Trick-or-treating!

Keira was lucky enough to go trick-or-treating with her two best buds again this year.
Two princesses and a pony!

 


 Akemi and Cyrus had fun tagging along and they each wore part of their costumes.

 


 Happy Halloween!

 

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Little Stompers Halloween Parade

When Keira told me she wanted to be Rainbow Dash for Halloween my first thought was, "How the heck am I going to make my 4 year old into a pony?!"

Lucky for me we have the internet, and lucky for her she's so darn cute that I gave it my best effort.

I knew the rainbow wig was going to be problematic but we got some cute pictures and she thought she was awesome so we were both happy.

 

 Here's a video of the kiddos from Little Stompers singing the songs they've been practicing.

 

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Pumpkin Carving

Keira picked out what she called a "cupcake pumpkin" this year.

She learned a new song at school and was exciting to be able to carve it.



As is beginning to be our tradition, mom scoops out the guts and dad does the carving.
I do have my little side kicks to keep me entertained along the way.

Akemi was super sweet and kept singing "Happy Birthday" to our jack-o-lantern, although when she was done singing and Keira blew out the candle they both cried.  :)

 

Keira ended the night with another pumpkin song.  She loves to sing!



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Cousin Time!

We promised the girls that after Pablove Across America we would take them back to spend some time with their cousins. It's sweet that they look forward to hanging with Aiden and Colten.

The girls and I flew to Chicago with my parents (Naveen had to spend the week in NY for work) and had a great time. The weather didn't cooperate... lots of rain but we found ways to keep ourselves busy.



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The "Cupcake" Pumpkin

Our mission was to find a large-ish pumpkin that we could carve as a family.

We thought that we were off to a good start however Keira fell in love with a gourd,



and Akemi was fascinated by the straw

 

 Luckily, Keira spotted what she referred to as a "cupcake" pumpkin so we bought it and headed home!

 

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Fun at the museum!

It was cold and rainy while we were back in IL but that didn't keep the kiddos from having a blast together. 

We spent pretty much the entire day up at the Rockford Children's Museum and the kids couldn't have been happier.

It was an extra special day because Uncle Brandon took the day off from work to play!





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PAA Day 6 - "Rolling Hope"

Throughout the week on PAA, you learn about why people are here...families who have been affected by cancer directly or indirectly.  During the week we talk and joke about cycling, adventures from the road, climbs that we did, sections of the road and groups that were crushed by blistering pace setting...on and on go the glory tales and fun competitive egging-on.  But at night during dinner the reality of what we're doing and why we're doing this sets in and through informal chats and private stories, as you hear about all the pain and suffering that everyone has gone through having their child diagnosed with cancer...some still fighting, some who lost their battle, and some, like Keira, who are dealing with the aftermath.

Tonight as we had our final dinner on the road, having ridden 451 miles through California, we had several people speak openly, honestly, and fearlessly about what has brought them here.  This is about as real as it gets and it puts one's life into perspective quickly.  Raw emotions and stories of dealing with cancer filled the room, from Jeff and Jo Ann (founders of Pablove) talking about the loss of their son Pablo, to making connections with other parents who have lost their kids, others whose kids are in treatment, and others like Keira who are battling with ongoing issues like OMS.

This is a group of people that now shares a common bond, an experience of being with others who have suffered directly or indirectly, for their child or that of a friend or loved one, and has spent 6 days cycling and experiencing the freedom and meditation of the open road, all together.  And yet, this is a group of people that I could easily say "I wish I had never met you", and each member would easily understand.

Crystal and I set out on this ride this year to raise money and awareness for OMS.  It was hard.  It required several months of training, fundraising, babysitter coordination, and most important time away from Keira and Akemi.  As I type this on our last night of PAA 2013, the feeling is bittersweet.  We really miss the girls, but this ride has allowed us to raise $43K this year, it has spread awareness about OMS, it has allowed Crystal and I to connect again on the bike, and it has allowed us to meet so many amazing people.  We've had so many stories from the road and experiences that we're never going to forget.  And while I can't wait to be back at home with Keira and Akemi, I can't help but think how much work still needs to be done.  As my good friend Alex Weinert said tonight as he talked about what we are doing here, he dubbed it "rolling hope" -- hope for a cure, hope for a faster diagnosis, hope for kids who will get cancer and hope for kids who have had it and continue to live with it's after-effects.  I'm proud that Crystal and I, along with our good friends Gautham and Brian were able to be a part of this and so grateful for the support you, our friends and family, have given us to make this happen.  Tomorrow we ride 88 miles to LA to finish of PAA 2013.

http://www.stayclassy.org/teamv

PAA 2013 - Day 5, Pismo Beach to Buellton

We left from Pismo Beach this morning and headed slightly inland to Foxen Canyon.

Today was the much anticipated Team Time Trials.  For those of you that don't know what a Time Trial is, basically a group of cyclists ride as fast as they can, using drafting or pacing tactics to get to the finish line first.  The time doesn't stop until the entire team is across the finish line.

For the PAA Time Trials there were three people in each team and started at mile 47 of today's ride.  The course was 7 miles long and included a climb early on, followed by a decent and then a hilltop finish.  I am not a very fast climber so I was lucky to have been put with two stronger cyclists.  Wes and Daniel did a great job encouraging me through the 7 miles and pushed me (literally!) to do my best.
Naveen, Ryan and Bill were a strong team combo and ended up coming in first place!  Their total time was 21 minutes and 17 seconds.  The second place team came in at 22 minutes 40 seconds so they really rode hard coming in a full minute before the next team!!  Way to go Naveen!

Gautham, Hratch and Alex W. came in third place and Brian's team came in at respectable fifth place. Pretty cool that Team V had riders in the top five teams!

I was just happy to have finished the Time Trial.  Truly, I've come quite a long way with my cycling these past six months.  When I first heard about these Team Time Trials I thought there was no way I would be doing it, but I am happy to have pushed myself to try something out of my comfort zone.  It's super sweet to see the team and coaching aspect of cycling come to life in this ride.

Check out this picture of my team crossing the finish line.

The total milage for today was almost 70 miles.  It's crazy to think we've been doing this for FIVE DAYS IN A ROW!  We're happy to see the donations still coming in.

The Pablove Foundation is approaching the $350K mark and Team V is at $42K.  Please continue to share what we are doing this week and if you haven't donated there is still time! http://www.stayclassy.org/fundraise/team?ftid=23486

PAA 2013 - Day 4, Cambria to Pismo Beach

Despite leaving 2 1/2 hours later than yesterday it was super cold and overcast this morning with a forecast for rain!  Today's ride was about 60 miles in total but most of the effort came early in the day.

We rode through the cute downtown of Cambria and turned left into the mountains.  It was such a scenic road and totally looked and felt like fall.  I have to say that most of the uphill was manageable, however there was a section that was super steep - Naveen says it was a 15-20% grade!  Gautham did a great job pacing me up to the top, reminding me to stay present and only worry about the road in front of me.  I seriously thought I might not make it but miracles do happen.  :)

So that was the aggro part of the day, the rest of the ride was super chill.  We hooked up with Zoe and Sara (the only other women in PAA this year) and enjoyed the ride.  It was fun to practice riding in a pace line with a smaller group.

When we arrived at the hotel we found out that a local TV station wanted to interview us for a spot on tonight's news!  The reporter said she was touched by our story and that it was inspiring that we were doing this ride as a couple.  After a super quick shower we spent about an hour talking with her about Keira's OMS journey.  Hopefully it will help to raise awareness for OMS and maybe even get us a few more donations towards our research grant!
http://stayclassy.org/teamv

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PAA 2013 - Day 3, Big Sur - 95 Miles, 6800ft

Today was easily one of the most amazing days on a bike that Crystal and I have ever had.  Riding through Big Sur CA is a bucket list item and today did not disappoint.   We were pretty nervous when we got up this morning knowing how many miles and hills were in front of us (not to mention how cold it was when we got up).  Once we got rolling out of Carmel, it was only a matter of miles before we were in the middle of post-card worthy vistas -- enormous sweeping mountains and cliffs meeting the huge, crashing waves of the Pacific Ocean.   And it was like this for pretty much the next 90 miles...big climbs, big descents, and big views.  

I also wanted to note that Crystal did amazing throughout the last two days, but especially on this day.  It was a grueling day on the saddle and with a lot of hard, rolling terrain, not to mention 95 miles of riding.  All of Crystal's hard work and training paid off today and we were able to ride together for the entire ride, which was pretty amazing.

And also, we got a number of donations today, getting our total to $41,600+.  Thank you so much for your love and support, and if you haven't already donated, please take this opportunity to do so: http://stayclassy.org/teamv

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