The Bauer Family

Yesterday brought to a close of our True Life Covenant Youth Camp.  We had 11 campers this year and we were more organized than last year.  The kids all had a great time.  Kids Crafts     Kayak Race    Putt Putt Golf   Closing Pizza Party   We had rented a cabin this year and it made a big difference in our ability to get food ready.  It was also right on the lake so the littlest one's could fish and we could still watch them.  All in all a great camp.   I also managed to get some training miles in for Ore 2 Shore.  I brought the fat bike down and rode four days.  The last ride I got 21.5 miles in.  Training will continue this week, hopefully JJ will get out with me.   Our next event will be Scottie's graduation party!  Stay tuned. 

It has been over 2 months since I made a post so it is time to get up to date.  During the time that dad was in the hospital Michelle and I determined we would have to raise the rent on my house.  We were notified almost immediately that our renters would be moving out.  We decided that it was time to sell the house and move on.  Fortunately for financial reasons on our end the renters are still there.  There was a lot of work to do and the house went on the market June 9, 2014.  Still a few things to do there, just no rush.  Praying for a quick sale. Three holidays have passed now also.  Just not the same without dad.  Father's Day was happy and sad.  Comfort came in know that dad was celebrating with his Heavenly Father! Mom is doing better.  She is starting to get here appetite back and sleeping better.  She is still staying at her house.   We go out there at least once a week to help her out.  I know...

My last post was from Michelle and my anniversary celebration.  The day after we returned I received a call from my mom.  My dad was not doing well and needed to go to the hospital.  Michelle and I went to their house and we all took dad to the emergency room.  We had known for some time that he had Pulmonary Fibrosis for which there is no cure.  He was admitted to the Intensive Care Unit later that day.  This would turn out to be his final journey. While in the Intensive Care Unit he received outstanding care from the staff at Covenant HealthCare.  Their compassionate care can not be equaled anywhere.  Dad's personality and belief in his creator also helped the staff and us through this difficult time.  During this time Dad was more concerned about us than himself.  He knew that soon he would meet Jesus face to face.  That was his comfort.  I made a promise to him that I would take care of mom and my family, just as he had c...

Today is our 5th Wedding Anniversary!  Hard to believe we have been married for five years.  Doesn't seem like it.  The years are passing way to fast.  Could not imagine being without Michelle and the boys.  It seems like we have been married our whole lives.  Everything that happened before them does not matter.  I thank God everyday for this incredible blessing! Michelle had planned out a very nice Anniversary for us.  We left work early yesterday and headed for Lake Orion.  We stayed at the Palace Inn near the Palace of Auburn Hills.  Not the nicest place we have ever stayed, but it wasn't horrible.  Michelle had got me a gift certificate for 51 North Brewing.  We arrived there in the early evening and found a nice table.  The brewery was different than most we have been to.  It was not very busy and our waitress was very good.  We got our drink order in right away and then ordered appetizers. Our ...

So the alarm clock went off again for our weekday wake up time.  After a half hour I decided to get up and get the day started.  I got a nice fire going and then headed for the basement to get my crunches in.  I was then thwarted by the tv and spent some time on the phone with Charter.  After getting that resolved it was time to make breakfast and get ready for church.  I also made the decision that I was going to ride the Fat Bike home.     We got to church with some time to spare.  We have a few new attendees and a new guest arrived today.  The church is growing!   Scott was rocking for Praise and Worship!   After church I ate a sandwich and changed into my riding gear.  It was around 17 degrees with a wind chill of 9 degrees.  The wind would be out of the northwest at 4 mph and gust to 15 mph.  This was to my advantage as I would be heading NE.   Most of the ride would be on pavement ...

As the sun came up today I could tell it was going to be a good day to get outside and ride. Friday was in the mid 40's and a lot of ice and snow melted.  The plan was to take the Fat Bike out, put on the fenders and get a short ride in.  The temperature was 30 degrees Fahrenheit and the wind was out of the NW at 15mph. Still some of the best weather we have had for the weekend. I had aired up the tires to 15+ psi for riding on pavement.  This was a good call and it also took away the self steer of the large tires.  The bike rode great in these conditions and when I got to a gravel road I found all the snow and ice gone.  The tires still went well on the gravel, just a few soft spots.  I will keep experimenting with tire pressure for this kind of riding.  The hardest and most technical part of the ride was navigating our driveway.  I rode for 45 minutes and just under 9 miles.  Just felt good to get outside.  The tempe...

Sunday morning, March 2, 2014 was cold and we had some fresh snow.  It was around 7 degrees when I got up at 5:30am.  I got a nice fires started and woke JJ just before 7am. I had prepped and loaded the bike Saturday night and had all our stuff packed.  We ate breakfast, finished loading the van and headed for Pando Winter Sports Park in Rockford, Michigan.  Rockford is about 15 minutes from Grand Rapids.  The roads were not in good shape so it took a little longer than usual.  I had not been to Pando in over 7 years and had never been there in the winter. I went into the lodge, checked in and picked up our number plates.  I headed back to the van, set up the bike and got into my riding gear.  I told JJ he needed to get changed and I headed out to warm up.  I did a full lap to see what we were in for.  The trail was in great condition and it was 2.25 miles long.  I felt I was ready for this. So the race would start by tubing dow...