A Little Racin' and a Little Bakin'

After a wild week at school during Homecoming week, it was nice to get back to our usual route. On Saturday Ellie raced at the Valmont Bike Park in Boulder. The kids had a wonderful time at the park when it was still just rural land. It was something to see how it has has been developed. It is a fine place for a ride, whether you ride cyclocross, mountain or BMX.

I hope that these photos show the beauty of the day.

Ellie had hoped to find mud since we had a lot of rain of late. She also hoped for rain last night, but it did not come. Instead we were greeted by the mountains lit up like they were on a stage.

Ellie was her entire category today. She had fun and set in for a good run with the boys. I love the brief fall weather we have here. It put me in the mood to do a bit of baking on Friday night. Here's what I made: Pumpkin-Walnut Focaccia with Gruyère 3/4 cup warm water (100° to 110°) 1/3 cup packed brown sugar 1 package dry yeast (about 2 1/4 teaspoons) 3 1/2 cups bread flour, divided 3 tablespoons butter, melted 1 cup canned pumpkin 1 teaspoon salt 1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg 3/4 cup (3 ounces) grated Gruyère cheese, divided 1 teaspoon cornmeal 1/3 cup coarsely chopped walnuts 2 teaspoons pumpkin seeds Directions: In a large bowl, combine water, sugar, and yeast; let stand 5 minutes. Add 1 cup flour and butter to yeast mixture; stir just until combined. Cover with plastic wrap and let rise in a warm place, free from drafts, 30 minutes. Add pumpkin, salt, and nutmeg to flour mixture; stir until combined. Add 2 1/4 cups flour and half of cheese; stir until a soft dough forms. Turn dough out onto a floured surface. Knead until smooth and elastic (about 8 minutes); add enough of remaining 1/4 cup flour to prevent dough from sticking to hands. Place dough in a large bowl coated with cooking spray, turning to coat. Cover with plastic wrap and let rise in a warm place, free from drafts, 1 hour or until doubled in size. Punch dough down; cover and let rest 5 minutes. Divide dough in half; shape each half into an 8-inch circle. Place dough circles on a baking sheet sprinkled with cornmeal. Sprinkle remaining cheese, nuts and pumpkin seeds evenly over dough circles; press lightly to adhere. Lightly coat dough circles with cooking spray; cover and let rise 20 minutes. Preheat oven to 400°. Uncover dough; bake at 400° for 28-30 minutes or until loaves are browned on the bottom and cheese melts. Cool on a wire rack. Yields: 2-8inch rounds, 8 servings per round Source: Cooking Light, October 2005

T.V. is not really our thing. Larr and I did not want our kids to grow up being glued to the tube and scheduling their lives around television shows. We don't have cable, but we do the the internet and we love Netflix, as well as Hulu. We love that we can watch the shows we like on our own time and by our own schedule.

This summer Ellie and I enjoyed all of the episodes of "Pushing Daisies." Those shows had great color, design and wit. They series run was cut short by the writer's strike in about 2009. We were disappointed when we ran out of shows to watch. That led us to look for more sort of witty, cerebral comedies. "Dead Like Me" answered that call. Ellie and sit together and watch it from time to time. It is a way to simply spend time together. I like it much better than the many and varied reality shows that are so available one the television. Ethan has been hooked, too. Sadly, it too had only two seasons. Who knows where our hunt for good shows will lead us to next.

How to Host an 18th Birthday Party and A Hot Start to Cryclocross Season

This past Saturday we hosted a birthday party for Ethan and about 30 of his closest friends. It was a good mix. We had kids here from 14 to about 25 years of age. That meant that we needed a lot of food.

Here's what you need for a party like ours: * 36 bottles of Coke (Mexican Coke, if you can get your hands on it. Being made with real sugar instead of high fructose corn syrup, it tastes better and is less bad for you.) * 12 cans of Doctor Pepper * 24 bottles of Water * 6 batches of Rice Crispy Treats ( regular straight up RCT, RCT with sprinkles and small candy mixed in and Cocoa Pebbles RCT. These take the place of cake - what kid doesn't love those? * 45 Hot Dogs * 50 Hot Dog Buns * 5# Chili (Hormel is best) * 5# Nacho Cheese * 4 Family Size Bags of Chips (Lays Regular, Lays Sour Cream andChives, Doritos, and BBQ chips) * 2 bags Tortilla Chips * Ketsup * Mustard * Relish * 1 bag of M & Ms Here's what you do to have fun: * Talk * Eat * Hook up computer speakers and play music from your Ipod * Take the pop bottles out of the steel tub that holds some of the drinks and have a contest to see who can hold their breath while their head is submerged in ice water for the longest (very popular - go figure!) * Do a handstand, have a buddy hold up your legs and dunk the top of your head in previously mentioned ice water (really now...) * Take off your shirts and compare muscles (guys only. Girls shake their heads and walk away) * Many rounds of arm wrestling * Climb the rope tied to the swing in the tree (best if done without your shirt on, again, guys only) * Longboard/Skateboard in the street in front of the house (taking turns nicely, of course) * Suck helium out of the ballons and talk funny * Eat more * Talk more * Play "Rock Band" * Take the very large excerise ball, have one person hold it and have another person playing. Have them run into each other and see who is still standing, or is withou an injured forehead * Have a fire in the fire pit * Relax * Eat more * Chat * Have some of them stay the night. The others go home pretty late into the evening. * Be okay, happy actually, that various groups of friends form smaller groups and enjoy each other's company. Being happy that everyone seems to have found good people to hang out with. If you are the birthday boy then you rotate through, making sure to spend time with everyone. * Stay up really late, trying to be not too loud The next morning Ellie had her first race of the cyclocross season.

She never wants to miss a chance to hang out with her cycling friends.

She started to feel sick during the race, even puking a bit in the second lap, but she kept on and finished the race.

She won an alien head light for her bike. It has eyes that flash read. She thinks it is cool! After the race we went home and she slept until it was time to go to cotillion. This season she is a cotillion junior teaching assistant and she thinks that is pretty cool.

The 9/11 Memorial Special Event at Arvada High School

On Friday the school where I teach put on a special 9/11 Remembrance event. One of the people killed in the 9/11 attack was a graduate of our school. He was a 29 year old father of two sweet boys when he was killed. In an effort to keep his memory alive and positive, they put together a scholarship fund. So far four students have received some of those monies. A number of dignitaries were present. The most riveting part of the event was the guest speaker, a fire fighter that survived his rescue efforts. This is considerable considering that 343 of his fellow fight fighters perished trying to help others. His was a story with pictures, facts and stories. He had many interesting things to share. Here are a few of the more unusual things he told us about: The first person to respond in a fighter fighter's uniform was a New York chaplain. He was the first person to die in the first tower. His was also the first whole body recovered. The fire fighters present were sure that has was sent by God to help shephard others through the awful attack. Of the 2,819 people who died in the attack of the World Trade Center, only 174 were found whole. * Body parts were found as far as seven miles away. * At first rescue dogs were brought in. These dogs are trained to find live people. They became depressed, just like those who were working to rescue people. The dogs would shut down emotionally from the sadness and despair of it. The fire fighters kept up the dogs' spirits by hiding and having the dogs find them. This helped to keep them working. * Later the dogs trained to find corpses were brought in. They suffered similar depression, though this time there was no easy fix. Parts of the planes were found up to a few miles away. Those photos were a bit alarming since I had not expected to see them. The kids seemed to be really impacted by the stories the fire fighter shared. It is their hope, and mine, that this very personal, touching story will help this generation of students (who were just 4-7 years old when the e attacks happened) understand the importance of acceptance and the sacrifices, and successes we as a nation have endured as a result of the attacks. (more to come, maybe)

...And Suddenly, Just LIke That, It is Fall!

Fall arrived this weekend, as if she had boarded a train and showed up on my doorstep just in time. I love... ... The symphony of crickets that at times get so loud that you can hear them clearly through a closed window. ... The gentle, cool breeze that comes through my window at night. ... That is is cool enough at night to need the comfort of a blanket. I like sleeping in a cool room. ... That the sun comes up at the same time I do most mornings. ... The dappled pattern of sunlight that comes through the leaves that is the first thing I see when I awake up at a leisurely hour. ... Being able to snuggle with my husband and not have him get too hot since I am a human heater. ... Having enough morning light to be able to watch my husband sleep on some mornings when we are not in a hurry to get ready for work. ... How my kids enjoy the company of each other, even when it is loud, silly and pesty. ... How the cats light to sleep on the edge of my sewing table or on the extra chair in my craft room as I sew and make things. ... Being at home when each of us is content with our personal activities, but still feeling connected by proximity. ... Having some time to do a bit of creating. This weekend that has involved a lot of ironing, measuring, cutting and some sewing. ... my family.

My Boy Turns 18!

It is hard to believe. The last eighteen years have flown by so quickly. I'm so proud or and pleased with the young man he is becoming.

USA Pro Cycling Challenge - Stage 6 Golden to Denver

We knew that the final stage of the USA ProCycling Challenge would be a big one. Starting in Golden and finishing in Denver, it was sure to draw big crowds. And it did, of course

Barb took the kids down to where the finish line would be by 8:00 a.m., even though the racers were not due until around 1:00 p.m. This was very important to the kids. Their efforts paid off with front row seats about 15 yards from the finish. I had school work to do so I did not join them until around 11:00 a.m.

It was an exciting place to be. There was a huge festival. People were giving away free stuff. Each of the kids got shirts for this, the final stage. The crowds gathered and started pushing in about noon. By the time the riders came by the crowds were whipped up into a frenzy. You knew it was time when the offical cars, the state patrols, the wheel cars and the camera crews came through. After treking through Golden, up and down Look Out Mountain and then to downtown, the riders had five laps left to go. By the time they arrived they had split up into four distinct groups with a lag time of about 4:30 between the leaders and the last rider. Each lap it got closer and closer. They whizzed by so quickly that we simply attempted to get some photos. We'd have to actually look to see who they were later on. By the last lap the riders had bunched into three groups and cut the time down significantly. I think they shaved off almost two mintutes. The crowd was thumping, pulsing and cheering. The riders were focused, sweaty and fast.



Even before all of the rider came through the crowds broke down the barriers and headed towards the stage for the podium event.

(to be continued)