That's how we roll

Since my intent is for this blog to serve as sort of a “virtual baby book” until I can create real scrapbooks for the boys (maybe in time for their high school graduation), I’m going to go back and record what I remember about certain events and milestones, as time permits. Things are going to be completely out of order until I’m able to get caught up, but hey, that’s just the story of our lives here lately.

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For the past three years, April has meant one thing in the Wolf house: the MS150. This two-day bike ride from Houston to Austin raises money for the National Multiple Sclerosis Society, and Ryan and his bromance Matt V. have participated since 2008.

When we found out we were having twins and they would be arriving in early 2011, Ryan said he was going to skip the ride because he wouldn’t have enough time to train. I encouraged him to sign up anyway for several reasons: first and foremost, I know how much he loves and looks forward to it every year; but also because I figured he would need an outlet — some “me” time — once the babies arrived.

So, despite crazy sleep deprivation and several bitterly cold mornings that prevented him from completing the majority of his training rides, Ryan set out with Matt on the morning of Saturday, April 16 to start the long trek from Houston to La Grange, Day 1’s stopping point. The guys rode hard and made it to the fairground in La Grange by early afternoon and were able to relax for a few hours before heading to bed to get ready for Day 2, the dreaded Central Texas hills.

(Just an added note for the sake of my memory: the boys slept close to 11 hours this night for the very first time. My mom spent the night to help me since Ryan was gone, and we were both in total disbelief as we showered, got dressed, made bottles, packed the diaper bag and loaded the car on Sunday morning, and still they slept.)

For the third year in a row, I had recruited Steph and Bret to make the drive to Austin with me on Sunday to cheer on Ryan and Matt at the finish line. This year they had a much more important job: assistant baby wranglers and gear haulers — not to mention, there was no way they were going to miss the babies’ first trip to the best city in Texas, home to our beloved Longhorns! Ryan had told us to be at the finish line by around 2 or 3, so we left Houston by 9 with plans to eat a leisurely lunch and then stake out a prime location to watch the finish. Imagine our surprise when we got about an hour outside of Austin (around 10:30 a.m.) and Ryan called to tell us that, thanks to a serious tail wind and some overzealousness on their part, he and Matt were about a mile from the finish. Needless to say, we strongly suggested that they stay put until we could get to the finish line, and they were smart enough to listen.

We got to Austin, unloaded the jogging stroller, lawn chairs, diaper bag, Baby Bjorns, cooler with the bottles and, oh yeah, babies, met up with Aunt Morgan and her friend, and headed down to the finish line. Thankfully we found a shady spot near the finish where we camped out while we waited for Matt’s wife, my good friend Amanda, to arrive with their kiddos, Miles and Addison. At one point Steph and I walked up to the finish line to try to stake out a good viewing spot, and we had no sooner gotten to the rail when Stephanie said “Wait, is that Ryan???!?” And sure enough, there he went, whizzing right by us. Talk about an anticlimactic finish!




Aunt Sassy & Uncle B: Baby Wranglers (Grant L, Reid R)

 


Baby Wrangler #3: Auntie M with Grant

 


Reid



Grant



We waited about a half-hour for him to fight the crowds and make his way over to us, and then we headed to The Tavern for lunch. And let’s not forget that Stephanie and I suffered the most miserable car ride ever on the way home — both of us crammed into the third row of my car, with one of the seats folded down to accommodate the mammoth jogging stroller, which Steph practically had to share a seat with for the entire ride.

So, to summarize, we spent about 7 hours loading the car and driving to and from Austin to spend 45 minutes at the finish line. Ahhhh, MS150 — how I have grown to love you. Oh, and Ryan and Matt? Amanda and I (and Steph and Bret, for that matter) have a message for you: Next year, you’re on your own!

So proud of their Daddy! (Reid L, Grant R)

 

All joking aside, I would be remiss if I didn’t brag on my husband for just a second. After a matching donation from his company, he raised close to $3,500 for the MS Society! This amount put him in the top 600 fundraisers for the ride, which included 13,000 participants. Way to go, babe!