Strike!

Turning 4 is hard work! 

10 pin bowling for Sams party this morning, he had a great time! 

Grandad is staying with us for a few days and joined us for bowling, so did Uncle Ben. 

Came home for some birthday cake that Jem had made into a builders helmet which Sam chose from a cake book. Well done Jem!

Yep, 4 is such a hard age to be, you need to nap on the couch a lot!

4 today!

Sam has officially turned 4. He had a nice morning of opening up his presents which included a hide and seek Scooby Doo, a Leapfrog Laptop, some Star Wars toys, a Luke Skywalker costume and lightsaber and a dinosaur building set. 

We are getting McDonalds for him tonight and having a bowling party tomorrow, followed by his Birthday Cake (Jems creating a builders helmet that Sam chose from a cookbook). Happy Birthday little man, we all love you very much! 

Early morning present opening

The force is with you Luke

On the brink

There is something so wonderfully childish when it comes to screaming around a single track. It brings back all those reckless feelings you got when you were a kid. I should have gone a bit slower then! Maybe I should have gone the more sensible route! I shouldnt have done that jump! I should take it easy around the next corner! I shouldnt get so close to those rocks and trees! Why didnt I brake sooner?

Should have, would have, could have!

Its a great thing to be right on the edge and have complete faith in yourself and your bike, but at the same time one false move and your in a tree, or down a ditch, or over the bars! Its one step before completely out of control. On the brink.

Be a kid every now and then, otherwise you start to feel old.

Single track sweep at Bruce Ridge (remind you of anything Laneo?)

Inside

It has been an insidey few days at the Rice houshold with most of us coming down with either a nasty bout of the flew or in Jems case, Bronchitis. She has taken a couple of days off work and the kids have been flopping and moping around the house finding TV to watch or video games to play while 'resting'. 

Lucas has no idea how to play, but it doesnt stop him pretending.

Soon 4!

My third little man to turn 4 does so next friday! Hard to believe Sam was once so small.

Old Fellas

When you feel like your doing something pretty well, it only takes one a##hole (in jealousy) who is at least 20 years your senior, to come along and blitz you up a hill. It puts you right back in your place!

That occurred this morning as I was following these 2 guys up the switchback climb, I started gaining on them. Getting closer I noticed they were calmly having a conversation riding at a fair pace up one of the steeper ascents. Now panting and annoyed I wanted to pass them even more, but as I got closer I noticed one of them was riding a single speed! My frustration then turned into being very impressed.

I got to the top, had a breather and didnt see them again. Not bad for a couple of old fellas!

Looking in the mirror

Its funny how when I sometimes get annoyed at my kids for their behaviour they are generally copying something maybe that I have done in the past or have picked up from us genetically somehow.

Most traits that each of them show at different times can very distinctively be either from me or Jem. If they misbehave I generally say to Jem (semi jokingly) "They get that from you, ya know!" But ultimately I see a lot of attributions to the kids way of thinking and dealing with situations coming from me, sometimes filling me with pride, but other times not so much.

Its very easy to pass the buck and say that "My kids are perfect and they must have gotten that behaviour from somewhere else" When you are their main influence and most of the time they totally reflect how your feeling on any given day. I find if I'm stressed out, running late and in a hurry to do something with the kids, (which is most school mornings!) they pick up on that and are generally really ratty and irritated. On the other hand if I'm calm and take the time to give all equal attention and work through the issues patiently (not always possible in our mad house mind you) things seem to run so much smoother. Although its very hard to spread your limited time out amongst all four and their different age groups, although we find its well worth it if you can make that time to do so.

The fine line between 'having' to get things done with everyone on the same page, without them losing the plot and getting upset, is a balance I have yet to master as a father.  The great thing with being around the kids as much as I am lucky enough to be, is that you get a lot of chances to practice and if you get it right, you instantly reap the rewards.


Looking in the mirror and identifying that the person looking back is sometimes the cause of tiffs and tantrums, is a lesson I find is worth trying to learn.

Luge anyone?

 How about a bit of Luge action on a beautiful frosty Sunday morning? OK if I must!

It has been quite cold these past few weeks in the ACT. So much so that some of the puddles at Stromlo this morning were frozen solid at 9.30am. This one was broken up but you get the idea from the surrounding chunks of ice.

Single track bro's

Jem and Sam are sick today so me and the other boys went down to Majura Pines for Will and Jacob to try out the beginners trails on their mountain bikes. I picked a good length loop for them, without any hills or technical bits and Lucas and I ran around it behind for the first lap, then they did a few by themselves. They had great fun on their first time riding a single track together.

Single track Bro's.

Lucas happily cleaning the forest floor of the big sticks

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Water boy

Sammy loves his swimming lessons and he has come such a long way in a short amount of time with his confidence and ability. Here is a little video of him in action -

Team Raceline10

Team Raceline10 jersey mock up, sweet! -

Remember that song

This one takes me back to a drive we did many times when I played for the Wollongong Hawks. Playing for an NBL side but not having a major airport in town, we always had to make the drive up to Sydney to catch our flights. 

A teammate of mine and good friend, Mike Kelly was generally my ride up there living close to us he would pick me up on the way through. He had recently gotten a CD called 'White Ladder' by David Gray, a classic album with some amazing songs. One of which was 'Babylon' and this one in particular reminds me of that 45 minute drive up the Highway.

Ups and Downs

'To enjoy the ups you have to learn how to deal with the downs' - An important lesson in life, sure.

A little different when you are talking about an 8 year old riding his mountain bike up a hill. Not enjoying the ups at all! But sure loving the downs.

William battling with yet another hill, 'I cant dad, I cant'! He did.

Ballin

Jacob has a natural feel for ball sports and during his time doing Aussie hoops this term he has really picked up a lot of different basketball skills. He had his last session for the term on Friday and I got a little video of him in a dribble knockout game that he won. Jacob just ballin.

Wedding anniversary

Jem and I have been married now for approximately 87600 hours, 3650 days, 10 years or 1 decade, take your pick. Which ever you chose I cant believe its been that long since that sunny day back in 2002 in Townsville.

We got to celebrate this milestone with a trip away, just the 2 of us, for one night! Amazing, I cant remember the last time we spent a night away, I know it was before William was born so thats at least 8 and a half years ago.

Ben and Kate kindly offered to look after the kids for us if we wanted to do something for it a while ago. We didnt hesitate to take them up on it and booked a night in Bungendore, just 30 minutes from Canberra. We stayed in a nice little hotel called the Carrington Inn. We even got to do some riding on Saturday at Mt Stromlo, then Sunday out at Kowen Forest. Brilliant to be able to go for a ride with my lovely Wife. Happy 87600 hour anniversary Jem, love you.

Jem pushing it up hill

Proof that Jem made the top of Stromlo!

A frosty car setting off for our Sunday morning ride at Kowen

Jem, although a little exhausted (ok, she was really exhausted!), was loving every minute of it

A glass of wine, bikes tucked in, nothing to do - lovely. 

A late breaky just before check out