The Staffieri's

I'm 25 again!!

I have been lucky enough to be able to start mountain biking again.  It's been years since I have had a mountain bike, and I've been happy on the road, but the trails have been calling my name!  

When Mike and I got married, we had to get rid of a few things since storage was an issue in our little apartments.  Thus, the Trek 850 was given away, along with my neon Rossignol 185s!  So, it's been about 12 years since I have been mountain biking, and in the last year, I have been longing to get back out there.

Mike didn't have a problem getting me a new bike, if it's anything biking related, he has no stop button when it comes to purchases.  I just was hesitant to purchase something that I wasn't sure I would use regularly.  There aren't that many women that mountain bike, or so I thought.

I finally made the jump, got a bike, and found a few girls to ride with, and let me tell you, I feel like I'm 25 again!  Jaynann and David, if you ever read this, I wish you were both here!  All the memories of biking with each of you are flooding my mind, and I am laughing!  Wish you could be here to ride with me!

Today we did a fun trail in San Juan.  It was beautiful.  

Here we are, Emily and Lara and I, in all our glory!

 

Lara and I are second cousins, so we call ourselves cousins, and it's so fun riding with her!

 

Scrapes, bruises, a little trail rash are all worth the fun few hours we are out there.  Thanks Emily and Lara!

iPhone Halloween 2011

Was it just me, or was anyone else done with Halloween before it even got here??  I was terrible this year about putting up decorations, just wasn't even interested in getting our one and only box down.  The kids finally got Mike to get it down, and they were responsible one Sunday afternoon for throwing out some lights and spooky signs in our front yard.  It looked pretty pathetic, but I just didn't care!  They thought it was great, so I was fine with that.

The kids decided upon being vampires this year, mainly because I told them I wasn't buying them new costumes.  They realized that by being vampires, they could really just wear whatever they wanted, and get their faces painted all white and bloody, and their costumes were complete!  So, once one of them decided on the vampire, the other two followed suit (I think it was initially Abby's idea, but who knows).

In keeping with my lack of enthusiasm for the holiday this year, I only took pictures with my phone.  I actually took a few with my camera, but still haven't even downloaded them becuase I know they weren't very good, so the pictures on my phone will have to do.  Man, do I sound grumpy about Halloween or what?!

My spooky vampires...

 

Michael got a scary eye patch from school and wore it around one afternoon.  I was a little worried when he decided to ride his bike with it on, especially when I saw him trying to squint his way down the street!

 

Madelyn was a little unsure about her hair being so crazy, but I tried to convince her that vampires have crazy teazed hair, don't they?!

 

And Abby just can't look scary for the life of her, she always looks smiley and cute!  Those teeth, on the other hand, are downright frightening!  No fake teeth required for this costume to be complete (don't worry, we are taking care of that)!

 

The best part of the night:  the sorting and trading of all the loot!!

Until next year....

Hopefully I will be in a better mood by then!

Abby and Aunt Debbie

I  just love this picture.  I love how much Abby loved being with Debbie, and I loved seeing Debbie with my kids.  I miss my sisters!  I wish I lived by them, and that we could talk every day about how crazy our lives are, and help each other get through them.  I hope they are reading this and knowing how much I love them, and how much I value their love and friendship.  Sisters are the greatest!

Lyla's eyes

Yesterday Lyla had another exam under anesthesia to assess her glaucoma and nearsightedness.  We are happy to report that the glaucoma continues to be under control, her pressures looked really good and were even lower than 6 months ago.  Yay!  We were sort of worried because it has just seemed like her eyes haven't looked that great lately.  But, now we can stop worrying.  

Lyla's eyesight is so important for her, she can't manipulate the environment around her, but she can certainly see what's going on.  She gets so much enjoyment out of things she sees, especially when she is watching her iPad.  Lately, she is really into Bunnytown, and gets really excited when we play episodes of those silly bunnies for her.  I love seeing her laugh and giggle.  It's really the only time I get excited to see anyone watch tv!

We love our little Lyla Lou.

Rainy Day

It's starting to feel like fall!  We have a few storms coming in, bringing cold and rainy weather.  So what do we do?  We make hot chocolate.

I thought this was so funny seeing Michael drinking hot chocolate, wearing fleece gloves, and yet still wearing his shorts and a tshirt.  I guess that's typical Southern California!  

I love the fall!

Claire's Make a Wish

This is such an exciting post, because it is all about my niece Claire, and her special Make a Wish trip to Disneyland.  You can read about their story and experience in getting to this Make a Wish destination here.  We were lucky enough to be able to join them for a few days as they celebrated at the happiest place on earth.  I cannot express how much fun it was to see Claire so excited to see the characters, go on the rides, and gaze at all the exciting things there.  My parents came down for the excitement as well, and it was amazing being all together to celebrate with Claire and her whole family.

They arrived at their hotel, Paradise Pier, and since the weather was so warm, we met them at the pool for some r & r on the first day.  Claire got in the water with her dad and splashed him in the face over and over, which made her laugh out loud!  I got to sit in the shade with Mike, Debbie, Lyla, and my parents, which was so much fun.

 

The next two days were at Disneyland.  I missed the first day because Madelyn came down with strep throat, which had gone through our family the week before.  So, I had some antibiotics on hand and quickly got them into her system.  She felt better the next day, so we joined everyone for another warm day in the sun.

Abby and Sam were walking together this morning, and I thought it was so cute.  I don't know what their conversation was about, but it looked serious!

 

Claire loved the bumper cars!

and so did Madelyn...

 

Claire loves the princesses.  We had lunch at Ariel's Grotto, and all of the pretty princesses came to our table to say hello to Claire.  It was so cute!

 

Another fun surprise was running into Sully from Monsters Inc.  Claire spent a long while looking at him and giggling.  

 

She also loved Dumbo, but who doesn't love Dumbo, right?!  I wanted to take Lyla on that ride, but she had fallen asleep.  She was pretty miserable this day because it was so hot and sunny outside, both of which she doesn't like.  So, I never got any pictures with her.
 

 

The following day they went to Universal Studios.  We didn't join them there, but met up with them for breakfast at their hotel on the last day.  It included more time with the characters, and a delicious buffet ;)!!  I didn't have my camera, but took a few pics with my phone.

The pictures are so much fun to look at, but don't quite capture the happiness we felt being there with Debbie, Claire, and the whole family.  It was an amazing few days, and I am so glad we got to share it with them.  We love you Calhouns!

First Day of School 2011

Boy was I excited to have school start this year.  We had a lot of fun this summer, but the lack of a structured schedule really wore on me, and created a lot of opportunities for the kids to fight with each other.  We were done!

I was really worried that Lyla would have a tough time starting back up again, especially since we were going to bus her to and from school.  When she started school last winter, it took her about 3 weeks to get comfortable.  It was so hard to see her upset, but in time she began to enjoy it, and by the end of the school year she was loving school.  We started to bus her home from school in the summer to try out the school transportation system.  She did great, so we planned on trying it in the mornings as well.  

The bus picks her up at 7:15am, which is really early, but we've managed to make it work really well for her.  Here she is on the first day, waiting for the bus to arrive.

 

We are still struggling to help her keep her head up in her wheelchair.  Her therapists are discussing different options, but in the meantime, this is what she looks like often...  could you die over those cute little pouty lips?!

 

By the end of the summer, we finally found her an umbrella to provide her shade while in her chair.  She still is really sensitive to any light, and overheats really easily, so this sun shade was extremely overdue.

 

Every morning now, the kids fight over who gets to push Lyla out to the bus.  She gets plenty of love and attention from her brother and sisters, it's really sweet.

 

Once Lyla is out the door, then I can help the other kids get their stuff ready for the day.  The girls were planning their first day outfits weeks ahead of time, and were so excited to finallly get dressed that morning.

 

Gotta get a shot of the new school bag every year.

 

Michael never gives me a nice smile when I ask him to.

 

Our grades are...

Yay for school starting!

Leadville 2011 - The Finish

Now for the finish line.

Mike was consistently a few minutes behind Rob McGee, so we were keeping our eyes open for Rob to approach the finish line first.  Maria was positioned at the bottom of the final street climb to the finish, so she was able to get pics as well as text us that he was approaching.  

I love seeing the mountains behind him in this picture, representing everything that he had just been climbing for 8 hours.

I was frantic to be in the right spot to see him finish.  I started out below the finish line, hoping to get some good pictures, but realized that I wanted to be at the finish line when he crossed.  My sister-in-law, Kristi, volunteered to take over my job of picture taking, and I gratefully let her.  Luckily, with Maria down below letting us know he was almost there, they allowed the kids and I to come through the fence and wait on the red carpet.  I can't tell you how excited I was!  My heart was beating so fast, my hands were shaking, and the tears were already flowing.  I couldn't believe that I was staring at the clock realizing that he was about to finish the race under 8 hours.  

 

I'm pretty sure Trista was as excited as I was, and was definitely as anxious to see him cross that finish line.

 

The kids were over-the-moon to be able to walk out to the finish line, and were probably a little excited to have it over, it was a long day!

 

We've finally caught sight of him!

 

7:56 finish time, when his goal was to ride under 9 hours.... seriously impressive!  I'm still so proud of you babe!

 

Trista and Mike, what a team!

 

Collapsing after the finish, understandable.

 

Another great shot of Mike and Coach T

 

Kristi found me the last diet coke from all of the vendors!

 

Our awesome longtime friends that live in Colorado were there at the last aid station and the finish.

 

My amazing brother Jeff and me.

I was so bummed to not have any pictures of Jeff and Kristi's family at the finish.  Kristi was focused on capturing all the moments with my camera, and I was so distracted that I didn't think to get her out from behind it.  But, I am so grateful that there were so many people there to support Mike.  It was a huge accomplishment, one that came from a lot of hard work, many hours on the bike, and a lot of guidance from a seasoned coach.  

I'm so proud of Mike, and so glad that I didn't have to deal with him had he not gotten under 9 hours!  It would have been ugly.

Leadville 2011 - On The Course

The first official aid station we were able to see Mike at was Pipeline.  I made my way over there after the start, and awaited Mike's arrival.

The day was starting out to be absolutely beautiful.  Our aid stations were predetermined by the boys, and scouted out the night before by the McGee's, Rob and Jon, who Mike trained with and who also did the race last year.

 

Trista and her family, including all three of her beautiful girls, came to all of the aid stations with us to cheer on Mike and Trista's other athletes and friends.  It was such a fun chance to catch up with the family.  It also made me nervous because she asked me if Mike and I had practiced the handoff of his musette with his bottles and food.  We had not, so I was really nervous!

Here is Trista and myself...

 

The first rider in our group to come through Pipeline was Rob McGee.  He is an incredible rider, and really fast.  I knew that Mike was positioned just after him, so we were prepared.  When we saw Mike, we were excited to see that he was already ahead of his splits.

 

The next stop was Twin Lakes, which was not much further down the road.  I had to race my way down there, and literally got there two minutes before Mike rolled in.

 

Trista helped get him situated and on his way again.

 

We waited at Twin Lakes for Mike to circle back from his climb up Columbine.  We took the opportunity to take some pics.  Here is the Staffieri family with our Team Staffieri's tshirts on.

 

This is my cousin's family, Greg and Trista, and their three beauties!

 

While I managed the Pipeline aid station again, Mike's family and my kids made their way up to Powerline, a grueling climb.  Here is Michael preparing to give Mike a high five.  Unfortunately, it caused Mike to lose his balance, but luckily he was able to get back on and keep riding up the hill.

 

The next time I saw him he was approaching the finish line, far ahead of his projected finish time!

Leadville 2011 - The Start

It's about time I get back to blogging!  I'm sorry for those of you that have been waiting to see pics of Mike's race.  I have no good excuse, just didn't feel like getting on the computer.

I wish I had had the energy to do it all right after we got back, so that things were still fresh on my mind.  But, we got sick with strep throat, then life just didn't slow down long enough for me to wrap my head around it all.  But, the kids are now in school, which means I have uninterrupted hours of the day that I can get stuff done.

The race was epic!  Mike completely crushed his goal, which made each hour that passed more exciting to follow him.  I will be dividing the posts up so that the pictures are not too long.

Mike was supposed to be starting in the back, behind two of his friends that he had been training really hard with, and among hundreds of riders that would be difficult to pass in order to make his goal time.   However, thanks to his awesome trainer Trista (who is also my awesome counsin), and a friend of hers at Timex, he was able to start almost at the very front!  Not only did this make his chances of making his time a lot better, but I am sure it gave him a great confidence boost as well.

 

Here is his bib number, along with the splits that he taped to his bike. 

 

Mike was lucky enough to be cheered along not only by me and the kids, but also his two sisters and family, his parents, Trista and her whole family, my brother and his family, coworkers, and dear friends. Not to mention those that were following his progress online.  It was amazing to feel that many supporters excited to watch Mike race!

Our kids were not supposed to be at the race until the afternoon, but Madelyn wanted to see Mike at the starting line, which meant she had to wake up at 4:30am to get there.  She was excited to see him get started!  It was a cold 40 degrees outside, and she didn't have enough warm clothing, so she was wrapped up in a large sweatshirt and anything else we could find for her.

 

I stayed at the trailer in Leadville the night before the race, while the rest of the family stayed in Vail and traveled up the next day.  I was honored to make Craig and Mike eggs in the morning, and assist with some preparation for the day.  

When I arrived at the start, and finally found Mike, I didn't realize I was standing right next to Trista until she turned around and threw her arms around me!  Here she is with Mike before the start, giving him some last words of advice and encouragement.

 

Here you see where Mike miraculously started.  The front row shows a few pros including Tinker Juarez and Rebecca Rusch (placed #1 for women).

 

The race founder, Ken Chlouber, was there to fire the traditional gunshot to start the race.  And I love this picture of Craig Mordock, one of Mike's great training friends.

 

I LOVE this picture of the riders taking off through the mist, and all the spectators trying to get photos of their riders.  

 

Overall, a very exciting start to the day.