Playing catch up!

Hi friends! 

So much has been happening in the last week and there just hasn't been time to share all the fun. :) So, I decided to post some pictures and write some captions (sorry, that's the yearbook geek in me) to catch everyone up on the latest stuff around our crazy house. Here goes ... 

Pictured above is Chuck's ever-growing Union Hill mountain bike club. The group meets each Friday after school and rides for an hour through Empire Mine. Last Friday, 18 students showed up to participate! Pretty incredible numbers, then again ... when the "coach" and teacher is ranked No. 1 in the country it would be hard to pass up the chance to ride. On a side note, several of my high school students know Chuck from his days as a Nevada Union mountain bike coach. A few of them have actually started showing for the Union Hill Friday rides to participate. What a great experience all the way around! 

On July 23, Chuck and his good friend and riding partner, Chris Thibodeau left at 6:30 a.m. for an all day ride in Lake Tahoe. All day, by the way, was about 12 hours, as they returned home about 6:30 that night! The ride took them through some beautiful country and Chuck was able to figure out the timer feature on our new camera to snap this photo. There were lots of pictures that came back and after seeing them I had a hint of jealousy. I would love to get to see some of that area with my own eyes, but I know there's no way I could ride through the terrain they did. I suppose I'll settle for the pictures and stories!  

August 24 we celebrated Chuck's birthday with my family at Mas in Roseville. This was the day after the big bike ride and Chuck enjoyed the mojitos (a Dickson family favorite) with his meal. 

(Now that's saying something!) It was a great little party. 

Monday night we enjoyed another Kuk Sool class, but this time it was Chuck's turn. I love watching him run through the forms. His body movement with the kicks and such is amazing. Yup, I'm in love! <3 

Labor Day weekend wasn't just for an extra day off school. Nope, we put those kids to work! :) Just kidding. The weather was so perfect that we had some fun playing outside. The kids managed to discover "treasure" while digging. (Between you and me it looked amazingly like an old piece of bike chain, but our "pirates" were able to make it into hidden treasure and keep themselves occupied for quite a while!)

Chloe stops to pose for the camera. She loves when she's asked to smile! :) Outside she's usually the one showing the boys the best way to get dirty in the dirt and leaves. I love that she just jumps right in. A bit of a girly girl at times, but certainly never afraid to get her hands dirty. Thata girl! :) 

Zack, on the other hand, would not let me take any pictures of him digging or playing ... his new favorite thing to do is turn away from the camera so his face can't be seen. But, at least in this picture you can tell how much fun he had. Either that, or he's prepping for an audition in Annie as one of the orphan kids. Hahaha! JUST KIDDING. :) 

Saturday night we celebrated Chuck and Aunt Donnie's birthdays. What a fun family get together! The kids even found time to play in the pool. By the way, we don't usually put Chloe in a shower cap to swim, but we forgot her earplugs. Personally, I think she may be on to something ... bringing shower caps back. She is a fashionista! Veeerrry nice! :) 

I think that pretty much wraps up the week. The upcoming week will have more Kuk Sool, school pictures, bike rides, mountain bike club, Chuck's first school dance, a slumber party at Grammy and Papa's for Zack and so much more! Hope your long weekend was great! 

Much love,

--M