A-Mazing Girls

On a pleasant Saturday afternoon, four friends(Lexie, Alisha, Ashley, and Katie) from Troop 39 went to a corn maze. They were accompanied by Katrianna, Madeline, Penny, and Christina. We realized soon that it was not corn, but it was milo and it was very tall. The maze was large and it took us an hour and a half to make it through. During about half of the maze we were using the map to find the shortest route as Katrianna and Chrissy were tired. There were many other activites also and the girls were all busy until it was time to find some grub and head for home. We rode in a horse drawn wagon and milked a "cow". It was a beautiful day and we were able to take some great fall pictures.

Homecoming

Here are some pictures from Homecoming. More will be posted later.

Katie's first lost tooth!

You realize that your baby is really growing up when they loose their baby teeth. Katrianna lost her first tooth at school on Sept. 18. She was so excited! We put it in the tooth fairy box under her pillow. I asked her if she hoped the tooth fairy would leave her tooth and money and she didn't think the fairy would, but hope that she would. The next morning, there were two gold dollars in the box and her tooth! She has another one that is loose so soon it may be difficult to eat.

Friday night Sept. 19 the girls participated in the mini cheer clinic at the football game. Here are pictures of the girls and their friends.

School begins again-too soon!

Summer went too fast this year and now it is time to begin another school year. Here are first day of school pictures.

Madeline is beginning her Sophomore year at Emporia High School.

(i can't find her picture)

Lexie is beginning 6th grade at Lowther North Intermediate School.

Katrianna is beginning Kindergarten at Walnut Elementary School.

Dad is required to have his picture also as he leaves for Emporia Middle School!

Let the Craziness of the school year begin!

I am so proud!

James easily finished the BAK on Saturday June 14 in Atchison KS. He rode an estimated 500 miles in 7 days and loved every minute of it. Every year they choose three people to award the Spirit of BAK title. Unexpectedly, James was one of the three. People had noticed his positive attitude and willingness to help others throughout the week. He was very surprised to receive this award. The cool part is that the award comes with free registration for next year's BAK! So I guess we will definitely be doing this again. I am so proud that he acheived his goal. Two years ago I was watching him struggling on crutches and wondered how well his mobility would be in the future. Bicycling has given him back leg movement that we were not expecting. Now we just have to plan for next year's route!

Riders from Emporia

Spirit of BAK Award

BAK Part 3 Pictures

On June 12th, James biked on to Sabetha - 71 miles down Hwy 36. There are three total days of biking left and this is the longest of the three. I guess you could say it is all down hill from here. It was a good day to ride with clear skies and sun.

BAK Part 3

Today was Beloit to Washington - 84miles! It was a long day with winds gusting to 35miles. "It was windy, it was hilly, it was LONG, but to quote someone else, ' I am a bicyclist, I don't walk.' I rode the whole mileage. It wasn't particularly stylistic, but I made it. That's all, nothing else."

Tonight we are taking James back to Belleville as the weather has forced all riders to stay inside the school for the night. Driving him back to Belleville will free up some space and give him a quieter place to sleep and a real bed!

The girls and I had a fun day with Stacia and Hayley. We went to Concordia to the Huckleberry Tea House for lunch. The girls dressed up with fancy hats, gloves, and feather boas. We enjoyed sandwiches and tea. The girls bought little tea cups to have a tea party when we got back to Stacia's. I will try to post the pictures of our lunch later. The little girls picked out the fancy attire for all of us.

Tomorrow James goes on to Sabetha. Only three more days till the Missouri line! The girls and I are not sure what our plans will be. I guess I will update later what we end up doing.

BAK Part 2 Pictures

BAK Part 2

So we have been to Norton and Smith Center and are on to Beloit. The trek is going very well. We stopped at the Prairie State Park near Norton to look for a Geocache. We found the first cache but were not able to find the second. Alltogether we have found 3 geocaches.

The girls had a good time visiting with grandma and grandpa and playing with their cousin Chase. Smith Center has monster Mosquitos. Lexie is polka dot even with bug spray on. They had the opportunity to swim and have homemade ice cream.

James had a strenous ride from Norton to SC but decided that wasn't enough - he wanted to complete a Century ride. That means a total of 100 miles. So James and a father/son duo rode to the Geographical Center and back. They debated going on to the Nebraska line but that was a little too far without water support. I can't even imagine riding that many miles! James says the SAG supports all along the way help make the time go by. Many of them dress up as different characters.

Today the ride was a few less miles (55) but more difficult as there was a strong South wind to head straight into for half of it. Then it was a side wind for the rest. Generally he is averaging 15 - 20mph but today was closer to 6-8mph.

Tomorrow is on to Washington. Tonight the girls and I are staying in Belleville with my best friend from high school in her new house! I am having trouble posting pictures so I will try to post later.

BAK Part 1

Bike Across Kansas has officially begun! By Saturday June 14th, James will have biked 470 miles across Kansas and the rest of us will have put that many or probably more on the van.





We began Friday night in St Francis Ks when James rode from the Colorado line to St Francis. Lexie also rode with him for the first three miles. She wasn't really prepared to ride and it was starting to get dark or she may have ridden farther.











The girls and I found a unique General Store that had everything you could want and then we went to see some nature sights such as the Arikee Breaks and we went to the Colorado/Nebraska/Kansas corner. That was a trip full of cows! The last picture shows the girls each in a different state. Madeline is in Colorado, Lexie is in Nebraska, and Katie is in Kansas.






Saturday morning James left St Francis and rode the 43 miles to Atwood. There were many places to stop to eat and rest. Lunch was at Bird City at 10:30am. It was a beautiful day to ride!





Each SAG(Support And Gear) crew were unique and made the trip fun. Tomorrow on to Norton - 61 miles down the road. Lets hope for good weather and less wind!