Ricky's 32

(Ride to Troy...here is Rick, and me the little spot in the background)

Up until right now I have upheld my birthday present to Rick...An entire day of Rick oriented activities. This list includes: No driving, a nice long bike ride (42 miles), lots of yard work/play, no company or friends, no cake, lots of chocolate, and a whole lot of family time.
This my friends is the perfect day for my sweet spouse. It even included me NOT blogging about him.
That was yesterday...and so today, I will blog.
Our bike ride to Troy was great fun. It was Oscar's first 42 miler on the trailer bike. This is a pic of him holding up mine and his bike at the turn around point. He was disappointed not being able to ride behind dad.
At one point in the ride, almost to the turn-around, up a hill, and against the wind (which means I'm not moving faster than 10mph). He says to me, "Mom, when I get bigger and can ride a big bike by myself, I'm going to go much faster and farther than you."
To this I reply..."Oscar, then you will know what it means when I say we have a HEAD wind and a hill. It is a bunch of work, not to mention pulling you too."
On the way back he was happy that we had a tail wind, and our speed was significantly increased. I also don't chase down other riders quite like the Daddy. (While we are on the subject, where so those dog like reflexes come from anyway???)

For the sake of honoring the perfect birthday, I will refrain from getting all mushy and telling the whole internet world all of the amazing things about my great husband. I will suffice to say that I married one really great guy and everyday I'm grateful that he decided to marry me. I think we make a great team!
Happy 32 Ricker.

Spring time bliss...

I have neglected documenting the beauty that has suddenly enveloped our yard. In three days over our trip to Seattle my favorite tree in my yard bloomed. We drove into our driveway to the beauty of this pretty dogwood. In mid april it begins to look like it is goign to bloom and yet it keeps holding off until one day it is alive and brilliant in all of it's beauty.
We have spent a great part of our spring re-sculpting our back yard. This is mostly Ricks handiwork. He is the muscle behind the tiller. I merely plant the stuff. I love that is now has morphed into a real garden place. The wooden pathways were the by product of the rotting raised bed.
Most of this brown space you are looking at has since been planted. (To date we currently have planted/growing: tomatoes, peppers, radishes, cucumbers, cabbage, broccoli, cauliflower, peas, chard, beets, basil, assortment of flowers, artichoke, lettuce, spinach, raspberries, strawberries, blueberries(just planted we will see if they work??) , potatoes, garlic, thyme, oregano, pumpkins, lots of winter and summer squash, and dill. I think that is it for now.)
I will post more pictures soon. I love this time of year when everything is green and things are blooming. Life is just better in the spring!

Day 3- Seattle trip

Poppy found the one dress I packed for her...and the daisies outside our Yurt. I couldn't resist the photo.
Last trip to the beach before heading home turned up this slippery thing...anyone know what it is?
More baby crabs...and lots of hermits too.
The boys final stroll through the low tide findings..and then we were off.
Back into down town we stopped at Pikes to bring home some fish. Oscar loved seeing them toss the fish around.
Monday we had the delicious fish...very tasty.
We found this great little Italian shop at the market with the best meal of the whole trip. And the best part was that it was only $15 total. That even included desserts. Who knew??? I say next time we will eat there a bit more often.
After being crowded in tons of people, we bundled up ourselves and drove home.
The trip was wonderful and we really enjoyed the whole experience.
I'm still in shock that We are parents of a 6 year old. He is such a great kid and I'm so proud to be his mom. And that I have such great family to spend time with.
We are very blessed and grateful to live in such a beautiful country!

Day 2- Seattle trip

Day two was a busy fun filled day...play on the beach, two meals of fish and chips, a fountain, Science center, butterfly house, train ride, ferry ride, ice cream, space needle, and a last pit stop at the candy store. What else is there to say but FUN!

Serious catch up...Day 1 May 16 Oscar's Birthday

May 16th, 4am the Edge family embarked on our weekend in Seattle. The kids didn't sleep wink from that moment until late that night. We stopped at the Snoqulamie falls and had some yummy banana/cream cheese sprinkle muffins (with a #6 on top) .
Next stop the original REI. Oscar took on the climbing wall with skills...this is the picture of him hitting the bell at the top of his rope. Meanwhile Daddy picked up some fun walkie talkies, that soon became our fun source of communication throughout the trip.
We ventured down to Pikes Place market, amazing place and yet, I didn't get one photo of the market. Here is the view from the Pier.
We left Downtown to our Yurt at Kyak point, about an hour north of Seattle. We made a quick stop at the Trader Joe's and after a bit of construction, ended up at tour site.
We quickly settled in and made our way down to the beach. We spent the rest of the afternoon exploring the beach.
When Rick picked our Yurt location we were trying to find something a bit secluded. Little did we know that it was quite isolated. To find dinner we had to drive about 10 miles to a small town where we found a little Mexican restaurant for Oscar's Birthday dinner. tasty food and a little hispanic lady who sang oscar happy birthday.
Then back to beddie by in our little yurt. Seriously fun place to sleep and very comfortable.

random weeks photos

4mile run...woohoo! I am now over my self imposed running ban. Abd news is that it still sin;t quite right. But the run was awesome.
Family Photo...posing with the new clothes that grandma and Grandpa Edge sent.
Tuesday the Kids and i went for an indigenous plant hike with the local Master gardeners. It was fun, but I was the only one with kids...Very exciting. We hiked up to Paradise Ridge in Moscow.
Me and the kids at the place we turned around.
Poppy getting a whiff of the pretty flowers..
Sorry the post is so short...but we have had a busy week and we leave for Seattle Tomorrow. I'll post more when I get back.
Happy trails friends.

My boy...like a chicken

While working in the yard yesterday I suddenly noticed that Oscar was prancing around the coop with out his clothes on. He told me his pants got chicken poop on them and that he had to take them off. I asked about his shirt and he said "I wanted to be like a chicken".
This kid kills me!!! Just a year ago I found him in the back frolicking through the mud in nothing but his birthday suit.
I love him soooooo much. I love that he loves being outside. Today he was telling me about all of the things he wanted to plant in "his" garden spot. The list includes "all kinds of vegetables and Mom you need to give me a big garden spot so I can grow a maple tree and a fruit tree. Maybe a pear tree. Or a coconut."
Yeah I'll let ya'll know if we ever grow a coconut tree here in the northwest.
What a great kid!

Super Daddy

Super Dad Saves the Day!

Yesterday while a group of mommies were out doing their annual Mom day ride, Ricky the super dad took on four extra kiddies for the duration of the day(8am-5:30pm).
Not only did he play, feed, nap, and care for them. He made sure that each were tuckered out, tired and down right ready for bed at the end of the day.
Ivy who recently does not like to be out of her mommies presence, was even swooned by his charm and was a good little girl throughout the day.
Poppy was happily covered in dress up clothing, thanks to the helpful Eden. Kellen, Oakley and Oscar all seemed to love going to the swamp and playing outside all day long!
Rick really does have the knack for kids. He knows just what they like, and how to really connect with them. I am do grateful for his loving care and attention that he so freely gave yesterday, so that the other two moms could come along on the ride.
Boy I love this man!!! He's Amazing!

3rd annual Mother's Day Ride

The Mammas Total number of Kids between us all=26
Top Row:Jen(1), Ana(1), Nikki(3), Betina(3), Tera(4)
Bottom Row: Me(2), Kelly(5), Beth(5), Jori (2)& baby Ezra(10 wks old!!! Jori is amazing)

Yesterday us Mamma's embarked on our annual Mother's Day ride. For 60 miles we ride, chat, snack, and soak in all of the beautiful surroundings. In fact this year is probrably the year with the best temperatures. On the way out we had little to no wind, and on the return we had a mild headwind but nothing bad. It was such a great ride!!

Here is a pic of one of the two nesting bald eagles we saw off the side of the trail.

Turn around point! 30 miles out. Ladies stretching and taking a little break.

Here is one of a pair of Moose we also saw off the side of the trail. They just looked up at us and kept on eating.
That is why I love being on a bike. I can be part of nature and just soak it all in without flying by, never really experiencing the beauty around.
Here are a few of the ladies about 9 miles out from the end. Still looking strong and note Beth (in the green shirt) this was her first ride over 10 miles. She was so strong and really such a joy to have on the ride!! I think this may be a bright beginning for her. She's got the makings of a bicycle queen.

Each time we do this ride I find myself in complete awe at the incredibly beautiful world we live in. So often we get wrapped up in the everyday struggle of balancing daily life and world preservation, that we forget to really enjoy what we have. I often wonder what would happen if we were to get every human being on a bike, and have them feel the air through their hair, the sun on their nose, and the confidence that comes from knowing that we each have been given such amazing bodies.
The wonder of the gifts that God has given us are so prevalent when you are experiencing it on a bike. Things slow down, our bodies and minds wonder, and suddenly we are lost in a whole world.
That is just one side of this ride...the other is the whole experience of doing this with other mothers. As we ride we talk about our families, things we are working on, problem solve, encourage, strengthen and come away with a renewed sense of motherhood. Here are a few of the lessons I learned along the trail yesterday:
-Beth's strength reminded me of something I have learned many times before: Our bodies have a much greater capacity to do, than our brains think. We cut our bodies short by setting up a boundary that we think we cannot cross. Yet when we find ourselves at the gate, jump over, we find about ourselves something that we never new existed before. STRENGTH!!
-Resiliency: there are many instances (I won't go into detail) but multiple stories of rebounding growth from tragedy and trials.
-Love: Each woman was just one more example of what it means to love others. All of them beam this radiance of love. They love life, their families, their community, and hold preciously in their lives the interest of others outside of themselves.
-Note to self: Pack your own lunch...the cheese Pizza and burger joint aren't nearly as tasty as a home made PBJ!
I will stop there, but WOW I love this ride and I love these women. Thanks for once again making this ride great!!!
The next post is about the AWESOME daddies who allowed us to escape for the day and made it all possible!!!!