Sunday, a few days late

On Sunday we went to the Mariners game.

While at the stadium we visited the Moose,

we visited the face painting station,

we chilled in our seats and watched the game,
we spent some time in the cool zone,

(Thank you Mariners for putting these at the stadium)

and Olivia ran around the bases after the game.

Traditions

Every family has traditions that are passed down from one generation to the next. You know those great items that you are going to get when Aunt Betty dies. In the Connor Family we have a trophy and this is no ordinary trophy. Our trophy was handcrafted in Puerto Vallarta, Mexico, for a lot of money I am sure. The trophy was first awarded about 10 years ago at the first running of the Connor 500. It has changed hands over time but I am proud to say that our leg of the Connor Family has been able to keep the trophy for the last few runnings of the Connor 500 with both Darlene and Robert earning victories in recent events. You may have even noticed it being proudly displayed in our home. Today our ownership of the trophy was successfully defended. Robert, his brothers and his dad participated in the race today and once again Robert emerged as the winner. I am so proud. Sorry no pictures of this race.


We are a very competitive bunch and of course Robert and I would love to keep such a prized trophy in our family for years to come. I mean who wouldn't be proud to display such a fine piece in their home. We are thinking of having a display case built so that we can display the trophy in a more deserving fashion. We started training the first of the next generation of great Connor champions in the hope that one day she can follow in her parents' footsteps.


Olivia loved her first time in a go-Kart. She was all smiles when her turn driving was over.

"Fast Princess"

Olivia Rides!

Teaching your kid to ride a bike can be a very challenging task. Let's just say that teaching Olivia to ride a bike took us a lot longer than we anticipated. We even considered paying for her to take a class that guaranteed to teach kids to ride. At times were were sure that Caedan would learn to ride before Olivia. She can ski down a double black diamond run and go 25 miles a hour on skis but for some reason riding a bike was really scary. Once, she even threw her bike to the ground and proclaimed "I am never getting on that bike again!" At times she was frustrated and we were definitely frustrated. But, last night was the night that we have all been waiting for.

At the end of the night Olivia said: "I was freaked out when I started and then I said this is fun."

This is not the actual video that I wanted to post. Blogger and I fought all night last night and most of today and I finally gave in. Blogger you win this time!

Stage 7

The difference between the Tour de France and a Connor Bike Ride:

1. Stage 7 of the Tour de France was 134.4 miles today. The Connor Bike Ride was 17.3 miles. Yes the .3 is very important!

2. The winner of stage 7, Brice Feillu, rode for 6 hours. The Connor bike ride was 1 hour and 30 minutes.

3. The Tour riders started in Barcelona

and rode through the Pyrenees.
The Connor Bike Ride went to:

(We needed a $.60 washer)

and

(Pit stop for a Blackberry milkshake)

4. When a tour rider has a bike malfunction a support car magically shows up with a new bike. When my bike chain fell off we had to stop and fix it ourselves.

5. Stage 7 ended with a climb of 2474 vertical feet. The Connor bike ride ended with a climb of 490 vertical feet to the top of our hill.

6. Several thousand people cheer the riders on at the finish line. The riders in the Connor ride were greeted by a happy dog.

Sadly there was no presentation with a yellow jersey at the end of the Connor Bike Ride!

Friday

Today we headed out on a bike ride to University Village. Of course, we picked another hot day for a ride. We found a nice fountain in which to cool off. Our ride was 28 miles long. The last two miles up the hill to our house were the two longest miles of the day.

Bike riding is very exhausting! You will notice that Caedan's helmet is at his feet. We stopped at a bike store and he wore that helmet all over the store and he was so excited. So we decided to buy him a helmet. Once we got home and got ready to go on our ride Caedan would have nothing to do with the helmet.

When we got home from our ride we decided to get the pool out to cool off the kids. This is the first time that the pool has been out this year so we had to clean it out a bit before we could fill it with water

.

At our house everyone must do some work before it is time to play.