Making Room for One More!!!!!! (Goodbye Den)

So, I know that there are many out there that are as excited about the news as we are. I know some of you already know, but I thought it would be best to make some sort of formal announcement to let people know that it's ok to talk about it and such. Our family has been blessed by the addition of a Felt bicycle. The delivery came at 11:36 am on Tuesday and weighs 24 lbs 12 oz. It hasn't even been a week, and I've already come to love it so much. I will admit though, it has been a challenge to make room for the addition in our house. Thankfully we were able to slide the kitchen table over far enough in it's nook to make enough room for it to fit nicely.

This bike is very different from my last bike. My last bike was a normal full-suspension mountain bike and was quite burly. This bike is a hardtail single-speed 29er. The key differences are:

1. It's a hardtail--which means it doesn't have a shock in the back. This makes my behind much more sore after the rides, but the bike is much more responsive out of the saddle. It also makes it lighter.
   
2. It's a 29er--this means it has larger diameter tires which mean decreased rolling resistance to everything including roots.
3. It's a single speed--this means just one gear. The bike is very simple and also lighter because of the absence of all the drive train components.

I went for my first ride on Thursday afternoon. I took it out to Hardwood Mills park. It was a great feeling to ride again. The bike is very well suited to the terrain here; my last bike would have been overkill. The bike handles very well and it always feels like it is in the right gear. Also, I must say the 29" wheels are a pleasure. It's a lot of fun to just roll over the top of everything monster-truck style. I love it.

In other great news, Nicole and I spoke in church today on gratitude. Nicole did an excellent job. I kept thinking about how articulate and educated she sounded as she spoke. I keep realizing more and more what a deal I got as our marriage progresses. Yesterday afternoon I sat down to write my talk and told Nicole I would have it knocked out in 30 min. Four hours later I finished. It was just one of those things that the more and more I read, the more and more I wanted to know.

I did get a break in the middle of my talk writing though when we went to the ward activity. It was a great activity that ended up very well. However, at the outset we weren't sure when to show up. We were told by three different sources that the activity started at 5:00, 6:00, and 6:30. We guessed 5:00 and so did 75% of the ward. The rest came trickling in throughout the evening. The activity was a pot luck. Everyone was supposed to make something with their food storage and bring the item and their recipe.
About 4:00, Nicole and I decided we should start cooking something for the activity. Much to our surprise, we found that the only thing beside Cup o' Noodles that was in our food storage that we could turn into a decent side dish was Stove Top Suffing. So that's what we made. And, as instructed, we displayed the recipe for everyone to see (I followed all three steps meticulously). Now some may laugh and point the finger of scorn at our simply prepared dish, but, as I predicted it was one of the first items gone at the pot luck--I didn't even get any. There's no way anyone can turn down Stove Top. Also, I would like to note that at the activity, we took receipt of more items for our food storage that we had on order. We now have 6 gallons of water and 25 lbs of canned flour. I know it's not much yet, but don't you worry, we'll have our proverbial bomb shelter stocked in no time. Now, if only we could find a place to put it all.