A day at Ray's

Nate going over a jump, he is in the air but I am behind a wall. He was killing it.

Here is 1 shot of the inside. I was busy riding instead of taking pictures.

Today Ray's opened and Nate and his friend Jess and myself. We got there at opening and left 8 hours later. We covered everything and Nate mastered the expert jumps. I tried the jumps and needless to say it wasn't pretty so I stuck to the mtn bike area. But we had a blast and plan on going back often. That is after we do our road workouts. But we have some tired kids and a 1 real tired old man. Well time to get my tired body to bed. Happy New year and I will be sleeping way before 2010 ends. Later..

Ride it outside

Yesterday was a perfect day for a bike ride outside. I hooked up with Russell, Marty, Chris and Doug for a ride on the Tosa Trails. The snow was packed down and firm making it a great ride. the only soft spots were along the golf course that were in the sun. Glad I got the ride in as the high temps are going to make riding the trails sloppy and unrideable for a while. The good thing is that the rain is going to make it OK to get the road bikes out though. Nate is still in Arizona and enjoying his riding up the mountains out there. He is coming home today so we will get he full story of the riding soon. Now I have some chores to get done for the holiday open house. Later..

Nate in Arizona

Here are a few pictures that Randy has sent of Nate, Garrett, Peter and Kaleb in Arizona. They have been riding 2 times a day hitting a lot of hills and then getting the chance to relax by the pool later. The weather looks nice and hopefully it holds out today and the get the last few rides in. Randy said that the kids are having a blast and how can't you if you are riding and the weather is great. Plus the kids are all getting along great and that is always a bonus. Well time to get the bike ready for a trial ride with a few knuckle heads. Later..

What we did yesterday

The holiday dome.

Us 3 as Maddie would not be in the picture. Teenage girls I tell you, Nate is in Arizona riding his bike.

Huge puffer fish that kept coming up by us by the aquarium.

Big fish.

The girls holding things by the tank.

Yesterday we took some time to go to the Domes and look at the awesome plants that they have inside. It was nice as it had been a few years since I had been inside to see them. It was a fun time and a must do for anyone in the area. Then after that we went to Discovery World and thanks to Ken we got the special tour of where his office is and then the behind the doors look at the giant aquariums. It is a awesome operation and the fish and tanks are huge. It was a fun day and then when we got home it was clean up areas of the house form the weekend. Today is more of the same and get ready for the Holiday open house this Thursday we are hosting. Stop by if you are in the neighborhood from 2 till ? Later...

12-26

Last night we had a family gathering at Tim's and as always it was a blast. We celebrated my parents birthdays as they were heading back to Rhinelander today. It was also nice to have a family friend Jeff stop in and visit with us. It has been a long time since we seen each other and the visit was a blast. Nate got to Arizona and they have been riding and enjoying the stay so far. Today Cece and I are taking Maddie and Jessica to the Dome's and Discovery World. Later..

Merry Christmas

Merry Christmas everyone. May everyone have a great day together with their loved ones and safe travels for those visiting others. Later..

Christmas Eve

Well there is 1 more day till the fat man is here. Thanks to Cece and the girls the presents are wrapped and the house is clean and ready to go. My family is here tonight and then Cece's family gathering is here tomorrow. I wish all of you a very Merry Christmas. Later..

3 to go

3 days to go and I have a bunch of stuff to get done. Oh well the kids are off to school for the last finals and Cece is at the store get the last goodies for the Christmas dinner. Hope I can find the last of the gifts today, Later..

4 more to go

I got up this morning and moved the snow before everyone left for school and work and then I go to enjoy my coffee and huge bowl of cottage cheese. Need a change of pace from the bowls of cereal and yogurt. Then it was off to try to shop and that never happened as I took the Volvo in to get the tires rotated and have the steering looked at. Nate has said that the steering was tight in spots and it was not a good thing. SO I took it to my trusty shop and they took care of me. The tires rotated, the steering linkage shaft U-Joint replaced. Now the steering is smooth as butter and everything seems to be taken care of.

Now that leaves me with a few things to try to get to before Christmas. I have come to the point of where the kids and everyone else are done as Cece and the girls have gotten to all of that. I have a few things for Cece and just need a thing or 2 to finish it off. But she is a tough one as she does not like jewelry and the clothes she likes are just what she likes. I have bought a few things for her the last few Birthdays and such and I thought they were cool and she returned them. So I am thinking that I will be getting her some bath thingy stuff. Oh well I need a huge bowl of ice cream. Later..

5 days to go...

Santa is on the way are you ready? I'm not, so the good thing is that I am off and that means off to the stores. Later..

12-19

Boy is it a bummer when there is no racing to go to. With the break in bmx and that other place not open yet it was a long day here. I did get a workout in and while I was out people watching picking up a few things that were on sale Nate got his in. He and Maddie are getting ready for his finals this week before the Christmas break. Then after Christmas Nate is going to Tuscon for a few days of nice warm weather riding, lucky kid. I am hoping that Ray's may hold to their word and open before Christmas but the way it looks that is not going to happen. I was looking forward to getting there a few times over the Christmas break but now it is just a dream I think. Tomorrow I have a few hours to myself so I have a few gifts that I want to get and I am going to run and get them and hopefully miss the big crowds. Other then that is is off and relaxing for a few weeks. Later..

Done

Yesterday was the last day of work for the year. Today is a furlough day as I was paid for the ones that the rest of the city took during the summer while I was off from the shoulder injury. But in any case it is off till Jan 4th. It will be a long nice relaxing time I hope. I do have a few things to do and hope to get started early next week. But other then that I attended a retirement party last night and was able to sleep in today. Now I am just sitting around and enjoying a day of and no one home to bother me. Then again tonight it a Christmas party that is nice as it is a adult only with no kids. I hope to not punish the liver to much over the vacation break. Well it is noon and I think I may have a beer with my lunch. Later..

Last one of the year

Come and get some gates as it is the last practice for the year 2010. The gates drop again on Jan 2nd for some racing and then on Jan 5th for gate practice again. So come and get some. At least is warm inside the barn. Later..

12-12

Friday was a furlough day for me as I had to make up the ones that I got paid for during the summer. It was ok as I got a errands done during the morning and then had lunch with Pat and Sara. Then it was take the girls to a birthday party and hit the auction as they partied. No good deals and didn't come home with any new junk that I didn't need.

Yesterday was busy day of running a few errands. I had to take Nate to get fit for some new kits for next season. Then it was stop at the Volvo dealer and get some needed parts to fix some molding along the windshield. I worked and now the rattling is gone. Then it was home and work out and then go to the union Christmas party. It was a fun night and we were glad the there was rain and not snow so the ride home.

Then this morning the rain turned to ice and then to snow. I walked outside to get the paper and I was figuring that I wasn't really wanting to drive to Elkhorn for some bmx racing and Cece wasn't to keen on Nate and I going. But that was easy as we got the word that racing was cancelled. So we ate breakfast and walked to church and now I get to see my 2 or 3rd Packer game instead. Really though I might go in the basement and get a few things done like fix the flat tire on Nate's dirt jumper and the double flat on Jess's SS so she can ride it at Ray's if it ever open's. Plus I have to get Nate's road bike ready to get shipped to Arizona for his trip over the holidays. So, so long Packer game and down to the basement to get things done. Plus I want to watch the cross Nationals later and this way the chores will be done by then. Later..

NATE GATE

Here is a round on the track last night that Nate took. We are now going with the random gate drop and that has made a lot of the racing a lot tighter as there is not a lot of sling shot starts, yet. But Nate is getting faster and the racing is a lot of fun to watch. As for me I am just the same, a finisher and a moto filler. So see you at the races. Later..

Gates

Went to gate practice tonight and as always it was a fun one. I took the cruiser tonight and I felt better out of the gate. Nate is getting the track dialed in and is looking better each lap. He is getting the 3rd straight down solid. This Sunday is the last race before the winter break so if you want to see some fun racing come on out as the racing starts at about 1 and gate practice before the racing starts about 10 am. Later..

BMX racing

Yesterday was another day at the barn for some BMX racing. It was a nice day to be inside the barn turning laps on the track. Nate raced the 20 inch open and took a 2nd place, cruiser and again took a 2nd place and then in the 20 inch class and took a 4th place. He just races along and does great against the kids that are fast as hell and race BMX year round.

I raced the cruiser and took a 3rd place. I had to fight hard to take 3rd instead of the 2nd place that John Mauer was trying to force me to take. But I held him off for the 3rd and he took the 2nd. I missed the main in 20 inch and I just don't have the drive to make the mains as the guys are just to squirrelly and crashing all the time. In the last 3 mains there has been a crash and I just don't want to go down on the fixed shoulder. So on that I will keep trying and hopefully a few of the guys will learn to ride safer in the mean time.

I went to the Dr today and he gave me the full release and said that I don't need to come anymore. Done now all I have to do is keep strengthing it and take care of it and he said it should be fine. It feels good and I think the 10 hours a day in the tree stand helped as it got a good break and a chance to heal and relax as it has felt real good since then. Makes me happy. Later..

Christmas tree

Well Jess and I pulled the tree out of the attic on Wednesday and it took till today to get most of the ornaments up on it. they wanted them all out and then put about 15 on and then it stopped and they were back on to the computers. Oh well it got done and we still had another 3 weeks to get it done I guess. then this afternoon after cleaning up a little snow it was time to run some errands. While at the grocery store though Cece, Jess and I did help a lady that needed her car jumped and then I walked her 90 year old mother out to the car. They were happy with the help and went home with a big smile on their face. We were happy to help too. Now we are relaxing and then it is off to some bmx racing tomorrow. Later..

Gates are dropping again...

After a 2 week break because of Grands the gates are dropping again tomorrow (Wednesday) night. So come and get some as the other place isn't open and this place rocks. The practice is from 5 to 7 ( we always run later ). Also after a week break on the racing it starts again this Sunday with gate practice at 10am - 12:30pm and racing ASAP after that. See you at the barn for some riding and racing on the little bikes. Later..

Grinding away

Well after a nice 10 day stay in Rhinelander with a lot of it sitting in the woods it was back to working for the man. I had a great time with my parents and brothers up north and then with the family when they showed up. It is always a stress free when up in Rhinelander and I love going there and really though love coming home to the normal grind too. I do have to say that work is not really that bad either and I do enjoy being back. I have one main goal for the rest of the year and that is to get all the food inspections at my gas stations done before the end of the year. I had about 120 to do and I think that I am down to about 20 to go and that is manageable to get done by the end of the week. Also I have 100 hours of vacation and 2 furlough days take off by the end of the year so I have to keep at it to get the inspections done. But I like the busy work that it is as it makes the day fly by. Cece has a few projects that I need to get done so I will need a few of those vacation days to get those done to. Well time to fix the door that the wind messed up. Later..

Things that go on upnorth

Been doing a few chores instead of just sitting waiting for the big deer to come. I may be waiting for hell to freeze over for one of them. But yesterday we went into town for some Black Friday with the little town country folk. What a treat I do have to say. We went to Menards to get a few TVs that were a great price so we went to the store at opening. We got there and the lines were long as hell and we thought why are we doing this? Well we got at the end of one line that was right next to front of another line. Well the doors opened and we were in right at the front of the other one. Nice as my parents flew to the TVs and we got ours and were out of there. Then it was a stop to get some oil to do a oil change for Tim's truck and the Volvo. We also rotated Tim's truck tires and tired to do the Volvo but they were on so tight we couldn't break the lugs loose. Oh well I will take it in and pay to get them loosened up. Then it was relax and celebrate the kids Birthdays as it is the first time that Wade, Tim and my parents and us were all together. The we watched Grown Ups again. That movie is so funny. Then this morning I sat in the tree stand and seen 5 doe but nothing else. Took a break and now I am getting some lunch before going back out. Oh well maybe no deer but a good time in the tree stand talking and sitting with my Dad. Later..

Snowy Thanksgiving

Happy Thanksgiving to everyone. Well the snow that missed the folks down home came here and it looks pretty. Today I helped clear the drive and deck. I would have gone to the tree stand but I just haven't seen a buck so I figured why sit all day today plus Wade and Tim are here and we can sit and talk. The sun is out and the woods with the snow looks awesome. Cece and the kids are coming up tomorrow so that will be nice and maybe I will take Nate and the girls into the deer stand. Time fir some beers and football. Later..

More Doe and Turkeys

This morning when I got up and went to the tree stand I was happy to see a dusting of snow as it was way better then the rain we have been getting for the last few days. I seen some doe right away in the morning and then there was a break for a while. Then about 1 pm some more doe came past again. Then about 3 pm 15 plus turkeys came down the hill. I was amazed at how fast they moved and how they looked like a waterfall coming down the hill onto the path. Then when they were spooked they ran real fast up the hill again. Then right before we were getting things ready to leave the tree stand a few doe showed up again. Tomorrow is more of the same and maybe a buck will poke its head around. Later..

Things that happened...

Nate at the State Cross race. Picture from John Senkerik.

Nate on Ian's wheel at the cross race. Picture from John again.

Pictures of Doe playing below the tree stand today.

Today I put another 10 hours in the tree stand and seen nothing but doe play under it. As I said before we are in a buck only area and in any case I would not shoot a doe either way. Or most importantly I will not shoot a deer that is not at least a 6 pointer that is big or usually it has to be a 8 pointer. But still got a lot of time for the big buck so show up.

Today Wade and one of his old football players he coached flew to Craig's home in Souix Falls to spend a few days with his family as Wade is the Godparent of one of Craig's daughters. Then he is flying back on Wednesday to spend the rest of the week here with my parents and us.

On a good note though is that Nate raced the State Cyclocross Championships in Hales Corners. It was a good test as Nate had to do everything himself as I was up here hunting and Cece was with a bunch of little girls painting things for Jessica's Birthday party. But he got there and Thanks Randy for taking care of the paperwork for him. Nate toed the line in the Jr 18 and under race and took a 2nd place to Ian who has been racing real well. Great job Ian and Nate. Then he toed the line for the cat 4's and took the State Championship. A great way to finish the season of hard work that paid off with a season of great results. Now it is time for a few days off and then back at it with some bmx racing. Later..

Up Nort

A view of the cabin from the back of my deer stand.

Just trees and hills.

More trees and hills.

More trees and hills.

Well after the kids and Cece were out of the house I laded the car and ran a few errands before hitting the road to get to Rhinelander for the week plus of hunting. I did stop on the way up to visit Grandma in Keil. She is doing fine and for being 93 she is holding her own. It was a nice visit even though I had to say the same things about 5 times while I was there it was a nice time. Then I hit the road and got to the cabin and that left me enough time to sit int he tree stand for about a hour and a half to just check it out. I am hoping for a good hunt and it would be nice to get a nice buck int he first few days and then help get a few things done around here for my parents. Time to get a few things ready for the early start tomorrow. Later..

Gate practice

Nate pulling a manual out of turn 2.

Pulling another manual.

Me with a nice face going into turn 1.

Me again not doing a manual out of turn 1.

Picture of Tina and Nate in the gate.

All the great pictures from Sam and the one of Tina and Nate I took.

Had a blast at the gate practice tonight with the gang. Feeling alot better on the track each time and I hope to get better each week. Nate looked better and we are looking forward to when we go random gates all the time at the start of the 2011 year. Should be more fun and closer racing as the sling shot starts will be almost gone by then. Good luck to all the racers going to Grands next week as we have other plans and things going on so we aren't making the trip to Tulsa. Later..