September Pics

Lookin cool.

Daddy's leg after getting hung-up in a sticker
bush during a cyclocross race.

The school bus home from daycare.

Wakin up grumpy in the RV last month.

Out!

Well of course you're cold, silly.

To Fall And To Bounce Is Sublime

Things are looking an awful lot like Fall around here (emphasis on awful): back in school, back at daycare, back at cyclocross, days are getting shorter, rains are more frequent, mud is getting muddier. But the fruits and berries are still ripe on the vine, for now, but life is getting hard again. And daddy is trying to be the hardman again.

Speaking of fall, did we tell you about Kian's big crash? I think so, so instead of rambling I will leave this as a photo essay for now but will fill in my own tumultuous feelings later if if I haven't already done so just in case I didn't tell you how heart wrenching an experience it was for me probably because I feel negligent for not watching him during that moment he most needed me and because it wasn't me in pain and being able to blame someone else and hopefully because this is the first time I had to drive him to the hospital on my lap as he screamed and bled but then he realized that he was on my lap behind the wheel again just like in Mexico so he stopped crying and grabbed the wheel like when we were in Mexico almost a quarter of his life ago which reminds me that I did this very thing to my own parents and that life comes full circle. Oh shit!

Moments after returning home from a 4-hour emergency room visit:
but its post-hotdog, so all is well. And still on pain killers.

When I fell off that 4-foot retaining wall on my bike it was like...

... someone kicked me right here!

... really hard and right way down here, you know?

A couple of days after Kian's big crash he was back at it, licking his wounds.

Here's a picture of me after I went *splat* on the sidewalk.

Did I talk about our ER visit yet? Just in case I didn't, Kian was a champ, although he freaked like Donkey Kong. They checked us in quickly and gave us our own gurney, and the only place he felt safe was laying on my chest which was ironic because I was the one that did this to him. Things quickly came to a crawl. A nurse would come in to take some vital sign and then leave. A half hour later a different nurse would come in for something else. This went on, and time ta... ick... t. The doctor came eventually and she was great, and issued the decree that Kian needed a CT scan to make sure he didn't have a concussion. This wasn't easy because he wasn't about to be run through that dark Matrix looking tunnel alone in that crazy place, so the only way to make it happen was to... drug him. They squeezed this evil concoction up his nose and he went nuts, but 20-mins later, just as prescribed, he started smiling and giggling and carrying-on. It was really cute, but it worked because he let me feed him right into the belly of that scary beast of a machine. All good, no concussion, and they released him on his own recognizance although they wouldn't let him drive this time. Seriously, he wanted behind the wheel again and still does to this very day and that was about 3-4 weeks ago.

The scratch under his nose is being persistent and we're worried about scarring, rubbing in Vitamin E and scar cream to make it go away. The problem was that he had an ugly scab under his nose that was healing fine, but a wonderfully intentioned man cleaned what he thought was food from Kian's lip and inadvertently scraped the scab off. Not good, its looking like a scar but it will hopefully go away with time. All things do.

To Bend and Back

Last year we took 3-weeks, but this year we only had 1 to get away in the Tortuga before school, work, cyclocross racing, daycare, all kicked in and Fall gets down to its dirty business. Instead of heading North as we are so want to do these days, we went straight into the eye of the sunshine -- the nearest reliable sunshine that we could find on the Doppler radar in the entire Northwest: Central Oregon.

Day 1 was to be Daddy's day. All summer I've been wanting to hit the roads around Mt Rainier National Park to find out how many vertical feet that I could log in the fewest horizontal miles. I once climbed 18,000' during a 100-mile mountain bike race and so I've set a goal, perhaps a bit naive, of 20,000' on a road bike, but according to my calculations this just isn't possible on paved roads this side of the Bramaputra and that side of the Indus (but its debatable whether or not the roads in the Himalaya region can be called paved). Roads just aren't steep enough. Anyway, after a grueling 88-miles in which sunlight and my energy faded at just the same time, I had only climbed a measly 11,100'. Twice up Sunrise, Cayuse and Chinook, then up Paradise via Stephens Canyon. I'll try again another time and I'll pace myself a little more wisely next time. Starting before noon would be a good thing too, especially during the waning daylight hours of September.

Day 2 was Annies, although it didn't quite turn out as planned. We got to Smith Rock by midday but due to the intense sun and heat, and Kian requiring a nap, Annie had to rely on the graciousness of other climbers rather than me to belay her. She set off for about 4 hours on her own in which she managed to hook up on a couple cool climbs, although not quite satisfied since there were ones that she had already done in years past. We'd hoped to spend more time at Smithie, but Kian decided that we should head to Bend because Day 3 was his day.

The rest of our trip was shared pretty equally although we spent a good portion of our time playing with Kian in various parks. He was all about his Big Bike and logged a ton of miles. Here's a few pics of our trip.

Hanging out near Smith Rock.

Another park, another great day.

Sunset from Paradise, Mt Rainier.

Monanah Dreamin

Great shot! Aunt Jojee snapped this one while Kian was staying with them up in Snoqualmie for a night. Looks like the motorcycle got the best of the little guy.

This was a few days ago, pre-bike crash.

Yeah, the kid went down hard yesterday and he's not looking nearly as cute or sweet right now, unfortunately -- his face took the brunt of the fall and his lip, nose and forehead are all scraped up. We were 3-4 hours in the local ER. He was brave, I was not. Today he's been cute as ever and playing nicely... he's moving on. So don't worry, all is well. I'll post a pic when I can capture something that doesn't make him out to look like a total monster.

Choo Chooin' Seattle

Grammy and Papa Reid came to stay with us one perfect day in Seattle and we took Kian into town. Downtown, that is. The only way the day might have been more perfect for Kian was had we shuttled to the train on a motorcycle.

We caught the train here, just down at 4th and Jackson, which put us right
into the tunnel and only a 15-minute wait between trains.

The other train ride: Monorail!

Last stop: After lunch at Westlake Center was the Seattle Center
fountain, amazing! Kian and I dropped down in for a run around.

Fountain, you will soon be mine, prepare to meet your greatest challenge.

Blue Day, Zoo Day

Yeah, what a morning. Just the kind of weekday without work that we were looking for to hit the zoo. Apparently the rest of Seattle was waiting for a Monday too because every new and expecting mother in Seattle was there -- I've never seen so many prego women in my life. The zoo used to be a 5-min bike ride from home but now its 35-mins which just means more bike time for me. The entire ride over Kian pointed out every motorcycle, scooter and bicycle that we passed whether it was moving or parked.


Unhooked Chitty-chitty from the bike which we then locked outside, changed my riding shoes to running shoes, flipped down the stroller wheels and we were off, running, cutting, dodging through the zoo. We started with the farm animals this time and got to smell the pigs the goats the chickens and the rabbits before heading counterclockwise past the flamingos, spiders bugs and snakes, the espresso stand for a quick shot, then we caught the feeding frenzy of the penguins before diving into the tropics to see ocelots, monkeys, colorful birds, turtles, where we sat and ate lunch then took a right turn into the meerkat bat and two-toed sloth pavillion which was near the jungle domain of the giraffes, elephants, orangutangs, wildebeasts, tapirs and then finally the south gate of the zoo where we reconverted into a bicycle to head back home for nap time. No crib necessary: Kian was out in the first mile and slept despite all the bumps and turns, and I got to carry him up the stairs to his bed with only a few mumbles and squeaks of protest. Putty.

Scootin'

For his 2nd birthday Kian scored big. Train set, play table, tons of hipster clothes, cool rubber boots, and a new bike... yeah, he's catching up to daddy and now has three bikes (trike, 12" wheel bike and his new scoot). The first few days he was a little tentative on the new bike because its a balance bike, the latest new thing for kids getting into bikes: the idea is that without pedals they learn to balance and glide first. I tried taking the drive-train off his "fatboy" (the bike that I bought for Kian's cousin Reid 10-years) so that he could use it as a scoot, but the stand-over height was too much so I broke down when I saw the lines on this 2011 model Specialized Hotwalk. Pretty racy.

After about a week he started coasting on his own and now he's a little daredevil, rippin around. Last week we took him over to Greenlake and he got so daring he accidentally rode right into the kiddie wading pool: it shook him up for a few minutes but we dried him off and he was right back at it.

Scootin' around at Greenlake.

Daddy's turn to scoot, so hang on!

If only daddy had some cool red shoes too.

Thanks, Oma!

After over 2-months of living with us this summer, Oma finally had to go back home to Flagstaff and now our guest room is strangely empty. Kian still calls out "Oma, Oma" every day, and now its way busier and crazier around here. When Carol was here things got done and Kian was always entertained. Now dishes pile up. Kian doesn't always have a playmate. Things just don't always get done. Something has got to give when there is too much to do and too few people to do it.

Even after all my 3rd world travels where extended families living under one roof was the norm, I wasn't sure that I could actually handle it, but now I'm pretty sure. Its hard at times, no doubt, but once you get over that excessive and unreasonable sense of space and privacy that we Americans have you realize what an amazing gift it is to be so close to family. Its best for the youngest and the oldest of us, and so it must be the selfish middle-aged of us who guards that sense of space.

On Thursday morning after we drove Carol to the airport, Kian and I did some airplane chasing. We found a park near the end of the runway and watched 30-minutes of airplanes taking off as we sat on the warm hood of the car. Kian kept saying, "more airplane", and they did at a rate of almost 2 per minute.

Oma, we miss you, thanks for everything!

Oma, Don't Go

So, on Oma's full final day with us, Kian and I took her out to breakfast and for a stroll around Pike Place Market hoping to lure her into staying longer. Surely after seeing the bounty of Seattle and experiencing the vibrant lifestyle she would postpone that flight. Oh yeah, she was here for most of June and so she wouldn't be fooled: drat the weather.

Kian appointed himself guide: I think its this way.

Oma, here's where they give out free money in open guitar cases and
large jars and they always serenade you to it with live music.

These critters make the most deliciousest Seattle Benedict.

Breakfast at Lowell's.

I'll have mine sunny side up, please, coffee black.

Hey Kian, can you show us his snout?

No, not his, the piggies!

And what a fine snout it is!

**Oma is German for Grandma.