Just a little bike race...

Reason #326 why we love living in Colorado ... the USA Pro Cycling Challenge! Some of the greatest cyclists in the world come here to compete for a week at various spots around the state with the challenge of our high elevations. Stage 5 of the race starts in Breckenridge and ends in Downtown Colorado Springs. It just so happened the boys were off school today (due to testing which they completed the day before) so our afternoon adventure was a little field trip to watch some professional cycling by Olympians and Tour de France riders. This is the 2nd year for this race, and it's certainly gaining some great fans and momentum in our state!

 We found a great spot to watch 

along the race route, 

and our friend Julia joined us!

 The leader. Check out that

intensity on his face!

 The race had some breakaway riders in the lead

and then the rest of the pack (the official term for 

this pack of riders is "peloton.") Amazing to think 

how many miles they'd ridden

from Breckenridge and were still this tight 

in the pack at the end!

 Running over the bridge to catch

some glimpses of the riders

at the finish.

 At the finish line, the cyclists were FLYING
around the corners downtown so I just started
snapping pics. Love this photo of the leader
at this point looking back over his shoulder
to see who was closing in on him.

 The 4th rider back in the yellow jersey is the overall

race leader Tejay van Garderen. They compile the

times over each stage of the race to determine

who is the overall leader, and each day

they earn the right to wear the yellow jersey

as the top leader. Tejay is part of Team BMC

(the riders in red/black surrounding him.)

The finish line!

3 & K

Two boys. One school. 3rd Grade. Kindergarten. Time to kick off another great school year for the Leahy lads!

 Our 3rd Grader Luke

His favorite subjects in school

are PE and reading.

Our Kindergartener Reid

He's looking forward to

 full-day kindergarten

and eating lunch at school!

 Proud Mama with Our Elementary Schoolers!

Big Smiles for the 1st Day of School

 Luke & his pal Isaac.

They are thrilled to be in the same class!

 Reid with his twin pals Landen & Wyatt.

They used to be in Lunch Bunch together at preschool,

and we've known them since we first moved here!

Summer '12

Even though our summer took quite a detour with Scott's medical journey, we didn't let that stop us from enjoying some fun this summer. Here are a few pics from Summer '12.

Luke up to bat. Coach Scott is pitching.

(Scott was able to coach half of the season

for Luke's baseball team before his surgeries.)

Watching. Wishing. Waiting.

"Some day I'll be playing baseball, too!"

The boys of summer.

Beach Day at Bear Creek Park

Luke is holding a crawdad 

that the kids found.

Summer Fun with the Hyden Family

A post-game ice cream treat at our fave place 

RockHouse in Palmer Lake

Getting geared up to play catcher!

Lego Fun with our buddy Jack

Reid fell asleep one afternoon ... just.like.this!

Is this how an ostrich naps?

We enjoyed a visit from our dear friends

the Jensen family. Sweet twins 

Sarah & Lauren wave for the camera!

Luke & Blake jump to it!

How many kids can fit on this swing?

Looks like FOUR!

Grant & the Girls

Lauren, Grant & Sarah

Tae Kwon Do belt testing in August

Introducing our newest Orange Belts!

Way to go, boys! We are so proud of you!

Lions & Tigers & Bears, OH MY!

Dad and Kathy joined us for 

a little field trip out to Calhan to the 

Serenity Springs Big Cat Sanctuary.

This place is home to over 150 large cats

and other wild animals (including a liger,

bear cubs, panthers & a wallaby.)

At the end of the tour, we took this photo

with a white tiger cub!

Home Run!

Today was Luke's final game of his summer baseball season. He was the final batter of the game, and he hit a HOME RUN! Talk about a grand finale to his season! Way to go, Luke! We are SO PROUD of you!

13

Wow ... somehow 13 years have flown by since the day we said, "I DO!" Our original plans to celebrate our 13th anniversary involved going to the Colorado Wine Country to tour the vineyards by riding a tandem bicycle. We joked about what we would put in the bike's basket and how much fun it would be to ride a bicycle-built-for-two. But those plans are on hold for a while, and we're focusing on that marriage vow of "in sickness and in health." We have always been a strong team, and together we're ready to brave this new chapter ahead. Cancer should know better than to mess with Team Leahy...

We have a tradition to always enjoy 

chocolate-covered strawberries on our anniversary.

Check out our 13th season of strawberries!

R&R in Salida

With a stressful past 2 weeks behind us & Scott's surgery on the horizon, we decided to skip out of town for a trip to the mountains for some R&R! With charming Salida as our destination for an overnight trip, we enjoyed the fresh mountain air and time together as a family.

Guys by the kayaks

Giggling Grant in the swing

Mama & the boys by the river

 Chillin' with Dad

 Hiking to Agnes Vaille Falls

 View of the falls. Beautiful!

We found the waterfall!

 Snack Break

 He's never met a mountain stream

he didn't like!

 Fellas in front of the falls

This area in Colorado near Mt. Princeton

is one of our favorites!

 After all that hiking, rehydration is important!

Lunch at Eddyline Restaurant in Buena Vista.


We drove up to an old ghost town called St. Elmo,
where gazillions of chipmunks live. Check out the
videos below of Reid & Luke feeding our new
furry friends. If you look closely, the chipmunks'
cheeks are packed with seeds. Too funny!

4th of July

Happy 4th from our family to yours!

The 4th of July is one of our favorite holidays here because of all the festivities with the Monument parade & street fair. With the recent wildfires, those festivities were cancelled and fireworks were banned, but that didn't stop us from having a grand time! We enjoyed a family brunch & evening BBQ with friends.

Out for a post-brunch stroll with Papa.

 "Which way to the slip-n-slide?"

 Cool in the Pool

 Funny Reid

 On the Run

 No fireworks ... but glowsticks are just as fun!

*Thank you to my friend Amber 
for taking all the great kiddo pics!