Happy One Month Adelynn

STP

On July 17 & 18 the Seattle to Portland Bicycle Classic (200 miles) was held. Gary and I have each done the ride, sometimes in one day and sometimes in two days. I have to say the one day ride was a little easier. It's really hard to get back on the bike on the second day, let's say a little painful! Of course once I was on the back of the tandem and I let Gary do all the work. We were actually stopped in Longview for riding over the speed limit! Luckily we did not get a ticket, just a warning.

Gary & Trevor had plans earlier this year to ride the STP. They did a couple of training rides, the Lewis County Historical Ride and Redhook Haul Ash. Since Adelynn was a little stubborn and decided to be 11 days late it messed up the plans a little. I came up with a great idea to have a small bicycle repair stand set up out front. It was last minute decision and we were able to notify the coordinators of STP so they could bring riders to us if needed. They were aware of who Gary is so they knew he could fix a bent fork, frame or almost anything.

Professional??

The first repair was quite easy, a waterbottle cage had come off. Gary had that one fixed and off in no time. The next one was a little challenging and took about 2 hours. The rider had a broken axle on his rear wheel. It was a very old bike (30 years) and Gary didn't have an axle to replace it, so he looked around his warehouse and found an old wheel they used for heat treating. It was the perfect size. He also repaired the rear derailleur and made some other adjustments.

The rider and his friend took a little nap in our front yard and Trevor was kind enough to share a couple of Corona's. They each took a quick shower, but it was unfortunate they had to put their dirty, smelly riding clothes back on. They were staying a couple of miles from us for the night so they were in no hurry.

As it turns out, the rider had just bought the bike at Value Village for $30. I am not sure he realizes the wheel he got costs a lot more than the entire bike!

Our house in right about the middle of the course and we love to watch 10,000 riders come by. They are dressed in wild outfits and many try to do something to stand out. We saw all kinds of bikes, brands and styles. We actually saw about 10 Kleins!

While Gary was busy repairing the wheel Trevor took over and did some flat repairs. The riders should be able to repair their own flats but it was fun to help them out.

Trevor was quick to change a flat.

We had a sign out in our yard for one of the Labor & Delivery Nurses at Evergreen Hospital, Emily. She was the nurse that helped Jenny through her labor the night before Adelynn was born. She got off work at 7:00 am and the new nurse grabbed her before she left because Adelynn was on her way out. We never got to see Emily, I hope she saw our sign.

Next year Gary and Trevor are planning to ride. When I asked them what we would do about having a repair stand Gary replied "You can learn how to do it"! I can't even change a flat!

Michelle's Blog

I know that most people who look at my blog also look at Michelle's. Please make sure you look at her most recent post "To Ashton, Love Dayton". It will definitely bring tears to your eyes.

Derrick & Michelle McKay Blog

Fun with the Grandchildren

While Dayton & Daphne were visiting we tried to make sure we set aside lots of time to spend with them.

One day I took them out into our backyard for an "adventure". They had fun walking through the tall grass and climbing all of grandpas equipment.

Dayton operating the levers on Nana's lawnmower. He did get a chance to drive it too!


Dayton on the Genie manlift


Daphne on the Genie manlift.


Dayton in the cab of the dump truck.


Daphne looking pretty.


Dayton climbing a rock mountain.


Daphne stopping to look at the flowers.


The kids on the trailer. They had the most fun playing here.


Daphne discovered a bug. Look closely and you can see it.


Daphne in the tree. I hope mom doesn't see the bugs beside her!


Dayton licking the beater.


Daphne found Aunt Laura's cat slippers.


Helping grandpa set up the new pool.


Enjoying the pool.

For the most part the weather was good while they were here. The kids enjoyed going outside and just playing. They didn't need anything special, they just wanted to be outside looking for anything.

Oregon Zoo

While Dayton & Daphne were here we wanted to take them to the zoo. We had never been to the Oregon zoo before so we decided to give it a try. Michelle was up in Seattle holding baby Adelynn so it was a great time for us to go.

It was the first warm day we have had in quite a while. Which meant that the animals were laying around and not as active as we would have liked. We brought the stroller and grandpa was great about pushing them up hill.


The kids really enjoyed the underwater exhibits. They were out of the sun and it was cooler so Nana & Grandpa enjoyed them as well.

Dayton looking at a sea lion.

A mean looking alligator.


Daphne petting a goat.


Grandpa showing the kids how to operate a servo motor that controls a dinosaur.


Dayton "donating" $1 to a hooded vulture.


Dayton popping up inside a gopher display. Daphne wasn't tall enough.

We had a great time at the zoo with our grandchildren. Luckily after about 3 1/2 hours they were ready to go home. We never saw everything but we saw what they wanted to see. Daphne wanted to see the pigs and Dayton wanted to see the tigers.

Gary's favorite was the Ocelots, they look a lot like a large "Murray the amazing Wonder Cat".