'Cause You're Hot Then You're Cold

We had a blast the other day at what I lovingly refer to as "The Fancy Schmancy Club" up at Purgatory (or Durango Mountain Resort or whatever they're calling it these days).

I so love this picture, it's not often you get to see a swimming pool and ski lifts in the same shot!

We tried to get all the kids...there's still a few missing.

When Jason saw this picture you'd think he'd tell me how happy he is to be married to somebody as fabulous as me. 

Instead he said, "Is your hat big enough?!  Where'd you get that thing?"

Men. *Sigh*

Maddox, JR, and Steven warming up in the hot tub.

Yes Texans, 'warming up'.

You can't actually go swimming here without getting a little frost bite.

And I was totally thrilled to see that two things are still just as popular as they were when I was a kid (which was just a few years ago):

 The George Washington Roll Hair never goes out of style.

And the classic Waterslide Train is still a crowd favorite.

Little Iron Horses Year 2

Sooo, Here's the sitch on my computer.

Long story short, they can't fix it.

I can sort-of blog, but my email doesn't work.

I figure I better get this post out into blogland before my computer decides it doesn't feel like doing that either.

I pretty much complain about the bicyclers on the roads of Durango nonstop.

If they wouldn't break the law, (i.e. riding side by side so I have to risk my life pulling into oncoming traffic to avoid hitting them) I wouldn't roll my eyes and complain so much.

Kyle is so used to them he rolls down the window and screams 'Excuuuuuse Meeeeee!' whenever we see some. (Which is about every 2 seconds.)

But if the bicycle community wants to let my babies race down Main Street and give them medals, well, I can probably stop complaining about them for a day or so.

This was Kyle and Reed's second year to compete in the Sprite Kid's Iron Horse Race and they knew exactly what to expect. 

Just look at those pre-race game faces!

Reed left nothing to chance. 

He was sure to inspect his "vintage" tires before the race.

And yes, Reed's "vintage" tricycle (as the announcer called it) was mine when I was his age.

Kyle chose JR's old (but certainly not vintage) Go, Diego, Go trike for his race day.

And just in case you were wondering, MY tricycle beat Go, Diego, Go!

The medals were exciting...

but not as awesome as winning a free Sprite.

Post race photo-op with friends.

Some Whopper Tales

As you well know, I'm not really interested in anything considered outdoorsy. But Jason says these fish that JR caught are good ones, so for those of you who like the hunty/fishy thing, here ya go. (And although JR might go fishing, he is so me. Notice how he's not actually touching any of the fish in the pictures!)

This is my dad's farm hand, Freddie. When you work for my dad, "farm hand" job requirements include: accompanying us on our Bell Bell Factory tour, giving Kyle and Reed tractor rides, taking JR fishing, and as seen here...touching the fish JR catches. Needless to say, Freddie is a big hit around here.

Kyle and Reed were super excited to "pet" the fish.

My Little Iron Horses

Yesterday was the day every true Durangoan lives for: The Iron Horse Bicycle Race. (They ride from Durango to Silverton going from 6,500 ft to 11,000 ft elevation. Out of the 54 miles, 37 are uphill and the goal is to beat the train-which takes about 4 hours.) This is something I have no desire to ever do. My J.Lo butt cringes just thinking about those teeny-tiny bike seats.
But since bicycling and Durango go together like Texas and BBQ, the Iron Horse has expanded to a weekend full of events. And my littlest Iron Horses raced this morning! (My biggest Iron Horse got nervous of all the competitors and bowed out before his race started.) Now Kyle and Reed can't actually ride a bike yet, (although Reed asks me about a million times a day, "Ride bike? Ride bike?") but you'd have never known it with the determination they had has they took off down Main Street this morning.

Not only were they the only ones competing on an Elmo airplane and a John Deer tractor, but they did awesome! They had to make the block and then go back. That's a long way for little 2 year-old legs to push. Here you can see the cheering crowd, and Reed getting a little distracted by the camera crew documenting his historic ride. (That's Harry telling him to keep on going.)

Kyle and Reed have loved their medals they "won". (Which are really nice, BTW) Reed is still wearing his and showing it to me saying, "Bike race! Bike race!"

Now to be honest, this is all second hand information for me. While the kids were racing I ran the Narrow Gage 10 mile run. I was seriously nervous at the starting line since everyone looked crazy in shape. (Even more so than your typical in shape Durangoan.) When I saw a group doing warm up laps around the block I was thinking I was in over my head. And although I had to walk the 2 biggest uphills, (Texans, they are total mountains...almost 1,000 ft elevation change) I still accomplished my 2 goals:

1. Finish in 2 hours (I did it in 1:54:27)

2. Not to be last (I wasn't!)

I don't have any pictures of my run, although at one point I almost got out my phone to take a picture of the ridiculousness I had just come up. (But then I figured if I dropped it, I might not have the energy to pick it up again!) But I do have a picture of us this morning before we left.

Yep, it's been a big race day for us Ingys. And I am so looking forward to eating everything I can get my hands on at dinner tonight!

My Turn

After all the Ingy rafting that's been going on this summer, I finally got to experience some myself. That's my cousin, Quinn, in the front with the hat, and you'll find JR and me in the back. I was happy to learn that our rafting guide does not live in a bus behind the rafting store (like Jason's guides on his trip), and that he hadn't had anybody thrown out of his raft in quite awhile.

The highlight of the trip for JR was when they let him hang on the front of the boat while we "surfed". Squeals of delight were heard all around.

So now that I've rafted the lower Animas River I'm trying to figure out if that makes me more of a local or more of a Texan. I'm thinking Texan....pretty sure locals do this in innertubes and their own kayaks.

Extreme Water Sports Part 2

I've finally got some pictures from Jason and JR's extreme water weekends. First is Jason and Jay's rafting trip. These are the pictures Jay put on Facebook and I'm just going to use his commentary.

Day 1- getting psyched up...

Day 1 during a stretch break

Over the falls they go. The No Name Rapids, Class V.


I'm going to break from Jay's comments for a moment to add my own. Look at my husband jumping off that bridge. I'm way impressed! But now not so excited after the fact since he told me he hit the bottom of the river when he landed...Agh!

"Surfing" the current. It was hard to snap a pic while the boat was going under. They weren't supposed to grab the handle unless the guide commanded... (Jay, I would have been grabbing the handles the whole trip!)

One last picture with their guide Andy. He has a BS in Physics which Jay thinks must translates to being a heck of a guide.

Now for JR's pictures from Lake Livingston. I'm still not sure which was his favorite...tubing or rope swing, but one things for sure. He LOVED them both.

Extreme Water Sports

So 2/5 of the Ingy family has been having an extreme water sports weekend. (BTW, is 2/5 right? Y'all know I don't do math, much less fractions!) Here's JR proudly showing off his elbow battle wound from his trip to Lake Livingston with Granny Sherry. From what I've heard, JR (and Granny Sherry too) spent the last few days jumping off a rope swing and tubing behind a ski boat. I haven't quite gotten the full story over the "injury" since he's been on such a high. In fact, he's been so happy he's completely forgone his usual dramatics over such things...and hasn't even asked for so much as a band-aid!
Jason is also living extreme this weekend as he's rafting from Silverton to Durango with his best friend Jay Parker. This rafting trip is actually pretty serious. They had to go Friday night and pass a "water test" to see if they could survive if the boat turns over. Basically the test was for them to "ride the rapids" without the raft. They both passed their test, but Jason said the water was so cold it took his breath away (and he was wearing a wetsuit). They left yesterday morning and camped along the river last night. They'll be back in Durango this evening and I can't wait to hear how the trip went. Jason took a waterproof camera so I'll have pictures to share later!

Skate Dude 2

So I got to the skate park today and my camera battery was dead. (Note to self: new camera gives a one picture notice before the battery runs out.) I was so disappointed, because I couldn't believe all the cool stuff Skate Dudes had JR doing by the end of class today. I'm going to get them to work with him some more when we get back, so I'll be sure and get some video then. Unfortunately, all I have are some pictures taken with my camera phone. Sorry, Grandmothers!

JR with his teachers. It was a whopping 66 degrees this morning. I guess that means it's hot enough for Skate Dudes to go shirtless.


Here's JR getting ready to go down "the medium beginner ramp". Now look to the far right of the picture. See the kid in the red shirt. By the end of class today JR was able to do that too! Of course he couldn't get up that high, but he was going up about halfway. Very exciting stuff.



Coming back up the ramp after going down it.


I know I need more video and better pictures! I'll make sure my battery is charged next time.

Skate Dude

I was going to save this until JR had gone to all the classes, but I get such a kick out of his skateboarding lessons that I had to go ahead and post. I like to joke about how physically fit Durango is, but seriously, what other town of 15,000 people even has a skate park? Much less offers skateboarding lessons? Before his class started Jason and I were laughing about who would teach skateboarding. We were saying, "You think they'll just ask some random skaters?" Well, his teachers certainly look like your typical skateboarding dudes, but they're actually really good with the kids.
Check out Mr. Mike. (Which I just have to laugh when JR puts 'Mr.' in front of their names....I would guess they probably aren't called 'Mr.' very often.)


And here he is with Mr. Joel (who when he called me identified himself as "The Skate Dude").


JR's pretty timid when it comes to skateboarding. He was much more aggressive in snowboarding since he wasn't scared of falling in the snow...he's pretty nervous about concrete falling. So he's actually already exceeded my expectations. I was just hoping they could teach him how to stand up and ride a little bit. Never did I expect him to be doing stuff like this.

Hopefully I can get some video of him on Friday, mainly because he really wants his daddy to see what all he can do.

Sporty Summer

JR is in full summer activity mode. He's still skateboarding in the mornings, and he's got Vacation Bible School in the evenings. But they don't call it VBS here. Guess what name Physically Fit Land gave it? Oh yes, "Sports Camp". I wasn't even going to send JR because you have to be 6 to go and I was worried it would be too advanced for him. It wasn't until they explained at church that "Sports Camp" was their version of VBS that I signed him up. There were tons of kids there this afternoon when I dropped him off. 4 churches get together to put it on, including First Baptist and the Presbyterians. (That covers my side of the family.) JR chose flag football for his sport...What can I say, he's a Texan! The babies have enjoyed their time away from big brother doing their favorite sport, playing in the driveway. They stand at the backdoor and scream for me to open it so they can run out and play. So here they are doing what they do best.

Kyle driving his car...without his purse, duck, or toy-ring-worn-as a-bracelet-accessory.


Reed throwing and chasing a ball...tonight's choice: golf ball.


They love when the little girls from across the street come over and play. This is them trying to tell one of them to come over when they spotted her on her own driveway.

The REAL Star By: Reed

JR finished up his tennis lessons today. Mommy was happy that we didn't pull her pants down again, and JR was happy that he's hitting the ball better. I guess I'll show some pictures of JR since I'm such a nice little brother.

But we all know who the real athlete is. It's me, of course! You should see me chase tennis balls around the court, my hustle is way better than JR's.

Kyle's more like Mommy, he'd rather sit back, relax, and watch.

Yep, I'm the big, manly athlete around these parts. I'm such a big, manly man that I made Mommy let me sleep with my tennis ball (Kyle sleeps with a duck, ya know). See how happy I was when I finally convinced Mommy to let me have it in the crib with me!