New Family Member

We picked up a new family member this weekend. He is 7 weeks old and is a black little ball of fuzz, energy and cuteness. Check him out:

Checking out dad and the new digs

He eats a lot

And sleeps a lot

And chews a lot

And sleeps some more

Lander is in love with him. We first saw the puppies about 4 weeks ago and decided then and there that we wanted one. We were so impressed with the mom and his litter mates, they are great dogs and we were really impressed with the breeders Kirk and Laura Lillebo. We have hardly been able to contain ourselves in anticipation of the arrival of our new family member. He is an absolute doll and we love him tons.

We had been undecided on a name for quite a while. We knew we were getting a boy, but we couldn't reach an agreement as to what his name should be. With a few names in mind we decided to take him home and see what name fit him best (kind of what we did with Lander). Last night on the way home (it was a 1.5 hour drive from picking him up) we hit a huge thunderstorm that created a lot of havoc around the Portland/Vancouver area. He slept through all of it. One of the names that we liked was Stormy and we figured that the thunderstorm was a pretty interesting coincidence. So, Stormy it is. Plus, we live in the Northwest where it's always "Stormy".

Here's a cute video of him when we got him home and perked up. He likes to stalk his toys before he fetches them. Good boy!

De-Motivation

I am not sure how or why it happened, but it has been an absolute struggle to motivate myself to blog. Usually I look forward to posting, but it has seemed like more of a job than something fun I enjoy doing. It probably has something to do with a) the weather that totally sucks, b) bike racing season is in full force, c) Lander has begun another round of swim lessons for the summer and d) landscaping the yard.

Today was the first day that I seriously considered selling my house and moving someplace that isn't 50 degrees and rainy right now. Last weekend was so completely awesome. It was nice to wake up and only have to concern myself with what SPF of suncreen I am going to wear when I ride. Now it's back to the rainy, drizzly crap that I am so, so tired of!

The racing season has been slow to start for me. Since we can't race at the velodrome when it rains (the track has 43.5 degree banking and is like a sheet of ice when wet) it makes it really difficult to get any training races in. The annual Eric Kautzky Memorial track race got rained out after only one race of three. I did manage to make it onto the podium even though we only did one race so it was a good day. We raced a Miss and Out which is a fun race, but not a race that I do very well in because it is so short. Basically you ride a few laps and then they start pulling the last rider across the start/finish on every lap until the last two are left to duke it out for the win. There is a lot of jockeying for position at the front as people try not to get pulled. I lucked out and ended up third from the front when Andrea attacked. A lap or so later there was a crash behind me and Heather attacked, then I attacked and Jen and I got off. I knew I was hosed as Jen is one of the best sprinters I know and she and I were left to duke it out for the win. Yeah, that didn't go so well for me. So, I got 2nd, which is the 1st loser right?

L to R: Me, Jen, Heather
Moments before this picture was taken Heather showed us the proper podium posing technique to make our quads look super-sized (yeah, like I need help doing that)

So, here are some other random pictures of the last few weeks that I took when it wasn't raining (miracle, I know):

Mother's Day gift: Bike tools and Gerber Daisies. I couldn't be happier!

Mid-morning visitors, a rare sight during the day. They ate all the dandelions.

Boulders arriving for landscaping

Lander playing king of the hill on the dirt piles

Post rain fun

Sunset with moon

Lucky Number Seven

Lander turned 7 this week and we had a lot of fun celebrating with him.

Decisions, decisions. Which one do I open first?

Landers party with his friends was held at Big Al's. They went bowling, ate pizza, drank way too much pop, had cake and opened presents. Honestly, watching kids bowl is so hilarious. Check out the great technique Lander has:

Lander in his pirates mask (upside down) at his pirate party with his friends

Chowing down after bowling

Ready to make a wish

Opening gifts with friends (complete with Miles picking his butt for the camera)