Summer can officially begin! We spent our first Friday night of the year at the pool.
Silly Kids!
Halfway There!
Tonight, I am officially halfway to my 2018 mileage goal! I needed 15.2 miles to break 1,000 miles. I hit that on the way home from the CycleX Women’s Ride Wednesday ride. Thanks to all the ladies of WRW for being there to keep me going. You are the best! To my good-looking husband, I beat you to 1,000 miles for what I am sure will be the only time ever. You are going to pass me soon and leave my mileage far behind, but, for now, I shall revel in getting there first. Thanks for helping me get started on this fun journey and I love you! Now, look out 2,000 miles! I am coming for you!
Last Day of School!
It’s the last day of Sixth Grade for Laura and Fourth Grade for John. I cannot believe it! Of course, I took the obligatory last day of school picture.
It was a half day of school for the kids and a half day of work for Andy and me. When John got home, he was excited to show us this. He received the Ameren/UE Spirit and Energy Award at school today! Congratulations John!
Then, it was off for a bike ride to the Big Tree for a picnic to celebrate the last day of school. The kids were super excited to ride their new bikes on the MKT Trail for the first time. What a difference a great bike can make!
We spent about 90 minutes at the Big Tree enjoying a celebration picnic that included summer sausage, cheese, crackers, and fruit with Sparkling White Grape Juice for the kids and a Pinot Grigio for Andy and me.
The weather was absolutely beautiful and it was a great time as a family.
It was a great way to end the school year – on to Seventh Grade and Fifth Grade!
Viking of the Week
Laura finished up the year with the “Viking of the Week” award. Great job, Red!
New Microwave!
Look what was installed when I returned home today! Thanks Andy and John!
Now, to figure out what to do for the backsplash…
Pigtails!
Oh my! What a fun, great day! After picking up our packets, we took our first picture at the start line.
We followed that up with breakfast (bacon!) and began the ride about 8:45 am. We had so much fun! It was lots of riding, great food, interesting sites (as in a buffalo), and lots of laughs with two, great women.
The highlight of the day was the High Trestle Bridge. We did not realize just how long the bridge was when we were here last night. The views were amazing!
We spent probably thirty minutes just taking it all in. We got lots of pictures from all different points of view and stopped to visit the professional photographer on the way back. One of the perks of the ride is free professional photos with your group on the bridge.
After getting all the pictures we wanted, we began our ride back. Our goal for the day was 50 miles and we were just over 27 miles as we left High Trestle Bridge. We took it easy for the next 13 miles. At the halfway point, you could see the rain that was in the forecast was threatening in the distance.
We knew it was time to pick up the pace! We really pushed hard the rest of the way, riding close to 20 mph for several miles. However, our hope to avoid the rain was not to be. We were 1.5 miles from the end when the sky opened up. We just laughed our way back to the car because it was just another adventure in our weekend! We finished the day with 51.4 miles and met our goal! I can say that I will definitely be doing this ride again. I am already looking forward to it.
And, what were the rest of the Kassels doing while I was away? There was no need to worry because they were having fun too. Laura had a birthday party for a good friend and Andy and John spent the evening with the baseball team. It was fun times all around!
