train into Union Station in LA, then took the subway one stop to Civic Center where we walked about 2 blocks and there was the course. Myles loved riding the train. He sees it all the time while we drive on the freeway. So when I told him we were going to take the train he was very excited and told me "choo choo".

Cancellara

We picked the perfect stop because we got to see the riders both coming and going. We saw most riders, many whom we didn't know, but many we did. Armstrong had pulled out of the race a few days earlier due to a crash that left him needing stitches under his eye. We were able to see George Hincapie, Levi Leipheimer, Andy Schleck, Jens Voight, David Zabriskie, and Fabien Cancellara to name a few. Each rider had a motorcycle escort, plus a team car following behind. Myles had a great time cheering when the cars drove by, he would clap his hands and cheer. Although I think he was cheering for the cars, not the riders! It was fun all the same. The girls took a short nap in the stroller while the rest of us had a picnic lunch right there in the middle of the street. It was superb(wish I would have taken some pictures of us!, next time). A great free family activity that I would recommend to everyone.

This video is of George Hincapie riding away from us, while another(unknown name) rider is riding towards us.

Happy Birthday Thing 1 & Thing 2

My "Thing 1" & "Thing 2"

Well I have no idea where the time has gone, but Audrey and Lydia are now one! I can't believe it. They are getting so big and changing so fast. I need to find a way to freeze them in time. Their birthday was Friday the 14th, and we celebrated in Dr. Seuss Style on Saturday the 15th. It was a great party. We had invited friends and family alike and everyone enjoyed their stay. That is everyone other than the girls. They were both in bed before the end of the party. Audrey wasn't feeling well that morning and she wasn't too thrilled to see so many people. When I made her stick her hand into her cake she began crying and it didn't stop till she went to bed. It was her party and she did "cry if she wanted to!". Lydia was just tiered so by 1:30 so she was off to join Audrey in bed.

Uh mom...I got stuff on my hands...

The "smash" cakes.

Lydia enjoying her cake.

The party theme was "Thing 1 & Thing 2". We had a bounce house for the kids and several games for them to play. The girls each had a "smash" cake to eat and play in while the rest of us had cup cakes. We had three kinds to choose from, white cake with cream cheese frosting, vanilla bean with cream cheese frosting or "thing 1 & 2" cupcakes with red velvet cake and cream cheese frosting complete with cotton candy for the blue hair on top. The thing about these cup cakes is that you have to make them just before you are ready to eat them. The moisture from the frosting melts the cotton candy leaving you just a pile of blue sugar on top. Really cute idea for about 15 min.

"Thing 1 & 2" cupcake

We had a pizza, salad, fruit k-bob, & veggies for lunch. I think everyone had a great time. The kids made their way between the bounce house and the drink bucket. Stopping along the way for some games. Pin the hair on the thing, cat in the hat dress up relay, and balancing book relay.

Before everyone left we gave them a bag to fill full of red and blue candy. We also gave each family a Dr. Seuss book to take home. I wanted to give everyone a book, but couldn't afford to, so we gave one to each family.

The site of the party. This is the "green" space in our development. Thanks for the shade dad! What a life saver. He even colored it in the coordinating color of the party!

The girls got some really cute things from our guests and family. Thanks to everyone who came. It was a lot of fun! I have to say that I'm a little sad about the girls turning 1, but excited for the new things to come.