Heber Century- This is the Ride that Never Ends!

On Saturday Joe, my Dad and I headed up to Heber to ride the Heber Century. Last year Joe and I did 67 miles on this ride, and this year we signed up to do the century together. My Dad was determined to do the 50 mile ride and get up the big hill this year!

My Mom couldn't ride this year because of her double knee replacement surgery, but she was kind enough to stay home and watch Jacob and Ephraim for us. (Thanks Mom!)

The day started out a bit cool, but it turned out to be a nice day. This was the most challenging century ride Joe and I did this summer. The ride starts out fairly easy... for the first 20 miles or so. Then you hit the BIG hill. Joe was nice enough to ride nearly the entire ride with me, even though he is faster than I am and definitely better at climbing hills!

He even took some spectacular shots of me while he was waiting for me at the top. You can't tell from this picture, but this hill was about six miles of 8% grade or so. It was tough!

At least the scenery is nice while you are pedaling slowly up the mountain!

Then you get to the rest stop at the top of the hill and you think, "Hooray! I made it to the top!" Then you turn the corner and see one more big hill!

The entire ride was hill after hill after hill! We rode from Heber City and up through Francis, Oakley and a bunch of other little towns. Then Joe and I rode clear up to Coalville before heading back. I swear it seemed like this ride was uphill... both ways! But Joe stuck in there with me. Isn't he a cutie?

My dad finished his ride before Joe and I did (Way to go Dad!). My mom drove the boys up to Heber City in the car to hang out with my Dad and come see Joe and I finish. They caught up with us at the rest stop about 80 miles into the ride. I knew I was holding Joe back, especially since this ride had SO MANY HILLS. So I cut him loose at mile 80 and let him go at his own speed. I figured spending most of the day with me was birthday present enough. Plus he was there to cheer me on when I finished.

Joe did 105 miles, and I did about 102.5. Why the discrepancy? Well... you have to go up the back side of the HUGE hill that we went up at the beginning of the ride. I just didn't have the legs for it, and I knew it would take me another 40 minutes and everyone would be waiting for me. So I got a 2 mile "lift" from Mom and Dad to the top of the hill.

Even though I took a short break, I have to say that riding a century ride certainly gives you a feeling of accomplishment! It also gives you a whole bunch of sore muscles... not to mention a sore tush! I think after doing a ride like this any cyclist deserves to park themselves under this sign temporarily:

Bicycle Boy

You may be aware that Joe and I are cyclists (if not, where have you been?!). We both enjoy riding and it is definitely good exercise. I have a GPS for my bike, which I LOVE. It tells me everything! I love knowing how long and how far I've gone, what my average speed was, and how many calories I've burned.

Often when one of us gets back from riding,Joe and I will discuss how our ride went. Apparently Jacob has been paying attention to our little exchanges more than I had imagined!


Yesterday afternoon Jacob and I were out in the front yard. He was riding his tricycle down the sidewalk to the neighbor's driveway and back, while I watched him and folded some laundry.


After a minute Jacob pedaled up to me and we had a little chat.

Jacob: Mommy, I won the race!
Me: Great job!
Jacob: Did you see the other bicycle riders? They were trying to pass me, but I went around them and I won!
Me: You were pretty fast.
Jacob: Phew! It was hot out there today!
Me: It was?
Jacob: Yep. I burned 75 calories.
Me: Wow, that's a lot

How hilarious is that?!
Do you think he will grow up to be a cyclist too?


Later that evening I took the boys on a walk and we went to the parking lot of the new church. We really went so that I could take a picture of the mountains. Fall is on it's way, don't you think?


Jacob basically ran circles around me while I tried to take his picture. He was having a great time!


Ephraim got out of the stroller too, and the boys ran out some of their abundant energy. Then they stopped to pose on some rocks for me. So what do you think? Do these boys have the same profile?


This weekend Joe and I are doing our last century ride of the year (that's 100 miles!). It will be my third one this year, just before my birthday on Sunday! I hope the ride goes well (and my birthday too!).

Joe in San Francisco

When Joe went to San Francisco for a the VM World conference earlier in the month I was a little bit jealous. Neither of us had been there before, and I knew that there were tons of cool things to see and do there... not to mention all the cool sites to photograph!

I was half-tempted to send him with my Canon XSi, but there was no way I could part with it! Plus I didn't want to risk it getting damaged. So I sent him with our little point and shoot instead.

Can I just say that he took some amazing photos?! Joe is turning into quite the photographer!

After passing his certification test, Joe went to meet his group at Pier 35. He was headed there on foot, and one thing I didn't realize about San Francisco is how uphill-downhill everything is there! The intersections are about the only parts of the street that are level. Here is a picture that Joe took looking down a street (that he walked up!) from the middle of the crosswalk.


If you look closely (or click the photo) you can see the Bay Bridge in the water in the distance. While he was walking he noticed Lombard street in the distance. He walked a couple of blocks out of his way to take a picture of what is known as "the crookedest street". I am impressed that he went out of his way to take this photo. If you zoom in you can see how the street zig-zags back and forth.


When he found the guys at the warf they headed for the bus to take them to the Golden Gate Bridge. On the way he took this shot, and it is one of my favorites! I have never seen a masted ship, and I think this photo is gorgeous.


He also saw Alcatraz on his way there:


Of course you can't go to San Francisco without going to the Golden Gate Bridge. By some stroke of luck Joe visited on a day that was actually mostly clear and sunny! Check out these great pics.

The bridge just pops up out of nowhere in this picture, don't you think? I am glad that Joe had someone take a picture of himself there as well.

These next two shots are my favorites! I love how he framed these shots. Aren't they nice?



I can't wait to go back and visit San Francisco with Joe some day. Apparently he knows all the places to go to get great photos!

Joe also got to walk on the Golden Gate Bridge, and he called me from the middle. Even though I wasn't there, it was nice that he was thinking of me. He even had one of the guys take a picture of him on the phone with me.


Here are a few more pictures I love that he took while on the bridge. I just love the perspective on this one.


How's this for a nice close-up?

And here is a picture of San Francisco, as seen from the middle of the Golden Gate Bridge.

I was glad that while Joe was at his conference he did get to do a little sight-seeing. I know he was busy at the conference, but he still had a good time. They even managed to catch a baseball game.

Here is a photo Joe took from the top of the stadium when he was talking to me on the phone. His seats were actually just past third base at the Oakland A's game. Fun, huh?

Joe was actually really happy to come home on Friday. He had fun in San Francisco, but he missed us as much as we missed him!

Hot Air Balloon

This week we have been going on walks in the morning when it is nice outside. Usually I take my camera along, just in case we see anything interesting.

Yesterday I thought about bringing my camera, but decided to leave it at home. Wouldn't you know that is the day when something interesting actually happens?! While we were walking past a local school I noticed something over the top of the building. Then I realized what it was-- a hot air balloon!

Darn it! I couldn't believe I left my camera home!
But I walked the boys over and we watched the balloon for a little while. The announcer said they weren't going to let it go because of the nasty clouds and wind. Pretty soon we had to get home so we could make it to Music Makers.

As we were walking home I looked back and there it was! So we ran home as fast as mommy could go! When we got to the house I ran inside, grabbed my camera, and put on my zoom lens. I managed a few pictures before it drifted back to the ground.

It was a pretty cloudy day, so the hot air balloon shows up pretty nicely against the sky.

The school is quite a few blocks from our house, so I was pretty impressed that I was able to zoom in so close for these last two shots.


We did manage to make it to Music Makers on time, even though I definitely had to shower because I was sweating when I got home after running home while pushing the stroller!

So that was our excitement for Monday morning! It's not very often you get to see a hot air balloon right in your own backyard!

Weekend Car Washing with Daddy

Another week, another busy Saturday at the Devereaux house! This weekend we all actually slept past seven a.m. I don't think that Mommy and Daddy got out of bed until after 7:30 am! It was SO nice.

Then we got busy. First Daddy washed the car with the boys. At first I was just going to have Daddy and Jacob wash the cars, but Ephraim was pretty upset about being left inside with Mommy while all the fun was happening outside! So I went out with Ephraim and watched the action.

The boys helped Daddy scrub down the car.

I thought it was so cute the way the boys were working together to scrub the parts of the car they could reach.


Jacob was pretty good about cleaning the car. After a minute or two Ephraim would lose interest and drop his scrubber, but I could help get him interested again (at least long enough to snap some photos!).

Then Daddy let the boys help rinse off the car. First it was Ephraim's turn.

Then it was Jacob's turn.

Can you see from the photo above who is headed directly for the stream of water? Yep. Ephraim didn't quite get the fact that running in front of the hose would get him wet!

Who knew it would also do such a nice job of parting his hair?


After the car washing I cleaned up in the kitchen and then we all went a did a little shopping. One of the things we got was a flip lock for the back door. Now I don't have to worry about certain small people leaving the house in the morning when I'm not looking or taking a shower!

We were having a bit of a grumpy morning, so when we got our essential shopping done we came home and ate lunch. Then I went on a 23 mile bike ride during Ephraim's nap. It was a nice ride, but a little warm outside (anything over 80 is hot for me to ride in).

Then later on I cut Joe's hair and he cut the boys. They are all nice and short now!

In the evening after dinner, Joe helped me do a little canning. We canned some lovely plum jam, and I hope it tastes as good as it looks!

What a busy day!

The Short Long Week and Friday at the Park

This week after Labor Day on Monday, some of our Fall activities started up again. Tuesdays we are going to the library for Story Time. Jacob just loves listening to the stories and making the craft when the stories are finished.

Wednesdays we will normally be doing Play School for Jacob, but we took this week off for planning. So we went and visited Melinda instead. The boys had a great time playing with her girls. Jacob and Laura are such great friends, which I love! That means I actually get to hang out with Melinda while I am at her house!

Then on Thursday we go to Wee Read for Ephraim. Jacob still enjoys listening to the stories, and we are trying to teach Ephraim to sit on the carpet and listen. He is making progress! If I ask him to "go sit by Jacob", then he will actually do it... for a little while!

Friday this week I went to the dentist and got my crown put on. I was a little bit fearful for my checkup, but there is great news! I only have one other minor cavity that I need to have filled. Other than that I am good! Whew!

After the dentist the boys and I went back to play at Discovery Park. Of course I took my camera and followed the boys around. After all, going to the park should to be fun for mommy too, right?

As you can tell it was not really that busy at the park.

The boys had fun on the swings... as long as mommy would push them!

Of course the boys climbed over everything! Jacob sat on top of this tire "swing" and asked me to take his picture! I was happy to oblige!

The boys both wanted to swing on the regular tire swing too! So I pushed them very gently. They don't swing for too long before Ephraim gets bored and drops himself out of the hole in the middle. I swear he does it on purpose and the funny thing is that he always looks surprised when he lands on his back in the dirt!

Here is Ephraim playing with some fun noise-makers.

We will probably be going to the park pretty frequently, since the boys love it so much! The weather is getting nice and cool, so I am enjoying being outside too!

Mowing the Lawn with Daddy

I forgot to mention that yesterday evening the boys also helped Daddy mow the lawn in the evening when we were about done canning. Here is the cutest video ever!

Laborious Labor Day

What a busy day! Here is the rundown of our Labor Day:

*Washed a load of laundry
*Hung laundry to dry
*Took the boys for a short walk while Joe took a bike ride

*Cut up 5 large bowls of tomatoes (took about an hour!)


*Joe cut up all our peppers and onions


*Ran the tomatoes through the strainer.
*Took a break for lunch.
*Kept straining and chopping.
*Joe and Jacob ran to the store to get more onion and cilantro.
*Finished fixing the salsa.


*Cleaned up the kitchen.
*Fixed dinner and we all took a break to eat.
*Took the clothes off the line
*Canned 30 pints of salsa


Then I went on 16 mile bike ride while Joe put the kids to bed.
When I got home I crashed! No wonder, huh?

Saturday Synopsis

Friday afternoon we went and picked Daddy up from the airport, and boy are we ever glad to have him home! We went out to dinner and spent a quiet evening at home... as quiet as it can get with two excited little boys bouncing off the walls!

Saturday was busy as ever! Here is the rundown of what we accomplished:

*slept in until after 7 am!
*fixed the boys breakfast
*got everyone dressed
*picked 5 large bowls of tomatoes from the garden
*weeded the garden
*watched the boys outside while Daddy pruned the rose bushes
*ate lunch
*went grocery shopping
*put the groceries away
*went to work for four hours at the Orem Public Library
*came home to find Daddy had fixed me and the boys dinner
*gave the boys a bath:

*posed the boys for pictures in the tub

*put on pajamas
*had our evening milking and story time
*finally spent some time "alone" with Joe!

It is SO nice to have Joe home. I got to hear all about his trip to San Francisco and see the great pictures that he took. I will have to post some of them when we get them downloaded. Maybe someday we will have to go on a vacation, just the two of us, and visit someplace fun like San Francisco.

Visiting Friends, Shopping with Grandma and the Pet Leaf Bug

Wednesday morning we went to the Smiths house again to get Jacob's preschool/playgroup organized for the fall. We worked that all out, but Jacob wanted to stay and play afterward. With all the mommies and all our kids at the Smiths for our meeting, there were just too many people for him to be comfortable and have a good time playing.

So Alyssa and Jacob played for a bit afterwards. As we were leaving Brenda said it would be o.k. if we took a few peaches to make jam with. While I was out getting the peaches I ended up with a little bug in my sack.

I was excited to show the bug to Jacob. He instantly liked it and wanted to take it home. Brenda definitely didn't object to that, so here is Jacob's new "pet".



I have since asked Jacob if we could let the bug go, but that suggestion made him break down into tears. So for now the bug is in the jar with some leaves to eat. I am going to have to figure out what to do with him soon though!

We had a fun morning, but that evening everything seemed to go wrong. We were going to go out to eat- just Mommy and the boys- and the restaurant turned out to be a complete dive. The food wasn't good and it wasn't easy trying to feed the boys and myself at the same time. Then I had decided to go to Kohls because I wanted to look at some clothes.

Have you ever tried clothes shopping with two little boys? I don't recommend it! So I ended up heading home without buying anything and I was so frustrated! When I talked to my mom that evening she said she wanted to come visit just for a day, and I didn't take too much convincing. I was excited to have another adult in the house and I knew we would have fun with Grandma Heiner.

So this morning we went to play with the Randalls. It has been a while since we went over there and the boys were excited. I had a great time visiting with Melinda and before long my mom showed up. She got to meet Melinda and see her cute baby. Then we went home and Grandma and Ephraim had nap time while I worked and Jacob had quiet time. We had a fun evening with Grandma Heiner and even got to do a little shopping!

Too bad Grandma has to leave tomorrow around noon, but then we get to go pick up Daddy from the airport! The boys are so excited to see Daddy!!

Castle Park

Since Daddy is gone, we have been trying to find fun things to occupy our time. This morning we decided to go to the Discovery Park with the Smiths. Jacob was so excited to go to the park. He calls it the "ex-covery park" and he had been asking me for days if we could go. Alyssa and her family call it the castle park, and I think you can kind of see why from this picture:

The play equipment at the park is made of wood and they have lots of little towers and fun places to go. We had a great time at the park just hanging around.


We also had fun on the swings. Ephraim has not been a big fan of the swings, but today he absolutely loved them!

I was practicing taking photos of the kids in motion, which is harder than it sounds. I think I did pretty well, and I really like this shot I took of Ephraim while he was swinging.

Jacob and Alyssa had a good time on the tire swing. We kept trying to get them to smile for a picture, but I loved this one of them just talking to each other while they were swinging. They play SO cute together. Sometimes the way they have little conversations and chatter at each other cracks me up!

They also had a good time going down the slide and playing with the cool chimes they have at the park. Ephraim and Ty also had fun playing with these chimes!

One thing that mostly just Jacob enjoyed was this swinging bridge. We have been calling it the "silly bridge" so that Alyssa won't be afraid to go on it too. It is a bit scary because it isn't stable, but for some reason Jacob LOVES it.

This is a fun park, but you definitely have to keep an eye on your kids! It is pretty large and has lots of play equipment... but that is also part of what makes it fun. Here is Ephraim on this spinner, which he thought was super-fun.

Here is Jacob walking across a little balancing beam. He did a great job walking across the beams without falling off.

We had a really fun morning playing with the Smiths. Here is a cute picture of Alyssa and Ty playing with some spelling blocks.

Now that the weather has cooled down, we will definitely have to go to the park a bit more. Plus all the big kids are in school during the day, so we can have the place all to ourselves!