Welcome to November

Halloween has passed and now we are here in November (National Beth month). This year we decided that our pumpkin needed to have two little bottom teeth just like our sweetie:

Can you see those two little teeth?

As always, keeping life full of activities and craziness. Will it ever slow down for us? Probably not if we can help it :) We tend to load up our lives with all sorts of different things. I think it is our nature being active people. Yesterday, was the State Cyclocross race. Taylor raced single speed and finished 8th amongst a group of strong riders (all while dropping his chain twice during the race). Here are a couple of favorite pics from the day:

Did everyone have a nice Halloween? We have been enjoying unusually warm weather here in Iowa for this time of year (today I think we will reach 70 again). Taylor is out doing the Dirty Duathlon (2 mile trail run, 12 mile mountain bike, 2 mile trail run)....despite not having really ANY training time over the last few weeks (special thanks to Tay from his loving family for all of his hard work around the house). 

Woot woot...grand entrance

We're in....yeah, that's right. We bought a house (just a partial house shot for you as a teaser to come and visit us).  Anyone out there in need of a condo? :)

6 Degrees of Separation

Well, not really...but Beth is feeling pretty well connect right now. Why? Take a look:

This is a card that was autographed specifically for Beth & Taylor by Fabian Cancellara...who is one fantastic professional cyclist.  He won the Gold medal at the Bejing Olympics this year in the Time Trial (road cycling) and received the Bronze medal in the road race there as well. He has quite a few accomplishments actually...check them out on Wikipedia.

Race Pics

I know that there are some dedicated blog followers who were missing out on Taylor's race images from Sunday's Cyclocross race. Here he is bounding over a barrier:

Are long-sleeve skinsuits all the rage or what? 

The goodness

Is anyone else loving October? Lots of good things happening here on the family front.

We had a really nice weekend. Lots of family time, which makes Mom a happy Mommy. We went to a pumpkin patch, had our little girls baptism, and Dad participated in another Cyclocross race. Don't want to overload with pictures on this post, but can't resist a few recent ones. Sedore Fam: yeah, you rock :)Marco was rockin' a pair of these bad boys (not the Camo like Tay here) at the race....Taylor of course was fascinated. So far he is enjoying his pair although it will take a little getting used to (feels like going barefoot). www.vibramfivefingers.com

Fall is here

What are signs of fall in your neck of the woods? Around here at the zoo...it is when Cyclocross season starts. Taylor had 2 races this weekend, and ended up with 2nd  & 3rd place, respectively in the single speed category. The prize? A 6-pack from one of the local brewers. Way to go Hubbs!

If you haven't been to a cyclocross race, one of the "musts" is to have a cowbell to ring at the riders to cheer them on. Where this tradition came from, who knows...but our little pumpkin thought she would participate too.
Speaking of Cuteness, today we had her 6 MONTH check up....6 months exactly today. Isn't it amazing? She is in the 75th percentile for height (26.25 inches) and the 10th still for weight (13lbs 12oz). Our little string bean!

Good Times

Last weekend we took our first family vacation (extended weekend) with our little pumpkin.  This year is the first in probably 5 that we have not done the drive to Colorado for a vacation.  We made the decision that 12 hours was too much time in the car for a 6 month old and so Beth did some research on where we could go and enjoy some of our favorite CO outdoor activities and not spend as much time in the car. The result? La Crosse, WI

Taylor got in some mountain biking and some trail running, and the family got in a nice hike (see above image from the Lookout we hiked to), bike ride, trip to an apple orchard, and a little bit of relaxation.
Stopping along the Hixon Forest trail to our lookout point to take a Mother-Daughter shot
Exploring Apples
Riding the Great River Bike Trail from Onalaska
Part of the HPT mountain bike trail that Taylor rode

All in all, a nice break from the daily grind :)