tomorrow and tomorrow and tomorrow

We are in the midst of a storm like I haven’t seen here since…I guess since I can remember. It seems like the tornado warning could actually result in a tornado. The trees are bing blown sideways, wind is howling on both sides of the house, and the rain is so loud it drowns out the television.

Illy is shaking like a leaf. At least she was until Aaron sat down next to her. Even the Frosty Paws couldn’t quite keep her mind off her terror, but being able to lean on Aaron seems to have been all she needed.

I know how she feels.

It was another sweltering day today, and what better way to spend it than mountain biking? We headed over to Kelly and Pat’s new house, and ooh-ed and aaah-ed over it for a little bit, and played with their foster kittens.

Then we hit the road. We can bike from their house to the trail, which is awesome. We passed an entrance to an off-road mountain biking trail, so we decided to give it a try.

It was a single lane trail, with some decent hills, accompanied by some nice rocks. It really wore me out, but I think we all enjoyed it.

We rode for a bit more and had to stop for a rest by the quarry. Well, I had to stop, not sure about anyone else! But it was super hot out there.

We finally made it back to the house and decided to hang out in the basement with the kittens some more.

I almost stole the black one on our way out!

I can’t believe, with all the research that’s been going on, people still think eating fat raises your risk of heart disease. Or that low carb diets are ‘fads’ or ‘unhealthy’ or that ‘moderation’ is the answer to everything.

Suck it!

IllyAaron 008, originally uploaded by MissRancher.

So yesterday, Illy is lying on the couch in her normal spot, and Aaron is lying with his head on the other end. I come and sit between them, give Aaron a kiss and pet Illy. We’re sitting there, happy, and then Illy gets up.

We think she’s going to jump off the couch because she’s crowded.

But no.

She puts one paw on my thigh, testing it out, and then steps OVER me, to get to Aaron. She lays down next to him and starts licking his face, then gives me an innocent look.

Hmmph!

We decided to go check out mountain bikes yesterday, just to ‘look around’. We didn’t actually buy the first bikes we rode, but it was close. There is an A1 Cycling shop right behind our house, but the selection was small. So we called Austin to see where he had gotten his bike, which he had raved about recently. He went to the A1 Cycling in Herndon, so we headed up there, where he met up with us, just to hang out.

Aaron had fallen in love with a dual suspension bike which was $2k, and I was not excited about the idea of him actually purchasing said bike. Austin managed to convince me to try out the bike he bought, since it was priced right, light, and decent enough. I wasn’t looking for anything top of the line, by any means.

So I tried it. It’s a Specialized HRXC - nothing fancy, but rides nice. Sold! Aaron meanwhile was checking out all kinds of different bikes. He did try the Specialized, and it was good, but it was a hard tail, and it didn’t make him swoon. So was it good enough?

See for yourself:

Yes, we bought matching bikes. And we bought the same bike Austin has. Can’t wait to all go riding together!!

I’m pretty sure Aaron will end up trading this one in for a lighter, better, dual suspension model - but hopefully not until next year!

We took them out today to Conway-Robinson. One guy was just leaving when we got there, and he said the trails were good, and not too muddy. We had the place to ourselves after he left.

Some of the trail is wide, enough to go side by side on, but most of it is a narrow single track, in some places squeezed by trees where you had to have pretty good aim or you could get knocked around a bit. There were lots of rocks (now I understand why one model of bike is called a ‘Rockhopper’), and lots of roots and logs blocking the path.

I mostly walked the bike over the logs, just because I wasn’t sure of the clearance and I didn’t want to destroy the bike, or myself, the first time out. I did go over one log at the end, which was pretty exciting.

I think we’ll definitely get back out there next weekend. Hopefully we’ll find some good places to ride during the week, too, so we don’t get bored with Conway.

We took advantage of the cool-er weather we’ve been having, and the holiday, to take Illy on a hike. We went to the Conway-Robinson Forest, which is maybe 10 minutes from our house. It’s inbetween the Battlefield and the Bull Run Conservancy, which is where we hiked a lot last summer. We chose Conway because Bull Run doesn’t allow dogs, even though we’ve seen them there, and Conway’s trails are also meant for mountain biking, and we wanted to check them out, in case we decide to invest in some bikes.

I really liked Conway, even though it didn’t have any hills and wasn’t as long as Bull Run. We saw a beautiful buck, with a large rack of antlers, and a doe with a flashy white tail.

We also saw a turtle.

Illy wasn’t quite sure what to make of him.

We also saw a lot of hoof prints and horse droppings - which made me really want to look into how we can go horseback riding around here!

We ended up doing the 2 mile loop by accident, with several water breaks for Illy.

It’s nowhere near as nice as the hikes Amelia and Joe get to go on in Denver, but I guess it will have to do for now!

Illy had a great time chasing down squirrels and snapping at bees and flies. I have a feeling we’ll be back again soon.

I was really happy that on the way home, Illy settled into the car ride very well and didn’t seem stressed or anxious at all. She’s really coming around!

It’s been a busy, awesome weekend. Today is a much needed day of rest and recovery.

Kim came down on Friday, proving once again what a wonderful, loyal friend she is.  Sitting in traffic for hours, paying out the nose for tanks of gas, and not even for me, but to celebrate Aaron’s graduation - good friends are rare indeed. Those who will drive over 4 hours to see you are even rarer.

We went to our now-traditional Kim’s Visit Dinner at Carraba’s on Friday, and rounded out the night by perusing knitting books at Borders.

Saturday was graduation day. It was actually really emotional for me. Pomp and Circumstance - it gets me every time. I was so proud of Aaron, and he looked so good in his regalia. He got a medal for graduating with honors and was announced as graduating Summa Cum Laude as he walked across the stage. He had the biggest grin as he flipped his tassel from the right side to the left.

His dad was very proud.

It was a really hot day so we headed home to get ready for the bbq.

We had a full house with about 21 people - including Aaron’s nephews, who enjoyed playing with my My Little Ponies.

I made three sets of burgers - Mega Spicy, Kinda Spicy, and Mostly Mild. I call it a success when people are wiping sweat from their brows and tears from their eyes, grinning all the while.

Everyone loved our Snuggler Recliner.

Austin’s margaritas were a hit, as were the shots of Patron.

This meant that, as per usual, we are left with two vegetable drawers filled to the brim with beer, three bottles of white in the fridge and 5 bottles of red - all waiting to be drunk. So, I guess we need to throw another bbq so we can kill some of the leftover libations!

Thanks to all who came and celebrated with us. We are lucky to have such great friends and family!

Full photo sets are on our Flickr page.