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Kyle first learned to ride a bike when he was 4 and since then, he has been a speed demon on his 16 inch mongoose bmx bike. We figured he had finally outgrown his mongoose when we saw his knees hitting the handlebars!

Kyle has been saving his allowance money (he earns for chores and work around the house) for over a year now. We told him when he had saved enough to pay for 50% of a new bike, we would pitch in the other 50% and buy him a new 20 inch model.

Kyle and I found a great bike this past weekend and we knew this was the one! Kyle has now graduated to a 20 inch Diamonback Cobra model with shifters (bike even has shimano shifters…Grandpa will be proud), and two hand brakes (no back brake on this model!). We took the bike out for several rides this weekend and he loves it!

See Kyle’s new ride below……going fast!

During the past two Saturdays, Amy and I competed in separate Triathlon events. A triathlon is an endurance event consisting of a swim, bike, and run (in that order). Amy completed a “Sprint” distance triathlon (400 meter swim, 15 mile bike, and 3.1 mile run), while I completed a “International” distance triathlon (1500 meter swim, 27 mile bike, 6.2 mile run).

Finding time for both of us to prepare was a challenge, but we ended up finding creative ways to train (i.e., early morning and late night). Kyle and Natalie were intrigued by our weekend excursions to the nearby lake for Saturday morning open water swims, as well as Dad’s fascination with his new Tri bike. They are already asking if they can enter a kids tot tri (very short distances)……perhaps next year

Here are a few pics from our events

August 11th was Kyle and Natalie’s first day of school. In our house we get really excited about the first day and try to do some fun things to commemorate it. A week earlier I had found a fun book at Borders called the “The Night Before First Grade”. Since they are both entering the first grade, I just had to get it. We read it Sunday evening and they really enjoyed it - especially because the girl in the story meets a set of twins. Monday morning came and we were up bright and early (6 a.m.) to catch the 7 a.m. bus. Out of all the days in the year, this is always the easiest day to get them up and going. If only every other day could be the same! When the kids returned home that afternoon, I had the special first day of school cupcakes waiting for them. Thanks to my sisters, this has become one of our family traditions too! (See the pictures below)

This year Natalie has Mrs. Davies and Kyle has Mrs. Kaplowitz. We love both of their teachers and think that this is going to be a great year! Their teachers have lots of fun things planned and seem to have a lot of great incentives to motive the kids.

On June 17th, Amy and the kids left Georgia behind for two weeks to visit family in Utah. Activities included visiting various water parks, Hogle Zoo, Temple Square and late nights playing games, talking and laughing.

John joined us on the 21st for the highlight of our trip - The Anderson Family Reunion at Snowbird. We really enjoyed being at Snowbird. The weather was beautiful! While Salt Lake City was at a steamy 100 degrees, we were enjoying a nice breezy 80 degrees.

The first day of our reunion the boys went golfing while the girls took the kids on a hike. On Thursday we ventured over to Park City and took a tour of the Winter Olympic Park. We were able to see a bobsled travel down the run at speeds of 70 mph and watched some skiers do tricks landing in an enormous swimming pool. It was really pretty amazing. By the end of the tour Kyle was pretty convinced that he wanted to become a bobsledder. On Friday we enjoyed an all day ride pass at Snowbird which included the alpine slide, zip line, rock wall, and a tram ride to the top of Snowbird. The kids loved the alpine slide. Kyle even made a couple of runs on his own! That night we celebrated Amy’s dads 80th Birthday.

Some Family Snapshots from our Trip

John and Kids at Temple Square

Amy and John at Winter Olympic Park

Amy and Kyle at Top of Snowbird

The summers in Atlanta are HOT….so much so that the city has been dubbed Hotlanta! To help keep the kids cool and improve their swimming skills, we signed them up for the neighborhood Swim Team. Most organized subdivisions have swim teams which compete against each other. The team provides the kids a great way to meet friends and learn how to swim.

School ends early here in Georgia (Friday before Memorial day), so daily practices started right away. The swim meets are every Monday….and have become a blast to watch.

Here are a few pictures of the kids and a video of their first swim meet. They have continued to progress throughout the season

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On Saturday, I completed a half-ironman distance duathlon at Sandy Beach State Park near Macon, GA. A duathlon is a type of multisport event and varies in distance from a short sprint version all the way up to a full ironman distance. In the case of the Rock ‘N Rollman, it was a Run-Bike-Run format consisting of a 3.1 mile run, followed by a 56 mile bike, and capped off with a half marathon (13.1 miles) run.

While any long distance endurance event brings its challenges, this one was particularly difficult given the very hot day (during the run portion, temps rose into the low 90’s). Fortunately, the event was well planned and executed. During the run leg, they had water/aid stations every mile….which ended up being a life line as water, food, and cold wraps (to put around your head) helped keep the body temperature regulated and our bodies hydrated.

Here are a few pics from the event…

We spent the Memorial Day weekend in North Georgia. We stayed in Helen, a quaint alpine village town famous for its German architecture and cuisine. In addition to getting our fill of sausages and true Reuben sandwiches, we ventured out in search of some of good hiking paths and hidden waterfalls. We also spent time getting wet in the Chattahoochee river (which circles downtown). You can rent tubes at a local outfit which buses you miles up stream and then allows you to spend the next 90 minutes floating down river…some parts of the river even get you moving at a fast clip….not quite white water rafting, but the kids loved it! Here are a few pics…yes, I do have a swimsuit on!

Last week was field day at Kyle and Natalie’s school. I had the opportunity of attending the opening ceremonies on Wednesday. I almost felt as if I were at the Olympics. As music played, each class marched out to the parking lot displaying their class banner and wearing their class t-shirt. Natalie’s class was the frogs and Kyle’s was the bees (btw - I helped make Kyle’s class shirts!). As the principal officially opened field day a roar erupted throughout the students. It was all very exciting to watch.

Thursday was field day for the Kindergarten classes. I spent half the time with Natalie’s class and the other half with Kyle’s. They participated in a variety of games and relay races. Their favorite relay race was the “Pool of Worms”. They had to run down to the wading pool and with their bare foot, scoop up a worm, and carry it back to their team. Fortunately, the worms were not real (darn)! All in all it was a great day and Kyle and Natalie are already looking forward to next year.

I didn’t expect to coach our kids soccer team, but after a few short weeks into the season we realized that the volunteer coach was no where to be seen (something about being busy with a new job). We quickly learned that the lack of a consistent coach/parent to help the kids in practice/games was going to be a problem. As I had 2 out of 7 kids on the team (both Kyle and Natalie playing together), I decided it was my turn to step up and become the team coach.

We had our last game and team tournament on Saturday. The kids played back to back games and were exhausted. They all loved the snacks and team medals that came at the end. Here is a pic of me and the team….

On May 1st Natalie crossed the bridge from Daisy Scouts to become a Brownie. It was so sad to let go of the cute little blue apron with the Daisy patches. During the ceremony each of girls shared what they liked best about Daisies. Natalie said that her favorite thing was taking a hike in the woods. They also said the Girl Scout promise and crossed the bridge to become a Brownie. Natalie’s teacher was also able to attend the ceremony. Now that Natalie is a Brownie she will get to sell Girl Scout cookies and go on camp outs. I’m looking forward to the cookies but I think she is looking forward to the camp outs.