Christmas 2009

We spent a quiet Christmas at home, and were lucky to have sunny and 60 weather! It sounds like everyone back home had a little too white of a Christmas :-)

Christmas Eve we went to the River Walk to check out the lights.

The Alamo in the background.
The area by the Alamo.

The trees on the River Walk were completely lit with colored lights from the top to bottom. It's hard to see how enchanting it is from the pictures but it is absolutely beautiful. It was really windy that day too but since the River Walk is below street level it wasn't too cold to walk around.

Bridget on Christmas morning.

The bow didn't last very long. It must have fallen off right after the first picture was taken because I turned around for one second and when I looked back she was eating it.

She also helped open presents.

After Christmas dinner we took a walk in the park.

Saturday night we went to see the Trans-Siberian Orchestra. We had never been to their show before and it was awesome!

We hope everyone had a very Merry Christmas and wish everyone nothing but the best in the new year!

Houston

Scott was in Houston the past two weekends getting his Commercial Multi-Engine Instument certificate, which he just completed this afternoon. This was the plane, a Piper Seminole. Congrats Scott!!!!

Flight to the North Pole

Saturday morning Valero provided the facilities for "Flight to the North Pole." Click here for a full article about it, it explains it far better than we could :-)

Shamu also made an appearance :-)

Thanksgiving 2009

We went home to Nebraska for Thanksgiving and had a great time seeing family and friends. We also drove the 15-hour trip, which allowed us to take the beagle.

Thanksgiving day we visited Scott's family in Elmwood. We took all of the dogs so we could go for a nice walk down by the tracks after dinner. Bridget and Nala had to share a house.

Walking on the trail.

A general Nebraska scene looking out from the wooded area by the trail.

Jade found a deer jaw bone.

Sadie and Nala got to go swimming, but Bridget just got to watch because she cannot be trusted for any length of time off of a leash (we've learned this the hard way).

Friday we celebrated Thanksgiving dinner with Renee's family.

Family picture.

Saturday morning Scott took a few people flying in Lincoln. The air was crisp and clear, perfect for flying! We were in Lincoln right as the sun was coming up.

The first flight was Eric and his friend Clint.

Taking off. Next Scott took Grandpa Young and Katie. It was Grandpa's 83rd birthday as well!

All set...

They got a quick tour of Lincoln.

The last flight was Scott's dad and niece.

They flew over Elmwood. Saturday afternoon we went to see Scott's sister's family and their various animals, which included, but were not limited to the following: Edward the goat, Botticelli the St. Bernard, an unknown snake, and numerous anonymous dead deer (not pictured).

Renee and Edward the goat.
Jade and Botticelli.

Kristin showing Scott the snake.

We had an awesome trip...no problems on the road and great weather. It was great to get to see everyone!

The Mellow Johnny's Classic

Today was the bike race, called the Mellow Johnny's Classic at Lance Armstrong's ranch. Scott finished 14th out of 17 (out of 20 if you count the three who didn't show) in the 20-29 age group in the beginner's category (called Cat 3). The goal was just to finish, so expectations were exceeded.

Brad and Scott, ready to ride.

This was their group at the starting line.
And they're off...

While they were racing, Renee enjoyed the views near the finish line.

Where the vendors were set up and the start and finish lines were placed was on the top of a hill, and although the day started cloudy it got really pretty by midmorning.

Scott crossing the finish line!

It rained a couple days ago and the course was really muddy in places. Scott didn't fare too bad, especially since he didn't crash this time :-) There were a lot of riders, especially in the early races that came back covered and splattered in mud.

Just as Scott finished, the pro category (Cat 1) was getting ready to go, which is the one Lance was racing in. This picture is from right after they left the starting line, and they were going so crazy fast we weren't able to get a picture of Lance. He's in this group but behind some people so you can't see him in the picture. We went over to the finish line to try and get him when he came back after the first lap but they announced he had gotten a flat tire and withdrawn from the race. He may have come back to the staging area eventually but we left shortly thereafter. Long story short, no pictures of Lance and since it's so hard to recognize anyone with a cycling outfit and gear on, especially when they're going past you in a group at what seems like 100 mph, we really didn't even see him. He was in there somewhere towards the front :-)

Austin

Saturday we went to Austin to pick up Scott's registration packet for a bike race he entered for next weekend at Lance Armstrong's ranch. Scott is in the beginner's race, which is 8 miles long and pretty rocky. There is another race that is 24 miles long that Lance himself is racing in. It is at a later time and is the same course, just a couple more laps. We picked up the packet at Mellow Johnny's Bike Shop, which is Lance's shop. He did not appear to be working this particular day as we did not see him.
Downtown Austin.

Mellow Johnny's.
This is the bike Lance rode in this year's Tour de France. A 2010 Trek Madone.
Sunday Scott and his friend Brad (who is also racing) went to Lance's ranch to do a practice ride. Lance's house is at the top of the hill.
Scott crashed and went over his handlebars within the first couple of miles. This is him hobbling back to his bike...he skidded a good ways down the hill once he and his bike parted ways, luckily no serious injuries.

Weekend Flights

Friday a friend of one of the pilots Scott works with brought his home built Vans RV-7 in. He was nice enough to give Scott a demo flight. Scott now wants one.

Saturday Scott went flying with his friend Brad and they flew over a C-5 military plane doing touch and gos at Lackland Air Force Base, and got this cool picture.