Finally

We set a date for the wedding. We are going to get married on June 11th, 2011. The wedding is going to be at Saint Croix Vineyards near Stillwater, MN. The reception is going to be at the Water Street Inn in Stillwater.

Last weekend we went to White Linen Night in the Heights. It was also Lauren's Birthday on Saturday so that was part of the celebration. It was a great night with ample hangin' with friends and drinks.

Here is a picture of L and I:

Here is a guy with a sweet bike with some huge wheels, puts the 29er to shame.

Here are a couple of pictures from Lauren's sister's wedding:

On another note, the TMBRA fall racing series starts in a little less than a month. SWEET!

What I've been up to lately

Since I've been back in Texas I've been very busy. First and foremost I moved out of the two-bedroom house Lauren and I were living into a smaller two-bedroom garage apartment. I like the new place quite a bit, it's much more my size since it's just going to be me there but there is still plenty of room for Lauren and Seu. I have my own little yard that is all fenced in and a spot to park inside the fence. I will post pictures sooner or later. The inside of the house is pretty sweet too. There are two bedrooms, a decent sized bathroom, a decent sized kitchen attached to the living area, and a utility room with washer and dryer.

I've also been trying to get back into cycling shape. After almost a month of little to no riding my conditioning was noticeably down. I am coming around though, I went for a 75 mile ride this morning. I've also been learning to train with a PowerTap. It's pretty cool so far, it feels like I've been getting more out of the rides.

Last weekend Lauren and I travelled to Seattle (or near Seattle) for Lauren's sister's wedding. We weren't sure what to expect as the weather in Seattle can be questionable at any time and neither of us had been to a Jewish wedding with a large contingent of Russian people. It was a great experience. The weather was great, everybody we met was really cool, and the ceremony was awesome. It was great to see a different style of wedding and to see the associated traditions. On Saturday, the day before the wedding, we took a large group hike of family and friends from Cougar Falls to Paradise in Mount Rainier National Park. The hike was great. We gained 2,700 vertical feet in approximately 3 - 3.5 miles. Then we headed back to Houston on Monday to go back to work and school.

Work has been super busy getting all caught up on what I missed while I was out and getting ready to go to a training class for the next three weeks.

Series Wrap-up and all

Last weekend was the last of the TMBRA races at Rocky Hill. The race was one 21 mile loop that everyone had to do. Since I had the series locked up I decided not to race but Lauren still did.

I got out to pre-ride the course on Saturday and it was pretty good. Lots of trail I hadn't ridden before and it was fun.

Since I wasn't racing on Sunday I decided to volunteer and go out and hand out water bottles for the racers about 13 miles into the race. Lot's of people that were glad to see us. Some injured people and some fast looking people. Lauren came through toward the end of the time we were out there and I was glad I was out there for her. I wasn't sure she'd finish but she's tough like that.

About the time we got back to the finish line and since it was a TMBRA race it had to start raining. Then I encouraged Lauren to the finish and then went down for awards. After some heckling about not racing from the guys in my class I took the podium:

Lauren ended up fourth in her class, CONGRATS!!
It came at some cost though:
After the race quote from Lauren, "I need to learn to fall on my right side!"

Now a little off time before training for Spring racing. I'll be going back to Wisconsin for some exciting deer hunting next weekend and all of next week. Probably have to shop for Christmas sometime soon and plan a wedding. Please give tips for the wedding part!!

Lauren and I hope Kyle is doing well!! Speedy recovery!!