Our Invisible String

Le Tour de Tyler

Tyler had a Tour de France themed birthday party.

He wanted the family to represent the race.

Tyler was the yellow jersey (Race Leader), Chris was the green jersey (Sprint Leader), Sheldon was the polka dot jersey (King of the Mountains), Levi was the white jersey (Best Young Rider) and I was the podium girl.

I made each boy a Tour de Tyler shirt with a sharpie marker (nothing but the best for my son's party) and printed race numbers with sponsors to pin on their backs.

Levi was number 100, Sheldon 101, and Tyler was 111. Then all of his friends were 112 and up. Tyler wanted these numbers since it was his eleventh birthday.

Chris and his friend Dave took the boys for a ride (I mean race) on the Western Chehalis Trail after they had a "time trial".

Safety briefing at the round about.

They were quite the sight through town. Several people asked about our "event."

During the race Chris would have the kids take turns racing ahead for a break away. At the end of this clip you can see Sheldon sleeping in the trailer. Poor little guy was tired.

When they returned to the park, the boys ate pizza then did an obstacle course that simulated the "mountain stage" of the tour.

Sheldon helped Dad a bit then played with the bikes. He loves anything with wheels.

Levi cheered everyone on.

Clearly all the cheering tuckered Levi out. He fell asleep in Annie's arms.

Check out that snazzy cake made by Sharleen.

It was muggy so the cool breeze was fabulous. That is until we tried to light the candles.

Tyler started blowing bubbles for Sheldon. The big kids joined in on the fun.

The podium photo

Happy Birthday Tyler!!! We love you to the moon and back and are so grateful you made us a mom and dad eleven years ago. You are an amazing big brother and have made us so proud.

Camping on the Strait of Juan de Fuca (updated with videos)

We camped for 5 days at Salt Creek Campground in Port Angeles.

This was the gorgeous view from the RV.

We were right on the Strait of Juan de Fuca. That is Canada in the background.

We had a blast exploring the tidepools and hiking the trails around the campground.

One evening we headed to Hurricane Ridge to watch the sunset. It was amazing.

There were animals everywhere.

Tyler, Chris, Sheldon, and some friends went on a bike ride on the Olympic Discovery Trail.
I'm thankful that next year Levi and I will be able to go.

After the bike ride, we all met up at Dairy Queen for some birthday ice cream. We surprised Tyler when he walked out of the restroom. The entire restaurant joined us in singing Happy Birthday.

We went to the Olympic Game Farm. For most of it you drive around and see the animals from your car. But at the beginning you can feed the birds and deer. Sheldon was more interested in the dandelions.

These were the laziest bears I have ever seen in my life.

Brek is enjoying his retirement.

Holy Spandex Batman

When Tyler joined the local bicycle racing team I had no idea how much spandex it would involve. It is a VERY close second to the amount of camouflage we have in this house.