Bryon and the Bike

My husband LOVES biking. He has been a want-to-be enthusiast for years. This year, he talked me into getting him a Trek 2200 for his birthday. This picture isn't Bryon's actual bike but his is just like it. Now I don't know a whole bunch about bikes. My husband and I have really nice mountain bikes sitting in the garage. I don't understand why he needed a different bike when the one in the garage is in perfect condition. It is made for "mountain" biking is his answer. He really wanted a "street" bike. So I learned a little bit more about this bike he so badly wanted. They are super light weight. Also they are used by people that are big into racing. I decide that we will get him one this year. I admit part of my reasoning was a little guilt ridden. Bryon always lets me buy what I want and never once complains yet Bryon never wants for much or even asks for stuff. I am finding out fast that when he does it is BIG items! So going into this whole process, I was thinking if we spent no more than $400 that would be one great bike. I mean come on, you can buy a bike at your local Wal-Mart for $60 so $400 should be more than enough to get a great bike. We watched these bikes on Craigs List and E-Bay. Bryon poured over the internet every night for at least one hour trying to find the perfect bike. Well, the end of May, I bid on this bike on E-Bay and won. I was so excited. I printed off a paper saying I had won, put it in an envelope and had it sitting on Bryon's plate that night saying Happy Birthday and Happy Father's Day. No I didn't get the bike for $400 it was more like $500. Bryon waited anxiously every day for that bike to get here. It finally did. After showing it to a guy in the neighborhood that is into biking, he informed Bryon the shaft or something like that was bent. So Bryon tells me that a used part will be $50 and a new part would be $100. I am already mad. I spent $100 more than I wanted to on that stupid bike and now we have to throw more money into it. My charitable attitude that started me down this whole process is fast fading away. So a trip to the bike shop and $50 later. . . . You would think Bryon would be good to go. NO! Think again! The bike came with special pedals. The ones where you have to have the special biking shoes to put in the pedals. So Bryon did his homework and found a bike shop 30 minutes away that sells biking shoes starting at $60 but going clear up to like $600! I am beginning to wonder if these shoes are gold plated. So Bryon got some birthday money that he decided he wanted to spend on these shoes. I try to tell him that "Starting at $60" means that he probably won't come out with the $60 shoe. It means barebone minimum. It is like a new housing subdivision going in, the ads always say "houses starting at $130,000". However, do you know a single person in that subdivsion that got that $130,000 house?!? NO! Bryon is just sure that he can walk into the store and buy that $60 shoe. Yeah Right! So he called me yesterday after his big purchase: shoes -- $125. That is a long cry from the $60 shoe he went in for and it is also a huge gap from the $50 he had set aside to buy the shoes with. But in the back of my mind I am breathing a sigh of relief because he should be ready to ride: he has the biking shorts, the biking shirt, his helmet, the bike and now the shoes. I should know better than to think that way! He calls me last night. (He happened to go to this town to get his new shoes. Sam had been down hauling hay with his Grandpa Joe. Bryon was going to go get his shoes, go the office where we works part-time, work and then meet up with his parents and Sam for a Bar-B-Que and a Chuckars game.) When he got bought his shoes, he had the guy fix them so Bryon wouldn't have to because Bryon admits he knows nothing about this. The guy mentions to Bryon that he should go on a "test drive" to make sure the shoes are working with the pedals and so forth. Bryon didn't have time to do that, he had to be to work. He loaded his bike back into the car and went to work. After work, he had some time before he had to meet his parents so he went back to the bike shop to test ride his bike in their parking lot. Well, he ended up falling off his bike. The way Bryon explained it to me was he could get one foot out of the pedal but couldn't get the other foot out so he had no way to brace his fall. His legs, arms and hands were all pretty scraped up not to mention he CHIPPED HIS FRONT TOOTH HALF OFF! I tried to be sympathetic but in my mind all I see is more $$$$ we are having to put out for this STUPID BIKE! I said to him just before we hung up the phone, I hope all this money we are throwing into this bike is going to be worth it. Bryon's response is "I think it will be." Now I understand you just fell off your bike and are hurting desperately. However, we are now into that bike $1,000 your response should not be "I think it will". I want to hear, "HECK YEAH HONEY IT'S WORTH EVERY PENNNY!"


When Bryon got home last night from the game, he did look pretty scraped up not to mention with his tooth chipped he looked like a Redneck Biker. His mouth was hurting so bad last night, he ended up going into the dentist last night. (I am trying really hard not to think about the extra fee for the after hours emergency!) He ended up having chipped three teeth off and not one. The dentist is a good friend of ours. He got Bryon mostly fixed up. Bryon has to go back in on Friday for some finishing work. He suggested Bryon take up swimming instead of biking.


Bryon, this whole episode was just to funny not to share. Honey, I really do love you!

Carousel 07-05-08

After swimming at the Splash Park, we went to the Carousel. I had some free tickets and so we let all of the kids ride the carousel once. I think that was a much bigger hit than the Splash Park. Sam's picture isn't posted because his was quite dark.

Splash Park 07-05-08

Saturday, we thought it would be fun to take the kids to the Splash Park. Elliott was really to small and didn't go in. Alice Ann was afraid of the water. Natalie was really the only one that stayed in the whole time and played. She was in heaven. I usually don't take her and Logan when we go to the Splash Park. Logan didn't like it last year and I figure that is a good time for Bryon to stay home and give them naps. Logan did like it better this year. He would go if someone else would go in with him. Sam spent most of his time playing football on the grass with Alice Ann. Conner divided his time between playing football with Sam and Alice Ann and going into the water.

Fourth of July on the Greenbelt

My mom, my sister Alyson, Alyson's kids Eliott and Alice Ann drove up and met us in Idaho Falls. My dad couldn't join us because he was out of town on a pioneer trek. Alyson's husband, Jared, had to stay behind and work.

We met them there about 2:00. We found a great place over by the stake center by the temple. There was a huge tree that we were able to sit under for shade. We usually leave someone there while the ladies go do some shopping. This year we left Bryon, Logan, and Natalie while we took everyone else. We really did quite a bit of shopping. We didn't get back to the Greenbelt until after 5:00. Yes, we did quite a bit of shopping but we also spent some time looking for my mom's lost glasses. When they first got to the greenbelt, she must have had her perscription sunglasses hanging from her shirt. Well she laid down on a blanket and when she got up they were smashed beyond all recognition! Then we went to the mall. We looked at some shirts in Sears. My mom even went into the dressing room and tried a shirt on. We then went to Old Navy. It was at Old Navy, my mom realized she lost her glasses. We went back to Sears and looked all over and couldn't find them. We looked at Old Navy to no avail. We were beginning to think it was a very expensive 4th of July for her. We shopped a little more in the mall. I talked to Sam about Grandma loosing her glasses and how we should say a prayer in our hearts that she can find them. We decided to go check one more time to try to find them. Sam walked right into Old Navy and found them within seconds.

When we got back to the Greenbelt, we ordered pizza for dinner and Bryon went and picked it up and brought it back for us. Once the road was closed on Memorial Drive, we moved out into the road. The kids occupied their time by throwing "pop-its" that their Grandma Roskelley bought for them.

The fireworks display was awesome! We had great seats. I think it truly was one of the best fireworks display we have seen.

I Love A Parade 07-04-08

The Fourth of July is one of my favorite holidays.

This year it was a different feeling as we were sitting along the parade route. Sam wasn't with us because he was dancing in the parade. It was such a strange feeling knowing that I have a child old enough to be in the parade.

We sat near the end of the route. Sam's team was one of the first entries and so that way, Bryon could go get him and they could come back and watch the rest of the parade. It was a little cloudy that day and so we would get some relief from the sun beating down when it went behind a cloud. My friend, Linda, and her girls found us along the route and they came and sat by us.

The parade was fun to watch. You can always measure the success of a parade by how much candy you come away with and my kids got a bunch! Here are a couple of pictures of my patriotic cuties. I am not sure why I don't have one of Conner.

Sam in the Fourth of July Parade 07-04-2008

Sam was in the 4th of July Parade. Janie Fisher called and said there was a shortage of boys and wondered if Sam wanted to do ballroom in the parade. I wasn't quite sure if he would want to or not but when we asked him he was so excited about it. Last week the spent a couple of hours learning their routine and practicing the routine going around the church parking lot. Sam came home so excited. That night he went to the church and helped decorate the float. He kept asking who was going to watch him. I let him know that we would be there and he would probably see people along the route he knew. He wanted so much to have someone come and watch him. We ended up calling my in-laws and they rode up to see Sam in the parade. The day of the parade came, and Sam could hardly wait until it was time to go. I kept wondering how excited he would be if he know how hot and miserable it was going to be. They danced to "I'm A Yankee Doodle Dandy". We sat near the end of the parade route. He was still smiling when he made it to us. He loved the parade experience and can hardly wait to do it again next year!

New Hobby

Well, I have a new hobby. I am sure every time I come home with a new hobby, Bryon just rolls his eyes. I have wanted to learn to make bows for Natalie's hair for almost a year. Thanks to Holly for giving me a couple of incredible websites. I ordered the ribbon and hardware Monday night and the stuff came yesterday in the mail. I could hardly wait to sit down last night and experiment. I tried one type of bow and failed miserably. I am hoping my mom can help me out. Anyway, I worked on this other bow and loved it. I made it to match one of Natalie's summer dresses. Not bad for a first attempt. I am hoping if I get good enough, to possibly try to sell them but that is a ways down the road. Anyway, I just had to show off my latest project. It is so much fun. I can hardly wait for quiet time tonight to make my next bow.

Family Vacation 06-21-08 thru 06-23-08

When we go to Salt Lake for Logan's eye appointment, we always try to do something fun as a family.

Sam's tournament baseball game was Saturday morning in St. Anthony. We drove from the game, back to Rexburg to get something to eat. We then left for Randolph, Utah.

For some reason this trip seemed awfully long to me and I felt like we were always in the car. (Riding in the car for four hours with four kids has a tendency to do that to you!) We didn't get to Randolph until 5:00. We stopped for dinner at the Frosty Gator there in Randolph. For those of you who don't know where Randolph is, it is over by Bear Lake. Bryon's grandparents lived there and that is where Bryon's dad grew up. After Bryon's grandparents passed away, the family kept the house as a "retreat". The Frosty Gator is the only restaurant in town. After dinner we then went to "The Ranch" as they refer to the house. The mosquitoes were so thick. Bryon tried to mow the front lawn and came in with at least ten mosquito bites on his face. The kids had fun playing with the toys inside the house. Sam loves to try to catch water snake or Gardner snakes while we are there. He caught three in the first twenty minutes we were there. We put Logan and Natalie to bed. We let Sam and Conner stay up and watch a movie. They watched "Hook" with Bryon while I enjoyed reading a book. Sunday morning, we got up and ate breakfast. We got ready for church and then drove into church to attend Sacrament Meeting. After Sacrament Meeting, we came home, had lunch, cleaned up, loaded up and then left for Salt Lake.

We got to Salt Lake about 4:00. We stayed at the Crystal Inn so that the kids could go swimming. We let the older kids swim for a while before going to dinner. We went to eat at The Mayan. The kids love that place. I don't think Natalie or Logan have been there. They loved watching the divers. After dinner, we went back to the hotel and we all went swimming. Monday morning was Logan's appointment at Primary Children's. Bryon took him to his appointment while I stayed at the hotel with Sam, Conner, and Natalie. We had breakfast and then Natalie and I went down to sit at the pool while Sam and Conner swam for a couple of hours. When Bryon and Logan got back to the hotel, we loaded up and check out. I really wanted Sam and Bryon to see the Joseph Smith Movie at the Joseph Smith Memorial Building. We were really pushed to make the next showing. We hurried and made it just in the nick of time. Natalie got a little restless but Sam and Bryon really loved the show. After the movie, we left for Thanksgiving Point. We spent about four hours at the Dinosaur Museum. The kids loved it. We even splurged and bought tickets to see a 3-D movie. We went to the Dinosaur one. It was a little boring. Bryon actually ended up leaving the movie because Natalie was so restless. The rest of the kids loved the 3-D effect. Logan actually fell asleep at the end. Here are some cute pictures of our day at the museum.

The first picture is of all the kids around a dinosaur. The pictures of Sam and Conner are them digging for dinosaur bones. Logan is playing in the erosion table and Natalie is doing a puzzle of dinosaurs. We splurged and treated the kids to dinner at Red Lobster in Layton on the way home. We ordered an appetizer of crab legs. The kids loved them! It was a great family vacation.