January (family & friends visit)

Family gathering at Joan & Dean's. Steph, Tom & their boys, Carson & Bryce were visiting from Chicago. We played games, enjoyed the sunny weather & ate delicious food!

                                                                               

Aunt & Niece.

The Girls.

___________________________________

Friends Tim & Kim from Iowa made a brief stop at our house on their way to Sacramento, CA.

Kim was in my class of '85 at Elk Horn-Kimballton, Iowa. Tim was the class of '84.

They have been married 33 years, have 2 daugthers and 4 grandchildren.

Great to see them both. We enjoyed lunch & laughs in the backyard.

January (Prickly Pedal)

Prickly Pedal Race.

January 19, 2019

1st in my age group (45 +).

I was also 2nd amateur female behind this girl, Julie. She is a cool person and seems to keep getting faster. Congrats, Julie! We were 4th and 5th place behind the 3 pro women in the race.

Bob also did the 36 mile race and did great! Not easy when he's gone 1/2 the month and can't get in consistent training rides. Thanks to James for helping out with race support. He's a cyclist & loves the mountain biking scene (plus we enjoy having James along for the ride). :-) 

Had to post the biker/dog duo again. I've shared about them before but this shot was so cool from cycling photography.

Day after the race a few of us cruising in the Estrella Mountains.

Loving the beautiful desert these days. #yellowpoppies

January (Team Vitesse Party)

Annual Team Vitesse Party!

On January 13th we hosted our cycling team year-end party.

Was a beautiful day to be outside.

Some of our good guys!

Fun peeps to hang out with on or off the bike!

Local taco food truck catered our meal. Team members brought drinks & desserts. Yum!

Beautiful girls: Marina, Marne, Andrea & Jenn.

Yearly awards: Mike receiving Male Mountain Biker of the year (I was female mountain biker). Paul & Chris with Best Triathlete & Road Cyclist awards. There is always a mixture of fun, goofy and serious awards. Great job to Lisa (President), David, Pat, Deb & others for putting so much thought & fun into this event. 

Lights, Jackets, Fire... party still going into the night.

Go Team Vitesse!

Spot the solar light on the saguaro cactus?! :-)

Drone footage by Bob. :-)

We appreciate our friends on Team Vitesse!

More good times in 2019!

January (Babysitting)

Love these photos of bedtime stories!

Ellie came to our house for a sleepover while Abbie & Mike enjoyed an evening out with friends.

One of Ellie's & Harley's favorite things to do is go for a walk!

Ellie wearing my jacket. It was cold out so Harley needed a sweater too.

Walking Buddies!

January (MBAA McDowell)

MBAA Race #1

McDowell Meltdown.

2nd place in Expert Open

We had a good group of racers and support crew.

Anna, Brian, Kaylee, Mike, Jane, Rich, Lisa, Bob

This was Mike's race start... a competitive group!

Mike on the right coming through on lap #1. He finished 7th today.

Hanging out at the Vitesse tent.

Fun FINISH pic. Where is everyone?! :-)

At the awards.

Kaylee took 3rd in Expert 45 + category. Congrats, Kaylee!

Wearing our new MOUNTAIN BIKE caps!

 (looks like the Mountain Dew logo). :-)

 Fun Friends. Fun Race. Fun Day!

January (Baby Jane & Johnson)

Baby Jane turned 5 months old on January 11th.

Jane with her big brothers & daddy, Raymond.

Thanks to Raymond for sharing photos of your precious family.

Johnson at Mweka College!

Johnson is in semester one of his 2nd year at Mweka College of Wildlife Management and Conservation. I don't recall if I wrote that Johnson was 3rd in his class his 1st year (around 80 students)! He is a leader in his fellowship group on campus and is the region secretary. We are so proud of Johnson & always enjoy his updates about college life and their safari or mountain training.

Upendo!!!! :-)

January (Tom Eggum)

Tom Eggum (2nd from the left) is the Founder/President of Hope 4 Kids International. That is the organization who April & I traveled to Uganda with in July 2018. Tom spoke on January 6th at Hope Church. Never miss a chance to hear Tom speak... he is captivating, funny, sincere & real! He has amazing stories to share & they inspire everyone.

After the service Bob and I set up a table to register folks for Wheels 4 Water. It's a benefit bike ride on February 23rd to raise money for a water well in the village of Bugunga (in Uganda). They currently walk 7km to retrieve water & it's not even a clean water source. :-(  75% of deaths in remote east African villages are caused from dysentery & water born diseases. After returning from Uganda last summer Bob & I wanted to help make a difference for these people & I had an idea of involving bikes. I am happy to volunteer my time to organize this new event. With the help of Hope 4 Kids International as well as Bob (my biggest support) and several friends assisting... we are off to a good start in launching Wheels 4 Water.  Riders choose a 34, 18 or 12 mile ride. Their $25 entry goes to this well (a water well costs 10,500)! We invite non-cyclists, friends & family to be a part of this water well too with any small donation... every drop counts!!! Thank you for your prayers for Wheels 4 Water & Bugunga.

Here is one of our postcards.

We have a Facebook page under Wheels 4 Water Arizona!

A pamphlet from Water 4 Kids.

 They have been serving in Uganda for 20 years and have dug over 600 wells in Uganda. 

Love their beautiful smiles drinking clean water.

Makes me smile!