SOC.

The acronym above stands for "stream of consciousness" which is really just a pre-planned excuse for lack luster random writing.

-Disneyland water. Isn't it weird? Where does it come from? Why does it have a distinct smell? If you bottled it and sold it would it sell? For that matter, which vintage would do the best? "Matterhorn Waterfall", "Pirates of Caribbean Musket Broth", or "Small World Soup". This topic is personally relevant as I am 99% sure that I swallowed some on Splash Mountain the other day.

-Bicycles. On Saturday I rode my fancy 17 lb. Kuota Carbon Frame road bike 90 miles out to Malibu and back. It hurt. Later that evening my wife convinced me to ride the 49 lb. strand cruiser bike out to Santa Monica on a date? (30 miles total). I learned several things from this experience. #1PCH highway is beautiful and terrifying #2 Heidi is very motivated by Lamb Kabobs and doughnuts #3 Ten hours on a bike does weird things to you, including bizarre tan lines. #4 Venice Beach is frightening at night. #5 it was fun to feel like a stupid teenager again.

-Softball Observations. The season has begun in earnest and I have picked up a few insights for the social world of organized competitive slow pitch. First, I call it the "jeans rule". If a hitter steps up to the plate with denim anywhere on his person all out fielders must take an automatic 5 steps in. (jean shorts are an automatic 10). Second, if the team is cheering their hitter on with phrases like, "Make him pitch to you Bob!" and "Great eye out there!" all out fielders should take a few steps in. Third, much to my dismay, I was forced to pitch the other night because of a no show. I hated it for the following... the fat old guy usually pitches and the dreaded come backer. When asked, "ummm what happened to your face?" there is no glory in replying, "yeah uh... a softball game."

-Lance Burton. A recently discovered "Lance Burton: Magic Set" has unlocked my inner performer. I am applying to magician schools now and have already begun designing my Vegas I-15 billboard. Abra Kadabra!

Snyder Spring Athletics.

The current Snyder Spring Athletic program consists of:

1. Luke riding his bike sans training wheels (& me "spotter" running along side him).

2. Abdominal exercises via allergy sneezes.

3. Miles running and climbing wherever and whenever he can.

4. Heidi's multitude of running adventures (she would be cycling too if her punk hubby would fix her beloved cervelo).

5. Many a family walk with double stroller into downtown Provo.

6. Travis' long bike rides (The leg and arm farmer tans are already in full effect).

7. FHE at the Provo High track. Luke is working up to his first mile run.

8. Evening mid life crisis Yoga sessions for Travis & Heidi... Namaste.

9. Pre-season baseball exercises for Travis' softball and Luke's T-ball (I am trying to make him hit left handed... am I a bad father?)

10. Systemized sleep deprivation obstacle courses to help prep for another season of racing.

Finis.

Rear View Mirror

Heidi spent the day down in Delta, Utah (population 3,209 brave souls) running her other-other side business. As a welcome consequence, I got to spend the day with my sons. Lately when I am fortunate enough to have major solo time with them I get this goofy "I am hanging out with the guys" feeling. This is unexpected considering I am their father. I helped make them right? They have recently developed an effortless cool interaction that I marvel at. I feel fortunate when they let me mix around in it. I keep waiting for them to notice that I, unlike them, am not 2-3 feet tall with floppy golden hair and big blue eyes.

While chauffeuring them around on our adventures I confess to being a habitual rear view mirror watcher. This is dangerous and ironic as I could injure them by crashing from trying catch a glimpse of their in car movements. I have found that due to their hyper activity, catching long observations of them in free roaming environments is difficult, so the 5 point car seat harness is a legal way to restrain and observe them. After many long & short car trips I have categorized the following as their typical behaviors:

Tickle Wrestle: Due to the fine example of their father, both Luke and Miles have learned to wrestle and tickle with pinpoint accuracy. Luke can project his little tickle fingers into my neck so quickly and effectively it is surprising. Sometimes these two go at it in the car. Luke can get Miles going pretty good. You can tell by the Miles’ signature growl, belly laugh, and eventual giggle tears.

Car Dancing: Somehow both of my sons have developed an extreme affinity for music... especially pop music. They will both absolutely rock it to any and every bass pounding beat. Miles (more limited due to the more aggressive car seat) does continuous kicks while karate chopping. Luke has a dizzying array of moves that I will not attempt to quantify. Let's just say the brotha has soul. At least one rap/techno cd mix remains in disc changer 24/7 to incite needed Snyder boy funk.

Glassy Eye Gaze: As a kid sitting in the middle seat of our family Honda or Isuzu trooper I would often gaze out the window at the blurring landscape rolling by. If good music was on the radio or tape deck I would pretend that my window scene went to the song to make up some custom music video. I am not sure if this is what Luke and Miles are doing but often I will look to the back seat to find them both glassy eyed and gazing out their windows. "What in the world can a four or one year old be pondering about?" I do get an insight into Luke’s mind every once in a while he will ask me a question out of nowhere after some long pause.

“Dad, is there good and naughty witches? Cause some are funny and some are scary.”

“I really love Milesy he’s a good guy.”

“When we went on the bunny ride (splash mountain) was the water slide on a track?”

“When you build our new house I want a green one.”

Contortion Sleep: Lets just say it is a good thing little boy bones are basically rubber at this point in development. When it is eerily quiet I will look in that back seat to find them asleep and often in the cruelest head positions. In the throws of forced sleep, Luke looks like a rag doll riding a bull. Most often his head is hanging forward swaying side to side, my solution is the gas pedal and my truck’s V8. I can get that head back against the seat quickly and smoothly. It is usually then re-enforced by a shirt or blanket lying nearby and soft breaking. On the way home tonight, Luke fell asleep leaning against Miles’ car seat. In my rear view mirror I caught a glimpse of that little Miles reaching out and awkwardly patting Luke’s cheek three or four times. It is one of those totally fulfilled "Dad" moments.

Thinking of my own time as a kid in the back seat I remember that the boundary between me and the front seat seemed to be some unseen force field between adult and childhood. They had all the control, responsibility, and perspective while we were patiently along for the ride. The one exception to this was when my mom or dad would occasionally break the divide and reach their arm back and give my leg a subtle squeeze. It was like, "yeah we're busy driving and reaching back is awkward but I haven't forgotten about you." It was a clear moment in their busy lives where I felt my parent's full priority, me.

Lucky for me, Heidi, and the boys, we’ve got lots of driving ahead and pretty long arms.

Weak Sauce.

This is purely an effort to remove myself from the bottom of your blog lists (that is if I am still honored to be included). Baby steps Travis... baby steps.

blog post ideas and motivation welcome

A day in the life with...

*Heidi*
am comment "Travis, I have been thinking about your health and energy levels and stuff. Ummm.... based on some research I did I think you could be pre-diabetic."

pm comment "Hey I just finished making a homemade strawberry shortcake. It's in the fridge for ya!"

*Luke*
Luke: "Dada what's wrong?"

Me: "Ugh, I've got a headache bud."

Luke: While patting my forehead "Hmmmmm. Maybe you should watch a cycling show. You love the cycling shows." (I had been watching the Giro de Italia bike race on TV and never once thought Luke was aware of it).

Me: "Really? You think that will make me better?"

Luke: While flexing biceps "Yeah, you can be strong like Lance Armstrong!"
(I have never once spoken to Luke about Mr. Lance either.)

*Miles*
While slapping my face "Uh Oh, Uh Oh!"

While pointing to the kitchen "Ba! Ba! Ba!" (bottle).

While pulling Luke's hair "Growl".

editor's note: the existence of this blog post during
a race production week is a minor miracle.

The Rundown

Ugh. A lot has been going on lately. Here is the official rundown...

1. Finishing our basement into a 2 bedroom apt. Good times. Did most of the work and managed to not cut anything off.

2. Selling our house and moving. (the buyers wanted the basement done) Lots of work, lots of stress, lots of caffeine.

3. Looking for a new home base for my crazy cool family.

4. Starting a new business... fun and a lot of work. Everyone should "run the redrock" this September. Learn more at www.redrockrelay.com

the redrock relay mobile!

5. Having surgery and getting the toes on my left foot removed. (not true just seeing if you are still with me).

6. Prepping for a summer of triathlons. Our first race is May 30th www.racetri.com

7. Turning 31 years old. Not sure how I feel about this one. It is Heidi's favorite number so I am expecting a good year.

8. Rolling with my rough and tumble boyz. They are hilarious and kill me every day. Miles is a scrappy little bear cub and Luke is a great kid. The other day I was tucking Luke in with our standard super hero story and I started copying everything he said. He started laughing and getting so bugged with me. I thought to myself, "It is an honor to be the first person in his mortal life to do this to him." I am waiting for his newly learned skills to come back to haunt me in a few months.

9. Ready for a fun summer. Softball season is about to start and my recent cycle of roids is timed perfectly. Those Payson hicks don't stand a chance!

10. Yes, last but not least Carolina won.

The Boyz grow up

The creative posting well has been a bit dry lately.
I thought I'd get it going with some recent photos & stories.

"Brother Bath"

The last few weeks, we have instituted the nightly brother bath. It is a hilarious splash fest. They have so much fun together... watching them cracks me up every single night. To be honest I had a hard time at first when Miles was born. I was so used to giving 100% to Luke that it felt kind of like a betrayal to have another little guy to love. The weirdness didn't last long and now that the boys are interacting more I am so happy they have each other. Heidi did a good job keeping "man parts" out of this particular photo session. I do however plan on seeing them in some awkward wedding slide moment 20 years from now.

"The Stander"

This is the current scene when Miles wakes up from his snuggly slumber. He is so happy with himself. The bouncer and exer-saucer have been replaced with stair gates and cupboard locks and door knobs. The bangs and bruises have begun. Bring it on mobile Miles!

"Luke + Ally"

This is a shot of Luke delivering the valentine to his precious Ally. These two are about the cutest thing in the world. She moved into the ward and was having a hard time getting through primary and Luke stepped in as her man. He is so protective and attentive to her that her Mom is actually worried that Ally won't know how to cope without the little stud. Watching him with her at church is almost worth the trip out here. Notice his cheeseball grin while looking at her.

"Sunset"

Not a lot to write about this photo. Just the a view from our backyard and the end to a crisp winter day. We are beginning to feel the beginnings of Spring and I am excited. It has been a good winter for us but I am happy for the transition to spring. The excitement of it almost makes the winter worth it. Life is good.