Not me. Scot.
It's been at least a year or so since major change swept through our household, so we were due. Scot has been applying for full time positions at the Guard base for the last several years, only to come in shy of first due mostly to higher ranking individuals edging him out for one reason or another. So, recently one of the Colonels at the base encouraged him to apply to a job outside the Guard base - a joint planning position between the Air and Army Guard in MN. Lo and behold, he ended up number one this time! He found out the news just as I was heading out the door for the MS150 and I pleaded with him to ask if he could think about the decision over the weekend and give an answer on Monday. After much lengthy discussion on Sunday (there's nothing quite like riding a bike 150 miles, coming home, taking a bath, and then talking for a few hours to make a major life decision) - there were about an equal number of pros and cons - we decided to go for it.
He started on Monday and has liked it well enough to go back on Tuesday and Wednesday. This is a pretty big deal for him - he hasn't worked with any real job security or steadiness since he quit Champion Air in 2008. He has been able to piece together contract 9-5 type work for much of the last 3 years in addition to his flying, but it has never been anything we could depend on. He hasn't started at a new "company" since 2000 when we moved back to Minnesota after 3 years of living in Michigan. The job is located in downtown St. Paul, so it's a nice 15 minute commute for him. His wardrobe has expanded a little from his usual "jumper", as I like to call it. He wears his Air Force blues on Mondays and any combination of fatigues or his flightsuit the rest of the days. He was busily buying more uniforms last week, getting them tailored, and all of the rank sewn on.
So...congrats to Scot! We're hoping this ultimately is a good fit for our family and a new challenge that he enjoys. Time will tell!
Wednesday, June 22, 2011
Monday, June 20, 2011
New Daycare
So, the girls have one week checked off at the new daycare and I think we can call it a success! Ava is part of the school-age classroom, which has 24 kids for the summer doing more or less a "camp". They have a few scheduled field trips each week, water days on Thursdays (running around in sprinklers and such), and lots of other activities with which to keep them busy! She is really having a great time so far, I think she thrives on being with kids her own age and older. Last Friday, they even had a sleep over at the center! We dropped her off at 7pm and picked her up at 8 the next morning. She had a blast, playing games and watching movies, sleeping in a sleeping bag, all sorts of fun stuff. The director has emailed me a few pictures throughout the week already and sends out a weekly email with all of the upcoming activities so we are in the know. This week they are headed out to a DJ dance party on Wednesday in Bloomington (ha!) and Crystal Caves on Thursday. The other night she told me, "Mom, you really did a good job picking out the new daycare." Aww...that was music to my ears because I really did fret over the decision.
Reese is having a good time too - she is in the youngest preschool room and was happily dropped off every day...until Friday. All of the stimulation of the center has made for one tired little two year old, so she was just absolutely beat by the week's end. That morning, she screamed and kicked and cried from the time we started putting on shoes until the time we got to the center (about 5 minutes). Reese's screaming intensified while we were in the car, which caused Ava to start crying and yelling, "I want to talk!" It also kind of sounded like she was saying, "I want a dog!" which I found equally amusing. At one point, Reese somehow wrangled her arms out of her carseat straps, to which Ava exclaimed, "Mom, Reese is going to die!" Reese didn't stop crying after we got out of the car, or after we dropped Ava off at her room, or when we made it to her room. Fun stuff! Finally, one of the teachers just asked me if she could take Reese. I agreed. If I hadn't been so exhausted by it all, I would have been pretty broken up about it. I called later and she calmed down a few minutes after I left and went on to have a fun day. Hopefully she'll get more used to the activity and also start taking longer naps. She is adjusting to sleeping on a cot while she's there, so her naps have only been about an hour long, which clearly isn't long enough! On Saturday, all 4 of us took 3 hour naps - it was heavenly and very necessary!
Here are a few pictures from last week:
Ava getting her nails painted at the sleepover
Reese, giant gloves & worms
Ava & a friend on the bus to a local nursery to choose plants for their garden
Reese is having a good time too - she is in the youngest preschool room and was happily dropped off every day...until Friday. All of the stimulation of the center has made for one tired little two year old, so she was just absolutely beat by the week's end. That morning, she screamed and kicked and cried from the time we started putting on shoes until the time we got to the center (about 5 minutes). Reese's screaming intensified while we were in the car, which caused Ava to start crying and yelling, "I want to talk!" It also kind of sounded like she was saying, "I want a dog!" which I found equally amusing. At one point, Reese somehow wrangled her arms out of her carseat straps, to which Ava exclaimed, "Mom, Reese is going to die!" Reese didn't stop crying after we got out of the car, or after we dropped Ava off at her room, or when we made it to her room. Fun stuff! Finally, one of the teachers just asked me if she could take Reese. I agreed. If I hadn't been so exhausted by it all, I would have been pretty broken up about it. I called later and she calmed down a few minutes after I left and went on to have a fun day. Hopefully she'll get more used to the activity and also start taking longer naps. She is adjusting to sleeping on a cot while she's there, so her naps have only been about an hour long, which clearly isn't long enough! On Saturday, all 4 of us took 3 hour naps - it was heavenly and very necessary!
Here are a few pictures from last week:
Ava getting her nails painted at the sleepover
Reese, giant gloves & worms
Ava & a friend on the bus to a local nursery to choose plants for their garden
Monday, June 13, 2011
MS150
So...over the weekend I rode my bike 150 miles to raise money for the MS Society (my grand total was $730!) It was an amazing adventure and I am really proud to have finished it.
The event couldn't have been run without hundreds of volunteers and their dedication made it a very organized event. After signing up for it way back in February, it was hard to imagine how all the pieces would fall together, but they did. Everyone who worked so hard to put it together made it pretty brainless for the riders - we just showed up to ride and everything else was taken care of!
Buses were available to depart the Twin Cities starting at 1pm on Friday to make the journey to the starting line - Proctor, MN, which is near Duluth. My friends (Jess, Katie, & Matt) and I decided to meet at 2pm and go from there. We picked up our registration packets and put our race numbers on our bikes and luggage. They had semis to load the bikes on, which were then transported to a large field near the starting line for pickup on Saturday. We kept the luggage with us on the bus. As soon as we got up to Proctor, there were more buses that were shuttling riders to area hotels. We were lucky enough to get a hotel for Friday night (not so lucky on Saturday - more on that later), so we boarded the next bus and checked in at our hotel. By this point we were starving, so we headed out on foot to Canal Park in Duluth to eat at Old Chicago. The walk to and from the restaurant was freezing and we were getting pretty nervous about the temperature for the next day...so when we got back to the hotel we tried to drown our concerns in the hot tub. We were all in bed by about 10:30, in preparation for our alarm to go off at 5:30 (gross).
We were all dressed out of our hotel room in about 15 minutes and then headed down to the lobby. Hopped on another bus to take us back to the starting line - loaded our luggage on another truck - ate breakfast at the high school - found our bikes - and got ready to depart. It was about 7:30 when we headed out across the start. And yep, it was cold indeed - probably about 50 degrees and overcast. And it really didn't warm up all that much throughout the ride on Day 1, we all rode with jackets.
They had designated rest stops about every 12-15 miles and these were great - they had port-a-potties, tons of food, water, gatorade, bike repair tents, everthing we needed. We were generally pretty grateful to get off our bikes and walk around a little bit at these stops - it was a good way to work out the soreness and get a little refreshed to tackle the next stretch. On Day 1 we averaged about 13-14 mph. We were towards the last third of the pack (3500+ riders) due to our late start, a moderate pace, and rest stops. We pulled into Hinckley, MN at about 2:30 or 3 with 75 miles in. It was a great feeling to get there! Most of the ride was a trail lined with trees, which made for great riding (no wind, cars, or potholes).
Once we got there, we dropped off our bikes in a designated area and then went to find our luggage which was set up in another field. Then it was time to set up our tents! Ugh...when we registered for the race 4 months ago, all of the hotels in the area were already booked...which left us with outdoor camping. Suck. But again, most everything else was taken care of - they had a dinner catered by Buca, Medtronic had a tent with snacks, there were food vendors, etc, etc. Oh, and we took showers in a "Shower Truck" which was a new experience for all of us. They had separate semis for men and women, with private shower stalls inside - they were actually really great! We hung out for a few hours and were all ready for bed by about 9:30. The temperature dipped below 40 degrees overnight so it was COLD. Yeah, a hotel would have been nice.
Sunday morning we were up at 5:15...tasked with getting dressed at 41 degrees (shiver!), packing our luggage and our tents. This time we skipped breakfast and headed over to the starting line at about 6:15. It was nice to get on the road earlier with more riders, but holy hell, it was COLD. I had tears in my eyes because my fingertips were numb. That first stretch was about 14 miles and by the end of it, we had finally thawed out for the most part. The sun was out and the temperature was warmer. What a difference that extra hour made! Our friend Katie dropped out of the ride at this point - her knees were hurting and she hadn't trained as much as the rest of us...fortunately they have vans at the ready to transport riders back who aren't feeling well enough to finish. The next 25 miles were actually a lot of fun - we got into a groove of going about 16 mph and at one point were drafting behind a group going about 19 mph. We felt a little more energized being in the first third of the pack, as compared to the day before.
We got to the halfway point at about 10:30, where they were serving lunch. The sun was out, it was about 70 degrees and we were feeling great. The second half was another story. Friend Matt rode with his sister for the rest of the ride, so it was down to just Jess and me. The sun disappeared, the temperature dropped and the headwind was relentless. We averaged about 11-12 mph for the next 2 legs, it was rough! One of these legs was the longest too at about 16 miles, we didn't think we were ever going to make it. Finally we got to Hugo - the last stop before the finish - and that was a big lift. We stayed there for just a few minutes and got back on the bikes again, with new resolve. This time we were back up to 15-17 mph, trying to keep up with 2 guys on road bikes. The last leg wound through mostly residential streets and then we hit the last stretch where we had been warned there was a giant hill. UGH! Giant hill it was, but we made it up...all the way to the parking lot near the finish line. Our friends Craig and Meghan were there to cheer us on, among hundreds of other people. It was very exhilirating to finally finish!
TBD if we'll do it again.
Jess, Katie, Me, Matt
Team Medtronic (we had 36 riders and raised over $27,000!)
Finished!
The event couldn't have been run without hundreds of volunteers and their dedication made it a very organized event. After signing up for it way back in February, it was hard to imagine how all the pieces would fall together, but they did. Everyone who worked so hard to put it together made it pretty brainless for the riders - we just showed up to ride and everything else was taken care of!
Buses were available to depart the Twin Cities starting at 1pm on Friday to make the journey to the starting line - Proctor, MN, which is near Duluth. My friends (Jess, Katie, & Matt) and I decided to meet at 2pm and go from there. We picked up our registration packets and put our race numbers on our bikes and luggage. They had semis to load the bikes on, which were then transported to a large field near the starting line for pickup on Saturday. We kept the luggage with us on the bus. As soon as we got up to Proctor, there were more buses that were shuttling riders to area hotels. We were lucky enough to get a hotel for Friday night (not so lucky on Saturday - more on that later), so we boarded the next bus and checked in at our hotel. By this point we were starving, so we headed out on foot to Canal Park in Duluth to eat at Old Chicago. The walk to and from the restaurant was freezing and we were getting pretty nervous about the temperature for the next day...so when we got back to the hotel we tried to drown our concerns in the hot tub. We were all in bed by about 10:30, in preparation for our alarm to go off at 5:30 (gross).
We were all dressed out of our hotel room in about 15 minutes and then headed down to the lobby. Hopped on another bus to take us back to the starting line - loaded our luggage on another truck - ate breakfast at the high school - found our bikes - and got ready to depart. It was about 7:30 when we headed out across the start. And yep, it was cold indeed - probably about 50 degrees and overcast. And it really didn't warm up all that much throughout the ride on Day 1, we all rode with jackets.
They had designated rest stops about every 12-15 miles and these were great - they had port-a-potties, tons of food, water, gatorade, bike repair tents, everthing we needed. We were generally pretty grateful to get off our bikes and walk around a little bit at these stops - it was a good way to work out the soreness and get a little refreshed to tackle the next stretch. On Day 1 we averaged about 13-14 mph. We were towards the last third of the pack (3500+ riders) due to our late start, a moderate pace, and rest stops. We pulled into Hinckley, MN at about 2:30 or 3 with 75 miles in. It was a great feeling to get there! Most of the ride was a trail lined with trees, which made for great riding (no wind, cars, or potholes).
Once we got there, we dropped off our bikes in a designated area and then went to find our luggage which was set up in another field. Then it was time to set up our tents! Ugh...when we registered for the race 4 months ago, all of the hotels in the area were already booked...which left us with outdoor camping. Suck. But again, most everything else was taken care of - they had a dinner catered by Buca, Medtronic had a tent with snacks, there were food vendors, etc, etc. Oh, and we took showers in a "Shower Truck" which was a new experience for all of us. They had separate semis for men and women, with private shower stalls inside - they were actually really great! We hung out for a few hours and were all ready for bed by about 9:30. The temperature dipped below 40 degrees overnight so it was COLD. Yeah, a hotel would have been nice.
Sunday morning we were up at 5:15...tasked with getting dressed at 41 degrees (shiver!), packing our luggage and our tents. This time we skipped breakfast and headed over to the starting line at about 6:15. It was nice to get on the road earlier with more riders, but holy hell, it was COLD. I had tears in my eyes because my fingertips were numb. That first stretch was about 14 miles and by the end of it, we had finally thawed out for the most part. The sun was out and the temperature was warmer. What a difference that extra hour made! Our friend Katie dropped out of the ride at this point - her knees were hurting and she hadn't trained as much as the rest of us...fortunately they have vans at the ready to transport riders back who aren't feeling well enough to finish. The next 25 miles were actually a lot of fun - we got into a groove of going about 16 mph and at one point were drafting behind a group going about 19 mph. We felt a little more energized being in the first third of the pack, as compared to the day before.
We got to the halfway point at about 10:30, where they were serving lunch. The sun was out, it was about 70 degrees and we were feeling great. The second half was another story. Friend Matt rode with his sister for the rest of the ride, so it was down to just Jess and me. The sun disappeared, the temperature dropped and the headwind was relentless. We averaged about 11-12 mph for the next 2 legs, it was rough! One of these legs was the longest too at about 16 miles, we didn't think we were ever going to make it. Finally we got to Hugo - the last stop before the finish - and that was a big lift. We stayed there for just a few minutes and got back on the bikes again, with new resolve. This time we were back up to 15-17 mph, trying to keep up with 2 guys on road bikes. The last leg wound through mostly residential streets and then we hit the last stretch where we had been warned there was a giant hill. UGH! Giant hill it was, but we made it up...all the way to the parking lot near the finish line. Our friends Craig and Meghan were there to cheer us on, among hundreds of other people. It was very exhilirating to finally finish!
TBD if we'll do it again.
Jess, Katie, Me, Matt
Team Medtronic (we had 36 riders and raised over $27,000!)
Finished!
Thursday, June 09, 2011
The end of an era
So we have been using Vicki - the same home daycare since Ava was 12 weeks old...and tomorrow is our last day! (Ava's was actually last Friday, Reeese has been there an extra week). We had to switch because they live in a different school district than we do and so transportation was going to be an issue for the fall. I'm writing a thank you card right now and getting choked up. This woman has spent more time with my kids than anyone, including me. Wow. We are moving the girls to a daycare center close to our house, which I'm excited about (except for the cost!) because I think in many ways Ava especially had outgrown the home daycare. But wow, talk about an end of an era - I can't believe we won't see them every day anymore.
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