Maiden Voyage!

Ahoy! This is our first blog post for the Lara Family Adventures blog. I would of just gone with "Lara Family," but apparently that blog name was already taken. Who knows, maybe they are distant relatives of ours? Hmmm.... At any rate, today marks our maiden voyage and we'll see how our blogging goes.

The latest and greatest news from our family:
Memorial Weekend - Our family spent the entire weekend camping and enjoying a mountain bike festival a touch south of Harrisonburg, Virginia. It was a great festival Paul found (right after he purchased his new Trek mountain bike). Needless to say, he was eager to ride his new bike and Olive and I were eager to oblige. We are mountain girls, after all, right? After spending three months nestled in the mountains of Nevada/California and Colorado for the winter, we all were happy to get back the hills. The festival was a great gathering. We camped with 200+ people who all seemed to share a love for the outdoors and especially biking (both road and mountain). I did a women's ride one day for three hours (about 22 miles). Though the ride was billed as a "mellow" ride, there was nothing mellow about it in my book! Single track, hill climbs, in and out of the saddle, fire roads, rock gardens. Mellow, my tush! I enjoyed the exercise, loved the distracting conversations with fellow women riders, and felt accomplished after my ride was finished. I was not super eager to ride more, but instead enjoyed hiking with Olive and playing in the local river. With just a small contribution to riding, Paul made up for it! Paul enjoyed two different rides. The "swift" ride, as it was called, was semi-swift, 30+ miles and challenging. Paul enjoyed some big hill climbs and the company of a fellow rider, who Paul tactfully told me provided Paul with plenty of opportunities to rest. Apparently, his new-friend-co-rider wasn't in tremendous shape. But, it is just May, the start of the season, right? Who is in perfect shape? The next day, Paul opted for the "huge" ride and enjoyed a steady day of challenging hill climbs, single track, rock gardens, road sections, skilled riders and 50+ miles in and out of the saddle! Typing the description makes me tired.... Paul loved the huge ride confirming that he has an eye of the Shenandoah 100 (yes, a 100 mile mountain bike ride/race during Labor Day weekend). He is making the most of his new bike purchase, isn't he?

...This is the spot where I would normally upload a photo, but we could not find our camera the entire weekend....

June events - Though the summer usually slows done for our family, this year, not so much. Paul will balance working full-time, riding his new bike (see a theme here?), running and road biking and attending a class at MIT this summer. Besides the Shenandoah 100, he is also training for another fall marathon, some century (100 mile) road rides and other mountain biking events of various lengths....Oh, and spending time with Olive and I! Olive has a busy summer of Courtney (our awesome nanny who Olive adores), finishing up her gymnastics season, a trip to the beach with the Amin Family (Dillon, Toby, and Kate - we are leaving the dads at home!), and spending time with her cousins (when they are not jump roping or going to camp), as well as, Paul's family, a hopeful visit to Florida, a visit from Grammie....life is forever a party for Olive! Me? I am inspired! I am developing a technology class for educators (which is what prompted me blogging), then re-developing the course for online delivery for parents and grandparents so they, too, will be in the tech-loop and researching some "other" ideas I have floating around my head. I think the high altitude and dramatic landscapes this winter planted seeds within me. I shall water them! Other fun things scheduled for me include a Jen-only trip to Chicago this summer to work at the Alli Tour (an action sports tour, my friend, Wade organizes) and to meet up with four very special girlfriends who I taught with in Ecuador. I am flying in from Maryland. Sheri is flying in from California. Angela is driving in from Michigan. Shelley is flying in from Canada and Jen M. is flying in from Singapore! Isn't that neat? We five are so looking forward to being together! Ahhh....

Ok, remember that technology class I am developing? Well, I really need to go and put the pedal to the metal. I will try and blog another day. Until then, Jen