Bike Ride

Got out for a bike ride with Cayle this afternoon after school. Nice sunny afternoon. It was our farthest ride together so far. About 23 miles into Eagle and back. Cayle slept about half the time, but never made any noise, so I think he enjoyed his ride in the Chariot. It was nice to get out on my road bike again!We have this nice bunting bag to keep Cayle warm. It is 2 fleece layers with a wind proof nylon layer on top. It's super cozy, and he seems to like being sandwiched between to layers of soft, cozy, fleece!

farmer boy

Love this picture. He looks like he is chewing on this piece of straw, just like so many old farmers do. Taking after his great grandpas.

4X4 Volleyball

Started playing in a 4 x 4 coed volleyball league last night. It was fun, haven't really gotten involved much in rec league sports since college, so it's nice to get involved. We have a team of teachers from school. We didn't play very well, although it was our first night. We lost 25-10, 25-2. :( To be fair, the team we played was actually really good. Hopefully it was a good warm-up for us, and next Monday we will be ready to get some redemption! Natalie and I are planning on taking turns playing. I took the first Monday night, she'll take the next.

Halloween

Cayle had an eventful, exciting, and tiring weekend! Mommy and daddy as well. Not our favorite holiday, but definitely want it to be a fun experience for our baby boy! He decided to be a Beetle Bug for Halloween this year. Grandma Brummer found his outfit at a garage sale.
Daddy decided to dress up as a LOSER.... Shhh... don't tell mommy I said that.... :-) Mommy decided to dress up as a WINNER! Her Jersey was a little large, and mine was a little small...

Cayle is happy with this jersey...
Not so much with this one....


Cayle from above in his BeetleBug outfit.These are the pumpkins Natalie and I carved today. Mine didn't get a mouth, just bat ears.Cayle's fall pictures out in the back yard.
The Brandts had the most creative (and time consuming I'm sure :-) costume. The ipod and the Earbuds.
Cayle all worn out from his weekend flying around as a Beetle Bug. As you can see, he has taken quite a liking to his fingers. Time to get to work on his next Halloween outfit.

Random & Miscellaneous Thoughts

Bad Mom
I have spent exactly 2 minutes getting Cayle ready to celebrate his first Halloween. I have never been very excited about this holiday and will do pretty much anything I can to avoid having to gather a dumb costume and parade around out in public like I'm six years old. Therefore, I was pretty happy when Cayle's grandma Cathy announced she had found him a nice beetle bug outfit for him to wear for his first Halloween costume. A few days ago, I decided Cayle should probably have socks to wear since we live in Colorado and it's the end of October (duh). Finally this morning, I made my way to Wal-Mart where I expected to find a nice pair of either black or red socks. FYI...Wal-Mart has no black or red socks for infants. I checked with everyone I know and they had no black or red socks either. On my way back home, I had one final thought - The Thrifty Shop. Cayle is now the proud owner of both a black and red pair of socks, all for the low, low price of 22 cents!

Sign
I saw the funniest road sign this morning when I was out and about (looking for the aforementioned socks). On the blinking roadside message boards, it said "HALLOWEEN DUI CRACKDOWN - DON'T BOOS AND DRIVE". For some reason, I feel this is awesomely clever and hilarious.

Fall Time
Last Sunday, when it was about 35 degrees and raining, I made Nick drive myself and Cayle to a pumpkin patch so that Cayle could get his first pumpkin. Of course, Nick was super-excited about my pumpkin patch idea...NOT :) But we made it and Cayle had a blast. Actually, I'm not sure he did. But I bet he will next year!

That Was Fun!

I ran the MILE this afternoon with the 8th graders. Since I get off at noon, and didn't have the car, I put Cayle in the chariot and headed up to school. Man I felt like hot garbage on the way there. It's just over 2 and a half miles. I figured it would be a good warm-up for the mile. I think it was, but at the time I didn't feel good at all.

Once I got up there, I was just hoping to break 7 minutes. I knew some of the 8th grade students would beat me, but that was acceptable. I just wanted a decent showing. Ended up running a 6:27! I was really happy with this. My fastest mile since high school, when I was able to run 5:30-5:45 miles for a couple of miles (not really that fast at the time....)

After the run, I stopped by to see my beautiful wife at the end of her work day/beginning of her weekend. Then Cayle and I headed home. 3 miles home in the warm sunshine at a nice relaxed pace, capped off an awesome workout and a great afternoon! Ended with about 7 miles and 1,000 calories.

Decisions

Sitting here at Yeti's Grind (Greatest Coffee shop in Eagle County), watching the first snow dump on us out the window, and reflecting on life. Took Wrigley into the Vet to get looked at by a back specialist from Grand Junction who stopped in Eagle to take a look at him on his way back from the Bronco's game yesterday. Trying to look at quality of life after surgery and then figure out if surgery is worth the cost or not... Tough decisions always when it comes to family pets.

The first snow on Eagle and Gypsum! It's snowing much harder than you can see in the pic. You can see the snow on the truck outside though. Not sure if I'm ready for it or not? Not sure I really have any choice..... It's a heavy wet snow with huge flakes that won't stick around for long... just a teaser, or a sign of things to come I guess....