Every Weekend is an Adventure

This weekend was a busy one. Saturday morning we headed out to Choctaw for a cycling event, part of their annual Land Run Festival. There I met my nemesis again. For some time I've known that I had a violent allergy to Indian Paintbrush, which comes into bloom near mid-April. It's a beautiful wildflower; a large swath of them is a stunning sight. Sadly, it's a sight I don't much enjoy, as it can makes my eyes run and fits of sneezing to commence. Last spring I found during a ride that it made my chest feel tight, and my breathing less effective. I had scheduled only a fifteen mile ride because I was unsure about how well I would do during the blooming period of My Nemesis. As it turned out I was wise to choose the shorter ride. This time I was apparently struck stupid. I attempted a 40 mile ride. I say "attempted" because I ended up "sagging in". I was short of breath during the first half of the ride, which I put down to my poor early season condition and my recently infrequent yoga practice. We had just started back up on our hill training earlier in the week, and I was not really prepared for the many big hills on the course. I was 10 miles in either direction from a support stop where someone could call the sag wagon for me when I suddenly found myself unable to breathe. No matter how hard I tried to inhale no air got to my lungs. This was a small ride - only 60 riders, so there were no other riders in sight, and there was not a support vehicle continuously riding around the course. There were many hills still to go, and I was out in the middle of nowhere. It scared me, but there was nothing to do but go on. I did not know where I was, so I got to the nearest intersection with a sign, then I called Shana and left a message, thinking that she might have finished her ride and could come out to get me. Then I continued on, peddling up the hills as far as my strength would take me, walking the rest of the way up, then coasting down. I figured I would keep going until I got to the next rest stop or Shana got back to me. I got to the rest stop first, but it was a while before they were able to get someone out to get me. I think this may be the last time I try a long ride in Indian Paintbrush season.

Vivian came to spend the night later on Saturday. She's trying to talk now - the first thing she said when we got home was D- D- D- looking for Roxy. She has turned into the busiest creature on earth. Her only direction is FORWARD, her only speed AS FAST AS POSSIBLE. When she really gets her feet under her she will be a menace. Rita and Skippy were also here for the night, so the house was like a 3 ring circus all evening. The adventures started up again at 4 a.m.

Vivian will be a year old April 21, so she had her little birthday party today. We met at a local botanical garden for cake and outdoor fun. The ducks were a big hit with her, and she tried to eat a pansy. We followed up with a visit to IHop where she stuffed her little face with ham and eggs. She may be the least picky eater I have ever seen.

Little Logan is also growing like a bad weed. In the newest pictures he looks like he has changed so much in the last week or two - so alert and busy! He's really filling out after a little slow start. He's starting to be able to grab what he aims for - the trouble begins.

As always, more pictures over at the Flickr Gallery.