I finally have a chance to catch my breath

I think things have calmed down a bit finally.

We got home really early Wednesday, which threw things off for most of the day. Thursday morning we finally went in and got a new family picture and LMS's 3 year pictures done (which turned out good). Then in the evening, we drove up to the mountains with my parents, two sisters, and youngest brother for a camping/biking trip.

We camped Thursday night, drove a little further in the morning and started our bike ride. Last summer, my brother started his cycling merit badge and got everything done except for the 50 mile ride. No other scouts were interested in doing it with him, so we all volunteered. The plan was for mom and dad to drive the cars while the rest of us rode our bikes.

We've all driven this route many times, and seen the trails, and thought they went the whole way. Turns out, they don't. There were short lengths of bike paths interspersed with long distances on a highway, with cars and trucks zipping past. I started out towing LMS, but had to hitch a ride after 12 and a half miles. The combination of: forgetting to use my inhaler before starting, lots of crud blowing in the wind, a really stiff headwind, towing LMS in the trailer, and lots of traffic whizzing by was just too much. My lungs were not feeling good at all (and I was feeling a bit nauseous and headachy- a bit of altitude sickness maybe?), and I did not feel good about towing LMS on the road (or even just myself).

picture taken while I was riding (not safe, I know) of the nice trail at the end.

So LMS ended up riding in the car the rest of the way, and I rode too till we joined up with the 'real' bike trail that runs along the freeway. At that point, I got back on my bike and did the last 16 or so miles. That portion was really nice: fairly level, shady, well separated from traffic, and scenic. We've all decided that part is worth doing again, but not the rest. Everyone else did manage to finish the ride (it ended up being 54 miles), but there is a lot of soreness.

view of the canyon from the trail (also taken while riding)- beautiful!

We got back pretty late Friday night and slept in again on Saturday. Mr. M ended up helping his dad with some cement, and they took us to dinner afterwards. When we finally got home, we still had to dig out Mr. M's army gear and pack his bags.

Today after church we finalized the packing, had dinner quick, then headed out to the airport. Mr. M has a week of make-up drills and then two weeks of training out of the country. And the end of the two classes he's taking coincides with his return, which means he'll be very busy finishing papers and trying to get them turned in on time.

LMS and I returned home and she finally (after 3 weeks!) got to bed on time. Now that we're home and settled, my main goal is for her to get caught up on her sleep and back on her normal sleep schedule.

Reading books. I thought the outfit was cute- Army P.T.s and a flower headband!