Elephant Rock Rocks!

I took the boys to Elephant Rock the other weekend. It's just as cool as I remember it as a kid. We spent a solid 6 hours doing nothing but climbing boulders, jumping off of precarious ledges and hunting imaginary treasures. We could've gone longer, but were stopped by the dark. We completely tore the crap out of our clothes and only bloodied ourselves a few times - which isn't bad when you consider some of the exciting spots in which we found ourselves. At first they were cautious about jumping between boulders 30 feet in the air. But, by the end of the day they were jumping and clamoring with the best of them. My wife is probably glad she wasn't around to see it all!

All I can say is that if you are a kid, or have ever been a kid, you'll love it just as much as we did. Be sure to get off of the trails!

Done with Diapers!

It's finally happened. After eight long years of having 1-4 kids in diapers at a time we've finally made it. The baby has been potty trained. Girls are so much easier than boys. Our boys still pee all over the wall half the time, but Baby Bree has it nailed - with only a handful of accidents to speak of. That's my girl.

Life has been busy in the Gerdel household. Between being parents, managing rentals, working, commuting and trading/blogging Forex we just don't have a ton of extra time. What little extra time we do have we focus on spending together as a family. Training boys to become men is a consuming task to say the least, and teaching girls to love themselves in spite of a society that says otherwise is an enormous challenge. But we're Gerdels. We'll make it.

That's all for now. I'll try to post back more often but, like I said, we're busy!

Marathons hurt!

Missy and I ran our first half marathon on Sunday, and there's only one thing I can say about it: ouch. Miles 1-6 were OK, but mile 7 was entirely uphill, and it cooked my bacon. Miles 8-13.1 were 5.1 of the most painful miles I've ever run, and that's saying something.

Lesson learned: do more hill training. We're planning on doing another half marathon this September, and my wife is crazy enough to think we can to a full marathon next January. But, crazy people say all sorts of crazy things.

The best part is that I hit my goal for time. My goal was 2 Hours. My final time: 2:00:36. I can deal with being 36 seconds over.

Who doesn't love puppies?

We were tricked by a good friend of ours. She had a whole heard of pure bread cocker spaniels, cute little things. We told her we would consider adopting one of them and that we'd like to spend a weekend with one. She showed up with two. Her plan worked perfectly. Initially it was just supposed to be a weekend, which turned into a week - and now we're stuck with them both. Genius.



Quite honestly, I'm OK with having two dogs. They're adorable together, and occupy each other quite nicely. Dogs are like boys - they're easier in pairs. But, not too unlike our boys, they're pooping all over our house. That needs to stop.

Who's sick of winter?

It's cold here in Missouri, and we're all about sick and tired of it. This is the worst part of the year - Christmas season is well over and stupid winter just lingers on.

The good part? Sledding. And we've had plenty of snow and ice to do it in.

Bree

Aubrey Christine Gerdel

She's quite the pistol. She's got the beauty of her sister and the spunk of her strong-willed brother Collin. She's the baby of the family - and she knows it.

• Birthday: August 10, 2006
• Nickname: Bree
• Favorite Food: All of it
• Hobbies: Laying on the charm, demanding her way (unsuccessfully), imitating her sister.
  
• Favorite Things: Dog-dogs, books
  

Collin Porter

Collin Porter Gerdel

Collin is normally a good kid, unless he sees an injustice. Then he gets pissed. In a single minute he can go from one of the most kind, compassionate people you'll ever meet to one of the fiercest fighters you've ever seen. He's got potential for great things, if channeled correctly.

Generally speaking he's a little shy in a group setting, and is perfectly happy playing by himself for long periods of time.

• Birthday: April 13, 2004
  
• Nickname: Porter
• Favorite Food: Chocolate
  
• Hobbies: Playing ninjas, tough guy, tickle kisses, playing with his brother
• Favorite Things: Kinex, books, dogs