Duluth-Bike Race

Saturday June 13th Nicole, Eleni, Marlo and I headed up to Duluth for stop #3 of the MNSCS mtb races. After a stop at our favorite eatery, the Fitzger's Brew House for lunch we headed to the race event location at Mont Du Lac to set up camp. After camp was set up and the rain shower passed I got in a pre-ride lap of the race course. Huge climb to start it out but with that out of the way sweet flowey singletrack followed, sweet course! Back to camp for some dinner and met a few of the other riders and their families.

Sunday (race day) was sunny and hot. I was racing in the sport division and which started at 11:00. Nicole got up early and went for a run with Marlo in the jogger and then we whipped up some pancakes with fruit for breakfast. At race time Nicole, Eleni and Marlo hiked to the top of the hill to watch and for water feed after the first of two laps. My goal was to just ride comfortably, set a nice pace and just see where I fall. Finishing 8th in my age group and 55th out of 112 races gives me a nice room for improvement. Feeling I had more left in my tank afterward and wishing I wouldn't have hung on a guys wheel so long leaves me looking forward to the next race itching for more. FUN TIME!

Right after the perfect bottle hand off from Eleni, off for lap #2.

photo courtesy of Dana Schoppe Photography
Eleni Raced in the Shimano Kids race right after I was done. A great event to include the kids and she had fun and finished 1st!



Another Weekend of camping and canoeing coming up with our friends the Westrums.

Summer Kick Off....weather pending?

Marlo rocking her pony-hair is growing!

Memorial Day usually means the kick off for Summer, but with recent temps one wouldn't know it.
(Frost warnings tonight-June 5th!!!)
Memorial Day weekend was actually pretty nice for the most part. We got the boat in for a quick ride along with a pontoon cruise with Nicole's Sisters and Cousin's who were in town. Bonfires and cheers with beers were had.

Marlo testing the water (no fear!)
This past weekend we had some friends get married at Maplelag. We joined Amber and Chris for the weekend which was nice being it was 2 years since we were married there. Good times were had for sure and I got in a ride Friday and a super fun one with Chad Jansen on Saturday before our "wedding helper" duties kicked in.

Nicole(Matron of Honor) with Mr & Mrs Carr

Cousin Clara & Eleni at the reception

Waving the Maplelag colors.
This afternoon I headed back up to Maplelag to ride again to get the lungs and legs ready for next weekends MNSCS race up in Duluth. Ran into a couple of guys (Dave Simmons & Grant) from Fargo and checked out the new singletrack Jay and Jake started on last fall. Ran into Jake out on the trail fine tuning a section.
That's going to be some fun stuff! Then we did a loop of the already famous single track and lakeside drops (wished my new brake pads would have shown up)
a few close calls into the lake were almost had. Fun Ride!

photo courtesy of Jay Richards & Maplelag

2 YEARS TODAY!

Happy Anniversary Nicole!
I LOVE YOU! -Tony

Eleni's Tonsil-less!

Eleni had her tonsils and adenoids out a week ago (Tuesday May 5th). Everything went smooth and we were out of there in 4 hours! Laser technology at it's finest I guess? The hardest part was getting her to let us take out her earrings.
She recovered pretty well but the Codeine finally got to her and she lost her appetite and didn't drink much and ended up getting dehydrated with some puking. We quit the codeine and got her dialed back in with some electrolytes and she was back to skipping around and yelling in no time! Pretty amazing actually after hearing some of the horror stories from others. If it wasn't for those down and out dehydrated sessions one would have never known she had the surgery, other than that her voice is slightly higher now with a little softer pitch.

Eleni - Checking the levels.


Bye Mommy & Daddy, off to surgery :(

Smiling in the Step Down after Surgery :)

Marlo is... BUSY! She pretty much likes everything she shouldn't have and thinks telling her no no is funny. Keeps you on your toes that's for sure. She loves exploring outside and gets really mad when it's time to come in.

Easter Egg Hunt

Marlo checking out the new paint job in the entry.

"Bike"

Marlo Turns ONE!

It's hard to believe our little baby girl just turned one!

We had a few people over for her Birthday on Sunday April 5th! Nicole made her a carrot cake which she really liked, but Eleni knowing after watching Nicole shred the carrots asked if somebody could pick out the carrots for her, little miss picky lately... Eleni also kidnapped a Cabbage Patch Kid that Marlo got saying, "This can be both of ours right since Marlo has two?" With a question for an answer back, "When you get a Barbie on your next birthday it will be both of yours right? Of course her answer was "NO!"

Marlo's ONE!

Marlo has pretty much mastered the walking, and her vocabulary is getting bigger too! She's getting pretty good at repeating words, growing up too fast.

Eleni is itching for Summer. She found her summer wardrobe box and I think has pretty much tried it all on by the looks of her room!

MAPLE SYRUP!

I was reading the new Minnesota Conservation Volunteer magazine which had an article about making your own maple syrup. With a few sugar maples in our yard I decided to tap a few trees and see if I could attempt to make my own. It really started to run the middle of last week and this past weekend I boiled down around 10 gallons or so and ended up with more than I thought I would have since the ratio on average is 40:1. The finished project ended right during Marlo's Party, so our guests got to sample the warm syrup on ice-cream. Turned out pretty good. Next year I may attempt it a a larger scale.

Tapping one of two trees.

Boiling down the Sap.

Finished product in a nice amber color.

Out like a Lion....

Well it's almost the end of March.  With the Great Fargo Flood in progress I wish everyone in the FM area the best and am hoping that all the great effort put forward by the community shines in your favor!

Nicole is in Chicago at the "Great Hair Convention"

 actually I'm not sure what it's called but I'm sure it's great!   Her and Jonathan were supposed to fly out of Fargo Friday morning, but with the flood issue, they changed their flight out of Mpls and left Friday at 5:30 am.

While she is gone the girls and I have been busy..well I have been as much as I can when Marlo is napping.  I did a little painting in the garage entry (unknown to N

icole) with hopes of surprising her with my efforts in that department.  Not

 really impressed with how the paint went on, not sure what the deal was, will for sure need another coat but it's the color Nicole and I wanted and I

 think it looks good.  We were planning on continuing it through the half bath and laundry room, but I'll wait until Nicole returns and get her opinion first.  I also built some shelving she's been requesting in one of the front entry closets so got that done today as well, turned out pretty good with Marlo supervising that effort while Eleni was at the movie with her cousins. "Thanks Katie!"

Eleni lost her first tooth on March 16th.  She was pretty excited!  

Marlo the copy cat in the background...

Marlo riding in the garage monitoring Daddy's shelf cutting.

Marlo has pretty much mastered the walking thing. It's crazy watching her tiny petit little thing walk around... mastered it a week before her 1st Birthday!

Lotvola Cup Weekend

Today is the Lotvola Cup Cross Country Ski Race/Tour at Maplelag.

It looks like the weather is going to be a little nicer than last years event.

Clear blue sky, temp at the start are expected to be hovering ar

ound 22 degrees or so.

Kinda hovering between two different wax types with my selection, but Marlo was helping me get them prepped for todays ski. Should be a little faster conditions this year compared to the fresh snow coming down at the start last year. I guess I'm just hoping to beat my time last year which was my first year doing it with a time of 1:08:04 for the 12k classical ski. Shouldn't be too hard as last year I had no glide for the last half, so with my new ski set up this year I'm feeling confident to finish a little faster.

Marlo helping Dad wax his skis!

Results:

It was a great day on the trails! Fun to ski in weather above ZERO! Race temp was 18-19 degrees with not a cloud in the sky. I got a good start and set my pace a little fast, but after doing that in last years bike race I knew I had to slow that down a bit or I was not going to make it. So I settled down and enjoyed the ski and fast conditions. I was lucky enough to have 4 cheerleaders to meet me at the crossings. Nicole, Eleni, Marlo and Grandma Trish were there which was around the midway point so that shifted the pace a little after seeing my girls and Eleni jumping up and down which was great! I was passed midway by a few high school kids and then found myself skiing solo for the trip down suicide hill and

then bullhead lake loop and throughout the rest of the race about a 1:30 behind the person if front of me and about 2:00 in front of the person behind, so it didn't really feel like a race when I couldn't see anybody to chase or try to pull away from. So coming across the finish with a time of 54:35 - around 14 minutes faster than last year which was good.

photo courtesy of skinnyski.com

Eleni & Dad at the FINISH!

Holidays Recap & Happy 2009!

We all had a nice Holiday break starting with Christmas Eve at Gamma and Gampa Schmitz's.  We were all filled up with a nice meal followed by gifts galore.  The kids all had fun and Uncle Mikey brought over the Wii with some sessions of Guitar Hero followed by Rockband for a full out jam session until midnight.  Fun times.

Chirstmas morning was a special treat in our new house and Marlo's First.  She is a riot, of course the paper was the most fun.  Eleni being that much older and that more animated also a treat.

Marlo Sporting her new hat and bib.. Stylin'

Eleni Discovering her new "dress up" scarf in her stocking

Then it was off to Grandma Trish's for Christmas Day Festivities with Nicole's Sisters and Families.  It was a fun afternoon with crazy kids and presents galore.  Nicole, Kari & Brent and I had a memorable evening with ice cold holiday spirts and miscellaneous tree decorating antics.

Brent and I got in a morning ski at Pickeral Lake trails the next day.

L-R: Marlo, Eleni, Gunnar, Keifer, Ava, Ella & Clara

Eleni adopting her first Webkinz

Eleni recording a new hit on her KidiJamz Recording Studio

Nicole making some 1st of the year tracks at Maplelag - Happy 2009!

Snow & McFarren Christmas

We finally got some snow and it made for a memorable McFarren family Christmas in Park Rapids.   We all gathered at Vacationaire  Lodge in Park Rapids for a weekend of Family celebration.  It was great seeing all my relatives and having all the kids get together for some festive fun.    The Snow came Saturday night and the winds followed causing road closures and no travel advised.  We got to stay an extra night and enjoy each others company and many more beers along with it.  

With the snow piled up Monday morning it was time to head for home.   Not being able to get into our driveway,  my brother Mike made a swing by on plow duty and cleaned us out.  Thanks Mikey!   Record lows follow with -25 below this morning.   With our new ICF constructed home and radiant floor heat we are snug and toasty and loving it!

New iMac & Video Editing

Well we finally are back online at home. We got a new iMac on Saturday and internet was hooked up on Monday. I've been busy editing video from a Dual Sport Motorcycle trip to the Black Hills and back that I went on with some friends this past June. 1400 miles on a Dual Sport.. Now that's an Adventure. They have been on my case to get the video done and now with this new computer I'm finally able to do it. I've got about 20 hours into as of now so hopefully it gets good reviews on it's debut screening.

Flurries in the Air.

Eleni on our "pond" in the back yard.

Some snow on the ground this morning, wondering when the measurable stuff will arrive?
Got out on the ice fishing last week over the Thanksgiving Holiday. A 24" and 15" walleye were iced with the 24" being release and the 15" to the grease. Eleni made it out with me and it was fun entertaining her as she entertained me with all her silly comments. We got our Christmas Tree up and after a few attempts and getting it stand up straight, I think we finally got it. Eleni was the queen of decorating, she did a good job, but maybe the reason it kept leaning to the one direction is that most of the ornaments ended up in the same spot. Last night she came up to Nicole and I with a Christmas decoration out of the box and said, "Where should we put this bad boy?" I started laughing, she's a nut. Marlo is little miss pissy pants these days. Likes attention and is a busy body. She's getting close to crawling, but has not quite got past the face plants yet. Need to get a video posted of her.
Swinging in the the heart of the Holiday Season. Hope all are doing well, Happy Holidays!

Welcome Hannah Schmitz!

My Brother Mike and Amy and Big brother Brett welcomed a new baby girl yesterday!
Born C-section at 4:35pm at Innovis Hospital in Fargo.

Hannah Elizabeth Schmitz
November 19th, 2008
7lbs 13oz 20.5" long


Welcome little Hannah!

Quick update...

Just a quick update. WE ARE MOVED IN!

We closed on our new home Wednesday November 12 at 2:45pm. That night we unloaded the Semi trailer with the help of a few of my Rhino Hockey Teammates, and got the furnace going. Thursday we had the plumber get the water and floor heat rolling along with getting our new appliances delivered, I spent the day getting the beds set up, trying to locate stuff I needed and changing 14 burnt out light bulbs.
That evening with some help from Nicole's Mom, who did the major cleaning of the bathrooms, woodwork and cabinets and her Sister Katie we got most of the kitchen stuff unpacked and put into what we think will be it's new home. Thanks to everyone for the help!
Eleni and Marlo took to the new place well. Eleni is super excited about her new big room and the fact that she found all of her barbies and stuff that has been packed up for 3 weeks. We then spent our first night there, it was great! I'll try to post some photos once we actually take some.

A Bump in the Road...

The buyer of our house ran into some lender issues and tomorrow's closing had to be pushed back. We are hoping for Friday with all luck. With only enough clothes for 3 days packed and everything we need buried in a semi trailer it better not go past the weekend...........

2 Teeth, Food, Shots, Poop & Moving!

The Schmitz house has been a wild and crazy place the last few weeks.
Marlo, now 6 months popped 2 bottom teeth through in the same day. That mixed with her introduction to squash, carrots and peas has tweaked her stomach and caused some issues. Next came her first shots (we are taking an alternative schedule in the shot world) which she took well but mixed with all the "new stuff happening" next came the prunes. She had a great day yesterday and things started flowing again. We eliminated the solids for a few days trying to get her dialed and we are hoping we are back on track. The night life is another story.... Not much quality sleep happening for Mom, Dad or Marlo. All this plus feeling the stress and change happening with the packing for the big move I'm sure has been felt by both the girls, but we are down to a week til' closing on both places (29th) and I feel we are sitting in pretty good shape.
Last weekend the weather finally cooperated to get some outside stuff accomplished. Saturday I got some painting and trim work done while Nicole mulched some leaves, Sunday Nicole's sister Katie came over and boxed up Eleni's Room and some other rooms and I got the shed and garage loaded up in a covered trailer. Now the garage is our box staging area for the Semi trailer that arrives tomorrow. After Katie and Eric just boxed up their life to move last week, I think Katie got a little excited when packing as she left us only 3 plate 2 bowls and one of each utensil to use for this week so that has been interesting. But we are down to the final days with hopes to have everything in the trailer Sunday. We will then be staying at my parents for a couple of nights as we wait to move in on the 29th. Here's a couple photos of our new Digs.