Spaced Out!

School programs are so much work for the teachers and music people and I honestly love them.  Especially when the kids are still little and super excited.  This year the 1st and 2nd grade program was titled Spaced Out and I loved it!  Lucas had a speaking part and he sang like no body's business.  He has so much personality that watching him makes me giggle.  Thanks to Mrs. Cook we had a great hour in space!

Matt the Deacon!

Well, I still can't believe that Matt's 12.  To make it even harder is the fact that he is old enough to get the priesthood!  WHAT?!?  Holy moly he is growing up! Today was a great day though.  We were joined by Grandpa and Beverly, the Ovesons, David and Sinda, Danny and Melanie and Tom.  I was so excited when i walked into sacrament meeting and saw my Grandpa there!  Oh how I love him!  Mom and Don were in Georgia for Don and Chelsea's wedding (I think it about killed them to miss it!) and Mary Lou wasn't here because she had to stay home with the dog this weekend.  We missed them but we still had a GREAT time! Matt's ordination went really well and Mike gave him a great blessing.  This sweet kid of mine has a lot to offer and I'm so excited to see where his life goes.

When we were done at the church we all came back to our house for yummy food and time together!  It was fun fun fun!  I really appreciate all of the support that we get from family.  It means so much to my kids.  It's great!

Sssssnakes

We have very patient teachers.  They are SO great in fact that they let my boys bring in the snakes year after year:)  My boys look forward to it every year and Mike does such a great job at it!  And everyone else in the school freaks out!

6th Grade Field Trip Take 2!

I am so thankful for a great 6th grade teacher that lets me tag along on field trips!  I loved the winter one and today's was just as great!  We started off at the Clarke Planetarium.  We started off with a show in the dome theater.  HOLY cow it made me dizzy!  I think I'm getting old.  Then the kids did a space scavenger hunt paper and had a little class and then we were off to eat at the Old Spaghetti Factory.  We were pretty stoked to see that Matt could eat the spaghetti with regular meat sauce and romaine lettuce with vinaigrette.  That doesn't always happen!  It was such a great day!  I love being with Matt and his cute friends.  I'm also thankful for his super great teacher who puts these things together!

Bike Month!

May is Bike Month.  Mike decided that he was going to hold a workshop.  He had no real support from the city:) but he just wanted to help educate people. He titled it Eliminating Barriers to Cycling.  SO many people responded to the Facebook event. Ogden City got involved, several bike shops donated free stuff for giveaways, Indie Ogden even interviewed him... and Mike was stoked. Fast forward to day of...and the weather was HORRIBLE.  Windy cold and a little rainy.  But that didn't stop Mike or actually quite a few people and there was a great little workshop at Riverdale park!  I love my hubby!

Here is the article by Indie Ogden:

Cycling is not just a sport for spandex clad athletes, it is a way to save money on gas while commuting to work,  help the environment, get outdoors, get healthier and a great way to explore your town.

Mike Staten is a local  cyclist and Riverdale city council member and for the past few years he has been on the bike a lot, enough to lose 40 pounds!  Mike says that after he began to shed the weight his friends began to ask him  how he pulled it off and how they can get started. He explained that although there was a lot of interest in cycling a lot of people were worried  about safety, expense and whether or not they could even do it.

A little over a year ago  Mike recommended that Riverdale consider some ideas on how to become more bike friendly. The council formed an ad hoc committee with Mike as the council’s representative and the committee’s recommendations included the recently completed bike lanes on 4400 south. Inspired to do more he began planning an event to get people excited about cycling and to overcome anxieties they may have about getting started.

I had a chat with Mike the other day to learn more about the “Eliminating Barriers to Cycling”event he is planning and how he plans to get people on their bikes.

So what is going to happen at the event?

I’m working out details still. I figure  15 minutes introductions, getting a feel for what people want to discuss, and then kind of tailoring things from there. Ideas include how to ride safely in traffic, misconceptions about cycling, how to dress comfortably, how to work out practical matters of commuting, stuff like that.

I’ve got 90 minutes, and OCEF may take some of that and do some breakout sessions like a bike maintenance session or a bike commuters session or stuff like that. It’s kind of  a moving target right now. We will probably have a video from the League of American Bicyclists called “Enjoy the Ride” as well.

Who should come? Is it just for beginner riders?

It’s not designed for spandex-clad road warriors or hardened all-weather commuters, though people like that would probably have something to contribute. It’s designed for your average person who would ride more if ____ and you fill in the blank. Does that make sense?

Of course! And what do you hope people take away from this event?

I hope people will feel more confident: that riding in traffic won’t seem like a risky dare-devil-only thing to do, that they’ll realize they probably already have clothes that are comfortable to ride in, that they don’t have to go spend their life savings on a bike and gear, and that they don’t have to be olympic-level fitness to enjoy it.

There’s such a perception of bicycling being for the extreme athlete in spandex, and I hope to help normal people realize that isn’t true and they can enjoy it too.

That is great, I think more people would ride if they knew how easy it was. there is definitely a stigma about riding here.  I was car free for 7 years and never wore spandex haha

EXAAAACTLY…I wear spandex when I want to ride hard and fast because it’s comfortable, but I also enjoy riding my 1974 Schwinn Suburban to city council meetings and church and stuff, and my ’97 KHS MTB on the trails. There are as many ways to enjoy a bike as there are people out there, maybe even more.

What do you think can be done to make the community more bike friendly?

As for bike-friendliness, it is more than just infrastructure and policy: driver and cyclist awareness and education are so important. That’s why I want to do this workshop.

And it’s free which is great!

Yes!

 Check out the event and take the first step to getting on a bike and enjoying the outdoors! 

Eliminating Barriers to Cycling – Riding Skills and Safety Workshop, Q&A

Friday May 17th @4pm-5:30pm

Riverdale Park, Upper Pavillion, 4360 Parker Drive, Riverdale, Utah

2 Great Officers!

Tyler and Matt both won the elections for class office!  Tyler will be a 9th grade officer and Matt a 7th grade officer!  Tonight was the swearing in dinner!  It was so fun to be there with everyone and to watch Matt and Tyler enjoy it all together.  We had great Polynesian food and entertainment.  My kids all loved it and I'm so SO excited for them to enjoy everything together next year!

The End Of Another Preschool Year

This year has been great.  Great kids, Great moms.  Just great.  We finished up with a water party and BBQ.

Then we had our graduation.  THAT was a little nuts.  The weather was so iffy that we decided to have everyone sit on the stage.  That probably wasn't the best idea.  It kicked the crazy up a notch...or 12.  BUT they were cute and they did it and it's over:) One more year to go!