adventures in bike riding

So, since Cody & I got new bikes this weekend, we have been riding them every evening. Yesterday we tried to go to a trail called Centennial trail in Ogden. Apparently this "Centennial Trail" will at some point in the future connect to all the trails in Ogden. As of now it doesn't. Tonight, we tried a different part of the centennial trail that actually connects. But what an adventure. Basically we rode all the way across Ogden from West to East.

So, first of all, the trail is under construction in parts so it just kind of ends. And you have the choice to turn around or to go along the streets of Ogden to find where it picks back up again. Seeing as I had my husband with me, we decided to see if we could pick it back up again. I would not do this on my own. At one point it detoured but as we were spit off the trail, there were no visible signs of where the detour went, so we followed the street for a while, and as we decided to turn around and look in a different spot some dog started running at us from down the street. He kept picking up speed so we decided to high tail it outta there. He chased us for about a block and a half. That was fun. Then we figured out that the detour takes you through some gravel pit to reconnect to the trail on the other side. Ok.

So we pick the trail back up (again) and when we got as far as we wanted to go East, we decided to cross a little bridge to rest a moment. Well at that same time some gangsta ride pulls up and a Mexican guy with 2 chicks with him get out and pull out 2 giant pit bulls. It was ridiculous to have these dogs at a public trail because they could barely control them and they looked MEAN. My first thought was that they took them here to have some kind of dog fight in the parking lot.

So, I had just gotten off my bike when they pulled up and my damn brand-new bike fell right over. Then we saw the pit bulls so I told Cody let's get the hell out of here. So he took off over the bridge (pulling the trailer with kids) and I go to follow him and my bike starts making a bad sound. I thought maybe my chain had come off so I call out for Cody, meanwhile the barely leashed pit bulls are barreling past me. I realize it is just my kick stand that is hitting my spokes so I bend it back out and ride out past them. The damn dogs are pulling the stupid owners all over the track and I am simply astounded A) that they didn't just pull loose because they were Big and they were Strong and B) how moronic these people were to actually have them there. So I am finally past them when I get to Cody who is trying to come back to help me and I'm trying to tell him to just keep going, so he is trying to turn around and go right as the dogs catch up to us again. Finally we got ahead of them. What a crazy, ridiculous situation.

Then we get back to the detour through the gravel pit (which had much better signs going the other way) and we pass two guys walking, one of whom has a crowbar. And remember to picture us, following the trail which on one side has the beautiful river, the other travels behind the back of industrial Ogden and we are in a deserted gravel pit. So we speed up, and as we get out of the pit, I look back and these guys are running (luckily the opposite direction from us down the street where the first dog chased us) yelling "Hey!" in a very angry sounding voice brandishing his tire iron above his head. Lovely.

So aside from all that adventure, it was a lovely ride. Ogden has beautiful trails that run right along the river. But I will tell you that I don't think I'll be going on those trails at sunset without my husband with me!

the cello

Last week, I took my first cello lesson. Learning to play the cello is something I have wanted to do for a long long time. It is a little difficult because I do not OWN a cello, but I found a teacher who lets me use hers during the lesson. The problem with this is I can't practice in between lessons.

I did want to take a few lessons before purchasing one so that I could see if it's something I really wanted to do, and learn a little more about it so I didn't have to purchase one with no idea whatsoever on what to ask, what to look for, etc. So that's the next step I suppose.

I have not played an instrument with a bow before. It is not as easy as it looks. Somewhere in my head I think I thought I would already know how to play the cello, I would just have to learn the fingerings and how to play songs. Not so. I actually have to learn how to play the instrument first. This may sound weird, but I have always been able to pick up an instrument and pretty much play it. I can't read music very well (at least not with any amount of speed or accuracy) but I can sound out a tune on anything. Or so I thought. I'm sure I could sound something out on the cello as well, but it certainly wouldn't do any justice to the beautiful sound the instrument is supposed to make.

My teacher has told me that I have a great ear, and if I had my own cello she thinks it wouldn't take me long at all to be really good at it. She says I'm picking it up very nicely. So that's encouraging. Her teenage daughter was at home during my lesson tonight and she was also throwing compliments around like "this is only your second lesson? Wow!"

So it is fun and I look forward to the lesson each week. I really wish I had my own cello so I could practice, but I suppose my birthday is coming up (hint hint:).

My teacher, Angela, is very nice. She plays with a symphony and it is great to listen to her. She is very talented. She has also been teaching me about the instrument, not just how to play it, and has even offered to help me find a decent cello to buy (she will go with me and play it to make sure it stays in tune, etc). I think she is wealth of knowledge and I am just glad that she seems willing to pass that knowledge on to her students, not every teacher does that.

All in all, it is a fun thing for me to do every week. I hope that I can eventually find a decent cello for a decent price so that I can actually practice it and advance each week. I would love to have this be something I am good at. For now, I am loving having the "me time" every week and finally getting into something I have wanted to do for so long.

St. George weekend

Here is where we were staying in St. George. Everyone was on the same little street. What a fun weekend we had. We just had to stay two more days! Aunt Erin & Baby B

Burgundy with Scarlet. When Finn first met her, he asked me if he could go where "Sparkle" was going. (I guess Scarlet wasn't in his vocabulary) So she was Sparkle from then on.

Cody on Laci's long board

These kids didn't have any fun together at all. But really, I only saw Finn in tiny increments of running from one place to another. He had SO much fun playing with his cousins all weekend.

Burgundy & Aunt Laci in the pool.

Gobbles.

Bathing beauty

And the preschool graduate!