BP MS150 Team Owuor

Michael took part in the Houston to Austin BP MS150 Bicycle ride this year on April 17-18. He's been training for this ride for over a year and had been looking forward to riding alongside his two brothers Alex and Dwayne. The three brothers had been getting together nearly every weekend to practice long distance riding for the two months preceding the event. It worked out that Dwayne didn't ride this time but a church friend, John Jackson, joined team Owuor and all had a great time. The first day the guys rode 100 miles and then stopped over in La Grange where they camped out. Early the next morning it started intensely raining and all were fearful that the second day might get canceled. But the cool air came in and the rain stopped right before go time. The guys rode the final leg of 78 miles and felt like rock stars when they crossed the finish line in downtown Austin. Michael said that there were tons of supporters lining the streets throughout the ride but that the finish line was especially packed. Unfortunately for me, I wasn't able to meet up at the finish line or experience any part of this ride because I was out of town for my sisters' wedding. Fortunately for me, it was such a great experience that Michael has enjoyed sharing some of the highlights and some few moments were captured on other camera's. So I've asked him to report on the experience in his own words and am hopeful that he'll find a free moment to do so. Let me just say that I am so proud of my sweetheart for his drive and dedication. He takes on such amazing challenges and it's so inspiring to me. I know that participating was a personal goal but it also became a quest for a worthy cause. Michaels' Facebook status when he completed the ride was the following "Endured two days and 168 miles on a bicycle to support the cause of finding a cure for MS. As long as there is no cure, those who have it endure it every day. This is why I ride."

This was a little info that I snagged from the website:

The BP MS 150 is a two-day fundraising cycling ride organized by the National MS Society: Lone Star the third weekend of April. This ride is the largest event of its kind in North America. In 2009, the event raised more than $17 million for multiple sclerosis.

The ride is a 180-mile journey for MS from Houston to Austin. Breakpoints are positioned every 8-15 miles. The ride begins Saturday morning at three convenient starting points: Omni Westside Hotel in Houston, Rhodes Stadium in Katy and Waller Stadium in Waller. Riders follow scenic roads into Bellville for lunch. Day One ends at the Fayette County Fairgrounds overnight in La Grange.

On Sunday morning Club 300 members lead the start on one of two routes that lead to Bastrop Intermediate School for lunch from the fairgrounds. Take the Bechtel Challenge Route and enjoy the rolling terrain of Bastrop and Buescher State Parks or bypass the parks via the Pfizer Lunch Express Route. The final leg of Day Two takes riders into Austin for exciting Finish Line festivities at the capital.

All about the Bride

My Aunt Cathy and her girls threw JoAnna an amazing bridal shower. It had a time theme, which was adorable. Each guest was assigned a block of time and asked to bring a gift that fit that time frame. It was fun to see what everyone gifted her and it was great to see so many familiar faces to support and celebrate with her. Thanks to my auntie and cousins for putting on a great party. And thanks to everyone who joined in the fun.

As you can see my sister, was a beautiful bride. (Zack you looked handsome too.) It was truly an amazing day and I'm so glad that I got to participate and help out where I could. Thanks to all of the wonderful and talented family members and friends who made the day special for all of us. It was a day for JoAnna & Zack, but so many of us were able to enjoy because of the hard work and dedication of others. Love to you all and many happy wishes for good things to come your way in return!

Fun Portland Moments

Adventures in Rexburg

So for nearly a year my family has been planning on a trip to Rexburg, Idaho to support my extra brother Peter Nguyen for his graduation from BYUI and his commissioning ceremony into the US Army. This event was the original reason for my traveling to be with the family.

My thought process - if I'm gonna drive from Portland to Rexburg, then I may as well fly out a little earlier so that we can make a trip to see my Utah fav's as well. SO it was a win, win! My sweet sister thinks a lot like I do too. She got engaged last December and so, recognizing that the family was planning a trip already AND it being a matter of convenience and a perfect time line, she set her wedding date to be a week after the graduation festivities. Bonus for us all, she was able to go through the Rexburg, Idaho temple to receive her endowment. So that was fun to be in the temple with nearly all of my siblings and my parents. It was also special to be in the temple with my beautiful cousin Mariah. She caravan-ed up with us and it was so great to have a couple more days with her and share in great moments.

A Westminster Reunion of sorts

In my lifetime I've been blessed with so many wonderful people that have helped me to be a better person. But probably the most instrumental friendships I've had were during those early college years at Westminster in SLC. Those friends shaped me to be a better me. I was struggling to know what I wanted from life and who I was; and the good Lord provided amazing classmates, workmates, and home teachers that became my greatest friends. (Amelia, we missed you on our reunion dinner. ) I look back on those years so fondly because I had the greatest of friends who supported me in my weakest moments. I love you all and am so grateful that we can keep in touch through the years. You're in my heart and prayers always.

18 hour car ride to Utah

The girls, my Mom, and I left my parents house in Portland, Oregon early Monday morning (the 5th) and drove all day long until we got to Ogden, Utah. On average we stopped every four hours at a McDonald's to stretch our legs, let Savannah run around like crazy in the play land, change diapers, eat, nurse the baby, etc. This was no trip for the faint-hearted. And after four stops at McDonald's in one day, I'm happy to avoid that restaurant for awhile. lol

Our original plan was to go a little further south into Utah to Cedar City, but a snowstorm and exhaustion slowed us down. So we were fortunate to get to stop off at midnight in Ogden and stay the night at my cousin PJ's place. (Thanks for hosting us. It was great to see you and your boys, though briefly. Cole we missed seeing you.)

Savannah couldn't have been happier when she awoke Tuesday morning to PJ's 2year old son Gage. She was ecstatic that there was a little person who had as much energy as she does. And after the 18 hour car ride the day before she had plenty of energy! After a couple hours of play and some new bumps and bruises we headed further south to see more of the family. But not before a quick visit with Uncle Warren and my cousin Angie. We were blessed to get to spend a couple of nights at my Aunt Linda & Uncle Hal's gorgeous home for the rest of our Utah visit. It was so great to spend time with them and to see many of our other family and friends. And it was an extra treat to have my cousin Mariah there too so that we could spend lots of time visiting and reconnecting. My girls especially enjoyed all of my cousins kids. Some highlights include while Savannah was playing with Gage, he pulled out a toy gun from the toy box and was playing with it the way a boy does. Savannah also pulled out a toy gun and being inexperienced with "boy toys" she proceeded to put the end of the gun in her mouth and pretend to blow on it like it was a musical instrument. So cute! While playing at my cousin Elisha's beautiful house, Lexi crawled over to little Andrew and started jabbering with him while playing with his toys happily. And then the funniest was during a visit at my cousins Jeff & Jen's, where Savannah was playing upstairs with their cute kids while we chatted and overheard one of the kids say "she bit me on the arm" and another child said "yeah, she's bitten me like four times" with multiple voices chiming in "me too" very matter-of-factly. I do my best to warn others about this, but unfortunately it is what it is. She bites when she's mad, excited, scared, etc. Luckily no one was scarred. Also a favorite moment was their little girl Brynlee holding Lexi and asking me why Lexi wasn't going upstairs to play too. Brynlee is a cancer survivor and it was a crazy year last year for her and her family. We've been following her diagnosis, treatment, etc. and so it was nice to finally meet her and feel of her sweet sweet loving spirit.

Easter

Savannah had some experience last year with Easter egg hunts at her birthday party and in neighborhood hunts. So this year she's two and I thought she's gonna love this and totally kick butt at the RBC egg hunt which was held the weekend before Easter. But she has taken on one of my traits of people watching, so the poor girl didn't get a single egg on her own. The truth is that most of the toddlers were pretty clueless about how the system worked and were quite overwhelmed by the crowds of people gathered in a small space. So the typical experience was that while one parent scooped up eggs for their child the other was capturing the moment on camera. I was holding Lexi, attempting to snap pictures, and directing Savannah - who was content to watch the other kids quickly scoop up every plastic egg before them. Luckily for her, a sweet little boy saw that she had nothing in her basket so he gave her a couple of his. His parents and I exchanged glances of pride and gratitude. It was pretty dang cute that a 2 year old thought to share on his own.

Well fortunately our trip to Portland coincided with the Easter holiday and so Grandma & Grandpa made sure that Savannah got the hang of the hunt. After hiding 30+ plastic eggs around the living room on Easter morning, Savannah was given the opportunity to find them all by herself. She steadily picked up speed as the concept became more clear to her and she loved it.

This was a great practice session for later in the afternoon when we were over at my Aunt Cathy & Uncle Mikel's house with nearly all of their kids and grand kids. We were spoiled with delicious eats, treats, and then a 3-room egg hunt. (The Portland weather proved to be too soggy for an outdoor hunt that day.) Savannah was plowing through the rooms filling up her basket like it was a marathon. She was so excited and really took on the energy from the other kids too. It was pretty funny to watch. Also fun to watch was little Lexi who finally got in on the fun. She's a people watcher too, so after seeing the kids scooping up the eggs, she wanted to be put down on the floor and participate. It was truly a good time had by all. (Thanks again Dover fam for letting us share in your fun celebrations and for spoiling us rotten with yummy treats!)

Our final Easter celebration was over with the DeRoest side of the family. My Dad's Mom aka "Grandma DeRoest" or "Grandma the Great" had organized a family gathering at her home. It was fun to see my girls meeting so many new faces and responding to the love of this big family. They really charmed their way into everyone's hearts. Some of the fun highlights included Savannah cuddling up to Ashley to see what her phone could do and then having a real phone conversation with my cousin Jessica. It was adorable. Another fun Savannah moment was when she was hugging on her cousin Maddox (I've got to put up that picture. It was so cute. ) Most touching moment was looking over at Lexi in my grandma's lap. She was just so relaxed and cuddling right up to her. Lexi can be a busybody most of the time but she was so good to just cuddle up with everyone and seemed to enjoy the attention. On a funny side note - Jess and I (both naturally blonde) had decided recently to try a new look and it turned out we both dyed our hair the exact same color. I really missed having my husband to share in the wonderful family moments but hopefully these fun images and this blog is able to recapture some of the specialness of our Easter celebration. It really was amazing to be around so many family members and feel of their love and support. Thanks to everyone for making it a wonderful day and know that we love and miss you all.

early flights are the way to go

On Saturday April 3rd the girls and I awoke extra early and said goodbye to Austin for a couple of weeks. Some folks would cringe at the idea of traveling with two young children but honestly I was most concerned about getting everything checked at the airport and going through security in a timely fashion. Fortunately for me, my dear friend Tonja was sweet enough to drive us to the airport and after getting a security pass, assist with getting us to the plane. (Thanks again my dear!) Once again I've been blessed with great traveling kids. Both of my girls did awesome on the flights. Savannah was excited and Lexi mimicked whatever mood Savannah was in. At their ages it doesn't take much to entertain them, ie fold-down tray tables are great fun to latch and unlatch over and again. And because we started off super early, much of the time in flight was spent sleeping. Yep, early flights are the way to go!