One step closer

We're one step closer to spring. February is a day away. I can't remember ever being so sick of winter in my life. We don't have as much snow at this point as we did last year, thankfully. The upcoming days of mid 30's should provide a wonderful slow melt to help make way for the new snow that is sure to come in the next 2 months. I swear though, the sight of grass is going to get my Mountain Biking blood boiling. I've been riding a lot this winter, though not really in training mode. My Crosscheck is in dire need of some wrenching love. She might get some this weekend.

Threw down another good ride last night. Figure with the commute in to work, I put in a 35 mile day on the bike. Visited the newly-re-opened-since-the-flood Shack Tavern last night with Ken and Norbert. Just a quick PBR, then pointed the steeds North to the Irish Democrat where a couple stouts and a fine meal were had.

A great evening with the kids tonight. They're in bed now, and I'm not far behind.

RAGBRAI route is out. Southern route this year that'll test the mettle of a lot of the party riders. I'm going to pass on it for the 6th year in a row. Guess maybe I've had my fill of it. Maybe if my dad wanted to go one more time, I'd go with him. Otherwise, I'd rather travel places to ride my Mountain Bike.

Quiet

Pretty quiet around here for a change. Haven't gone anywhere, don't plan to either. My next trip out of Linn county could take until late February. Probably to Clear Lake.

I was going to chronicle my day, for lack of anything else to post about today, but my digital camera that I've had for years finally pooped out. Brian fixed it for me once, but it seems unlikely a 2nd attempt will be successful. But my cheap ass is sure gonna let him try.

I've moved my work schedule back 30 minutes to ease the stress on our morning activities. The pros: Stacey gets out earlier, Stacey gets home earlier, I can ride to work practically every day.

The cons: I don't get off work till 5:30, I have fewer excuses to not ride to work.

Kids are doing great. Stacey's doing great. Thanks for asking.

Mom and Dad

Grabbed a rare photo of Mom and Dad (Grampa and Gramma K) out of the vault. I really like this one. Seems like I have tons of photos of them both, but none of them turn out too good. This is on Christmas Day at our house.

Here's to you guys!!!! We'll see you soon.

Xmas in KC

Well, we loaded up the family truckster and headed to Kansas City last weekend. The plan was to get to Des Moines on Thursday night, stay with the Schwartz's and head to KC on Friday morning. The plan went off without a hitch, which is strange for us. It was our 2nd time to Bruce and Sara's house (my sister and brother in law) and our first chance to meet their new daughter Emerson. We were very excited, and Mara is infatuated with babies, so this was going to be cool for all of us. My parents were already down there and my brother and his family were getting there Friday as well. We rarely get the whole family together anymore, so this was going to be an event for sure.

Friday we got there earlier than anyone expected (including me). The kids ate lunch at Bruce and Sara's house and we just kinda hung out all day. The weather was phenomenal. We took the rare chance to sit on the deck in T-shirts and sip on some brews. It was amazing. When Bruce got home from work, he took me to Lukas Liquors which turned out to be one of the best liquor stores I've seen. A lot like a Binny's in the Chicago area. Microbrews and Imports galore. Got my hands on some stuff I can't get here in IA, due to distribution laws. Good stuff. So I was pretty much set for the weekend. Spent some quality time with the kids and Emerson later that day. Sara made some kick-ass soups for dinner. Then we all just kinda sat around playing Chicken Foot and sipping brews.

Mara helping Gramma K feed Emerson


Saturday was really more of the same, but add in a few hundred pounds of gifts for all the kids and parents. A fantastic meal was served up thanks to Bruce and Sara. We made another trip to the liquor store later for more beer. Never seems to be enough when the Kehrt's get together.

Proud Papa

The adults had a little gift exchange later that has become a yearly activity. Kinda like a White Elephant premise, but I think I may have missed the point a little. Or maybe a lot. I thought the idea of the gift exchange was that there are some nice presents mixed in with some cheap gags, so someone gets hosed. Except I'm the only one who bought cheap gags. Josh and Jill ended up with my cheap gags, though the Racing Grannies wasn't exactly cheap. Josh will be in teh Quad Cities this summer, so I'm sure to see him and repay him in beer. Jill, I'll have to make up for some other time. Sorry guys.

The girls enjoying their camping kits (Thanks Uncle Chad and Aunt Rox)

We had a great time, and the kids loved it. They're enjoying their spoils very much. Hope to see you all again sooner than later. Though, by the picture taken below, I'd say Emerson has had enough company for a while. (this photo was not staged)