Merry Christmas from Robert, Kiersten and Kees.

more silliness...

And what would our family Christmas pictures be without the famous silly ones? That's usually the face Kiersten makes when someone "toots"... I wonder if it was Kiersten or Kees... or if it was even a "toot" ;-)

Our Christmas tree, with it's wonderfully eclectic ornaments. 

Kees and Kiersten (in her "Ho Ho Ho" pants) singing Christmas carols. 

Christmas caroling with friends and some of the kids from Kiersten and Kees' school. 

Kiersten was a Velo Bella all the way home! "Thank you's" to Alex (wish I had a pic of the man in the pink boa), Barb, Christine and Melodie for the advice, encouragement and hospitality, to Josh for the cold-weather tips, to Sabine for cheerleading on the course, to Laura for the Jersey and the "flair", and to Barb's cool parents for the cookies, hot-cocoa and good conversation.

De-icing the planes (never seen that before)! 

and listening to the holiday music... 

Kiersten still got her Vella Bella flair goin' on in the Vanderbilt Mansion in Newport... 

Trebon finishing in a disappointing second place... next year Treefarm... 

Wells crossing the finish line for the big "W"... 2005 men's elite national champion! 

Kiersten cheering on Adam Craig as he zooms past trying to catch the leaders... 

Still a lot of snow on the course... 

And Horner doesn't even shoulder it...

Adam Craig's slightly unorthodox shouldering style on the run up... 

Page on the run up... 

Treefarm on the run up.... 

Wells on the run up... 

Wells clearing a barrier with Treefarm and Page right on his tail... 

A "who's who" of elite cyclocross: Jonathan Page, Todd Wells, Ryan Trebon, Tim Johnson, Barry Wicks, Mark McCormack... 

Winner of virtually everything in the US and Tour de France rider Chris Horner. 

The 6'6" twin towers Barry Wicks and Ryan Trebon. They call Ryan "Treefarm" and Kiersten met him a few years ago at a race in Waco. He's one of the nicest guys in cycling: in the middle of a technical switchback climb in a NORBA race, he took his hand off the handlebar to wave to Kiersten and say "Hi!" I don't know about you, but if I was in the middle of a suffer-fest in a pro race I wouldn't waste a precious breath to say "Hi" to anyone!

Kiersten and the funniest man in mountain biking: Adam Craig.


 

Kiersten and new Elite Men's Cyclocross National Champion, Todd Wells.

Kiersten and teammate Barbara Howe, the world-famous cyclocrosser and stylish chick with those white sunglasses!

Kiersten in full Velo Bella flair mode. I think she fits in perfectly!

And the hot cocoa and cookies made by Barb's parents suuuuuuuuure tastes goooood!

Post-race warming up with her teammate, and new Collegiate National Champion, Melodie Metzger. I know the perspective is off, but is Kiersten almost as tall as Melodie? Just kidding!

Mini-Bella and mini-bike... 

Yes... for all you Texans... she's riding in the snow... and to a sixth place in her first cyclocross nationals...not bad for the tiny Texan they call "IronGirl"!

Shouldering the bike like a pro!

Baby it's COLD outside!

Kiersten in the call-up... last row, first-ever cyclocross race, only pre-rode 1/4 of the course, the course is full of snow and ice, it's in the thirties and she's on a bike she's ridden only once for about fifteen minutes... and the Tiny Texan is still smiling! Way to go IronGirl!!!

And the pre-ride was cut short when the blizzard came in... and I mean BLIZZARD!

Following five snowplows down I-95 at 40mph ... it was cool to watch them work in unison but frustrating going that slow when we needed to get there in time for pre-riding.

We're not in Texas anymore Toto... it's snowing!

Bikes don't look like this in Texas! Come to think of it... nothing looks like this in Texas!!!

THAT, is snow... and lots of it... 

Kiersten's desk and momentos from national and world champion mountain biker and cyclocrosser Alison Dunlap. 

and more trophies, her state championship and junior olympics jerseys...

Kiersten's "wall of fame" with her medals, national championship jerseys and some of the magazines she's been in (Girls' Life, Sports Illustrated, Mountain Bike Action and Triathlete)...

Fall colors in the Texas Hill Country near Tapatio Springs in Boerne. 

Not to be outdone... 

And she can catch! 

And boy did she throw it. Everyone was shocked! Who knew tiny Kiersten had an arm, and could throw a perfect spiral... every time!!!

Kiersten's going to throw the football? 

What would a family gathering be without a game of football? 

This picture sort of sums up Kiersten... pretty in pink, but with a football in her hand, LOL! 

A very Martha Stewart-esh table and setting... 

Papa and the kiddos... 

Thanksgiving dinner at the Conlees. 

Goooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooal!!!!!!!!

Kees playing strong in the U10 division leading his team to second place in the division as the leading scorer on his team. 

Dinner and sunset at Snoopy's... and those cool yellow and blue shoes the kids have on are called "Crocs", and if you don't have some you need to get them. 

Another beautiful Corpus Christi sunset! 

Kees, Kiersten, Kathleen and Louisa looking waaaaaay scary on Halloween!

Kids with Linda Armstrong (Lance's mom) at the Ride for the Roses in Austin. 

Corpus Christi Bay in the background... we're fortunate to have such a beautiful place to ride virtually every day of the year right in our own backyard... 

... only to have Kees sneak around and sprint by her ;-) 

Being only 26 months apart they are truly best friends, but with that closeness in age (and ability) they are extremely competitive with each other. Here, Kiersten relaxes as she crests a climb thinking she's beaten her brother to the top... 

The complete opposite of his sister, Kees is the sprinter... the green jersey guy... he's so big and strong for his age that I've seen him pull his front wheel off the ground repeatedly in sprints for the finish line! In his first mountain bike race, as an 8-year old he outsprinted all the 10-year olds off the start to hit the trailhead first! He'll hold his own in short power climbs, but as could be expected he doesn't like extended climbs. He also has phenominal bike-handling skills, and has since he started riding. He learned to clip in at 5, and I think it took him all of five minutes! Isn't it cool how kids, with their open minds, can learn something in 5 minutes that often takes adults 5 days to get the hang of! 

Kiersten riding a small climb. She's a pure climber and when a road or trail goes up she's gone! The kids have nicknames for each other, and she's "Marco Pantani", the gifted Italian climber and Tour de France winner. She can hold her own on speed courses, but she has to work really hard to stay with the bigger girls on the power courses. Ultimately it's her fitness and determination that gets her to the line first, regardless of the course. She's on her favorite little bike that has brought her to several victories and championships. Props to Steffi and her sponsors Trialtir-USA, Colnago, Northwave and Limar. She told me that when it doesn't fit her anymore I can't sell it, and she wants to hang it on the wall. It's small enough!

Kiersten playing tough in the U13 Division II league this Fall. Her team finished third in their division and qualified for the state championships. Playing mostly right forward, she was the number three scorer for her team. 

Storm shutters go on the windows.

Kees helps repair a roof exhaust vent in preparation for the storm.

Slim pickings in the meat department.

Shelves normally stocked full of fruits are completely cleared out.

The windows are boarded-up on almost all of the buildings in town.

Hurricane Rita heads towards Corpus Christi and the upper Texas coast. After Katrina the city takes no chances and orders a mandatory evacuation of the city... it's a virtual ghost-town! Kiersten has gone to Austin to be with her maternal grandparents and Kees and I are battening down the house and preparing to leave for my sister's house north of San Antonio.

The girls leaving the field, victorious again! Here you can see how tiny Kiersten is compared to her teammates (she's playing up two years)... a couple of girls weigh almost twice what she weighs! 

And what would Corpus be without the ubiquitous seagull... or Laughing Gull
 

A Pelican... ungainly on land and water, yet so graceful in flight... 

View of the sunset and boat traffic on the intracoastal canal while dining at our favorite summer dining establishment: Snoopy's. 

Egret taking flight... 

Oh... and she recovers for a perfect landing! 9.9, 9.9, 9.8 (Russian Judge),10, 9.9! 

Kiersten looking like she might be losing control in the final stretch... 

Kees and Ross having a little fun at the pool! 

On the ferry across the channel at Port Aransas. 

Fun at the beach in Port Aransas on the remains of the only WWII bunker on the Texas coast... almost no one knows about it but years ago I stumbled upon it while exploring in the dunes and after some research discovered that it was built after U-boats were spotted in the gulf during WWII. 

Fun with Kees' army men (and checking out the depth-of-field on my lens). 

Just some cool fireworks after a Hooks game... 

Kees and Dominic still not asleep! 

Kees with his cousins Dominic and Christopher chillin' in the golf cart... it's what you do when it's over 100 degrees outside... 

Kiersten (looking very serious about her driving here) and cousin Dominic in the golf cart... 

Momma fox in the barn... 

Kees, Christopher and cousin Bart (from Holland) at the ranch... and Bart almost looks like a Texan with that gun! 

It's cotton-pickin' time in our part of the world... these are cotton modules. After the cotton pickers harvest the cotton from the fields they drop their load into what's called the "module builder" which compresses the cotton into modules. The cotton modules are then dropped off in front of the gin, which then separates the cottonseed from the cotton fiber. That process is called "ginning", and it produces bales of cotton ready to be delivered to the various cloth manufacturers. Interesting stuff, huh? 

A typical sight in Corpus Christi... shrimpers and sailboats... 

I just like this shot... 

It's that time of year again... soccer time! Why do we always start the season with two balls, then mid-way thorough the season we have four or five balls, and then at the end of the season we're down to one? And why do kids' feet grow at twice the rate that their bodies do? Things that make you go "hmmmmmmm..." 

Kiersten's birthday... and what does she want to eat? SUSHI, her fav! 

Back home in the airport with some of our shopping bags (gotta love that duty-free shop in Schiphol) and the Tour de France signs we "liberated" from Paris ;-) 

Volendam, a traditional old Dutch fishing village. 

The kids in Madurodam, Holland in miniature... it was one of my favorite places to visit as a child and it still holds a special place in my heart. 

Yes... the sign on that fish store says "1342", not 1842. 

Nothing better than Cassis and Poffertjes on the square in Delft, Holland! 

In front of the Royal Palace in Amsterdam. 

On the pier in Scheveningen, Holland, where my sister and I would play on the beach as children. The Dutch are so proud of how "warm" the water is there because of the gulf stream, and I always have to remind them that the gulf stream starts where we live and by the time it gets to Holland (to us) it's COLD! 

And what better way to finish a Dutch meal than with chokolade en vanille Vla?! When I was in college and my mother would go to Holland to visit my Oma (her mother), she'd freeze cartons of vla and bring them back for me! 

Good old Dutch meat, potatoes and vegetables... 

Playing on the street in Schiedam with Oom Coen's neighbor children... 

They call this a "Smart Car"... but I don't know how smart it is driving around in a car smaller than a golf cart! 

Napoleon's tomb in Paris.

Cousin Nanda in Paris. 

Notre Dam gargoyle. 

St. Chapelle, built by Louis IX in the 1240's to house relics from the Holy Land believed to be the Crown of Thorns and part of the True Cross, and known for it's beautiful floor-to-ceiling stained-glass windows. 

The obligatory ice cream at Cafe de la Paix in front of the Paris Opera... even my parents did it in the fifties when they lived there! 

A little fun with the Eiffel Tower ;-) 

From Mesopotamia, the Code of Hammurabi, the first written code of laws in human history. More here. 

This one needs no introduction... 

Kees looking at the gargantuan paintings in the Peter Paul Rubens de Medici commision exhibit in the Louvre. 

Lighting a candle for Pieter in Notre Dame de Paris. 

The nave of Notre Dame de Paris cathedral constructed in 1163. 

The famous "Rose Window" inside Notre Dame. 

Chillin' and watching the sparkling lights that are lit every hour on the hour between 9 and midnight. 

Interesting shot from under the Eiffel Tower at night. 

Watching the sunset in front of the Sacre Coeur. 

Kees (red shirt) having fun with a mime in Montmarte. 

If you look to the left of the kids you can see a "firedancer" twirling her pots of fire in front of the Notre Dame cathedral. 

The kids getting their portraits done in the Latin Quarter... 

When in Paris, do as the Parisiens do... so we had some of the local delicacies in the Latin Quarter. What's more French than escargo (snails)? Kiersten give them a "thumbs up"! 

Who said Litespeed, maker of the finest bikes in the world, wasn't at the Tour?! 

"We are the champions", "model pose", "look how cute I am", or just Kiersten being Kiersten... can't decide which one it is...

And a little fun UNDER the Eiffel Tower ;-) 

A little fun with the Eiffel Tower... 

Now THIS, is a crepe! (Actually we got sorta sick trying to finish these and their half-liter or so of creme and never wanted to see another one again!) 

For one glorious night, the Texas flag flew over the Crillon and the Place de la Concorde in Paris, France! 

Good job Lance! 

And the mayhem surrounding Lance and his Discovery Channel teammates... 

Jan, Vino, Julich and Voigt with their T-Mobile teammates showing some Teutonic precision... 

CSC not even trying the orderly thing... 

Floyd Landis and the Phonak boys... 

"Chicken" Rasmussen, and his Rabobank boys, looking far more relaxed than he did in the penultimate stage time-trial... 

Chris Horner, with his Saunier Duval teammates, looking happy to have ridden well in and finished the big show... 

Levi and his Gerolsteiner boys looking fairly orderly... 

And the parade of teams begins... the Lotto boys... 

On his final lap, heading towards the finish line... Lance Armstrong has won his seventh Tour de France! (Cool looking bike, too!) 

Lots of riders... but Lance is well protected by his lieutenants. 

Liz Kreutz ... looks like even more cameras this time! 

Our first view of Lance... no smiles yet! 

And estimated 600,000 people... no, that's not a typo... lined the 1.2 miles of the Champs-Elysees, to see Lance and their favorite riders finish the Tour de France! 

 

You can't ever miss the Dutch fans, on the Champs-Elysees waiting to cheer for their Rabobank team! 

The local gendarme looking tough ;-) 

A little photo "shoot" on the Champs-Elysées ... it's funny, as I took shots of the kids people gave us lots of space (and if you've ever walked down that street you'll know how that usually doesn't happen). I had my very conspicuous white 70-200 lens on my camera so I assuming they thought it was a photo shoot. This is the obligatory Arch de Triomphe shot. 

Kiersten and Kees with cousins Henriette and Kees in Kampen, Holland. My Kees thought it was so cool to be with another "Kees"! 

Lisette teaching the kids an Australian card game... we'll just call it "poop head"... 

The kids playing with bees in Henriette and Kees' backyard... they're very docile in Holland (apparently). 

OK... her coat is even BIGGER... but on her first try she's having a hoot!!! 

OK... maybe the coat's a little big... but on his first try Kees is stylin' it down the slope... and before Kiersten, no less! 

Yes... it's JULY, and they're getting ready to go skiing! It's actually a glacier and it's around 12,000 feet so there is year-round snow. It's where my sister and I learned to ski when we were about the same age. 

 

Waiting for the train to the top of the Jungfrau Joch mountain near Interlaken, Switzerland. 

An epic (and famous) climb... the Galibier. 

And not so postcard perfect ;-) 

Postcard perfect! 

The grandeur of the Alps... 

Lance chatting with O'Grady at the start of Stage 12. 

Lance at the sign-in at the starting line in Briancon... 

The Lone-Star flat in Briancon... 

You-know-who's bike, caught at a gas station in Briancon! 

K & K at the top of the col de la Madeline cheering on the peloton...

It hurts to climb, even when you've got a team to pull you up... 

Disco leading Lance (and chicken) up the col de la Madeline. 

Vino leading the peloton up the col de la Madeline. 

Stuck in the tunnel, so Kiersten gets out and does the Madagaskar Robot ! 

 

Not sure why, but the LUK devil guy is in green for this tour... probably some sponsorship deal... 

but not hating it as much as the big man Backstedt... 

McEwen, the sprinter, not liking the climb... 

and gather... 

and the crowds are starting to gather...

Stage 11... we're at the Col de la Madeline, and with a few hours to burn we're climbing to the highest point on the mountain and above the clouds... 

The team busses are starting to arrive and the electricity is building! 

I'm not sure whether it's a Slim Jim look or Troll look she's working at... which ever one it is, she's workin' it! 

And Paul Sherwin... 

As the sun sets in the Alps in Courcheval... 

Silliness after an exciting day! 

Parc Ferme... all the team cars and bikes... 

 

Azevedo and Hincapie...

Lance's former Lieutenant, Heras... 

Vino and Julich finishing... 

And Lance's lieutenants, spent, having done their job escorting their boss up the climb, make their way to the finish. Here is Popyvich, followed closely by Horner (how awesome it was to see him do well in the tour). 

Ulrich... showing the pain... 

One by one the pretenders finish... defeated... Basso... 

In the end Valverde gets him at the line... but it doesn't matter... he's in the yellow jersey and has put many of his challengers out of reach with this amazing showing of strength in Stage 10 of the 2005 Tour de France. 

He's giving every ounce of his being to winning this stage and getting the yellow jersey! 

Lance puts the hammer down! 

And here comes Lance! The crowd is going crazy! He's dropped everyone but Valverde and it's a sprint to the finish! 

LeBlanc's car means there almost here... the electricity in the crowd has built to a crescendo! 

The helicopter means that the leaders are close... we've been listening to the French announcer and have been hearing how Lance, one-by-one, has been dropping all the pretenders to his throne on his way up to the top of Courcheval... the electricity in the crowd is building... 

Cheryl Crow in the Discovery Team car. 

They get pretty creative! 

Time to get to our spot on the course!

Photographer Liz Kreutz, from Austin, shooting the tour... here with about 50 pounds of cameras...

And the parade begins!

Announcer Phil Liggett at the finish line in Courcheval.

Ooh, la la... THIS is how you start the day in the mountains in France! We stayed at the absolute coolest bed and breakfast in Courcheval overlooking the mountains, and the Tour de France route came right underneath our balcony!

Champion supermarkets sponsored the "King of the Mountains"... 

People (mostly Germans drinking lots of alcohol) staking out spots along the way to camp and watch the race come by...

What you do with an apple when you're 10 and you've been sitting in the back of a car for five hours... 

The roads are starting to get crowded with cars and bikes making their way to Courcheval... 

in a tiny village in the beautiful French Alps... 

Loading up on supplies and the obligatory baguettes for our assault on the Alp stages of the Tour de France... 

 

 

 

 

 

The American Cemetery and Memorial in Hamm, Luxembourg...

OK, OK... I have jet-lag too ... can I go back to sleep, now?

Schiedam, to be exact... where my mother was born and raised... 

We're in Holland, Toto! 

I don't have jet-lag... I promise! 

Hey, who's picture is that on the wall at Oma's house? It's so 70's ;-) 

Picking up our luggage at Schiphol Airport in Amsterdam... our version of packing light... 

Field of dreams... 

Game's over! 

Kees, ready to put the big bat into action... 

All-Star pitcher and catcher...

on the mound... ready for action... 

Kees, the All-Star team pitcher, walks to the mound (lookin' just like a big-leaguer)...

They don't know it yet, but they're future husband and wife Kees and Ashley ;-) 

Dancin' with Ashley Chapa at a Round Rock Express game in her dad Mario's box... thanks Mario and Earlene! 

Kees' batting practice... 

Permanent honor roll... go Kiersten! 

Permanent honor roll... good work, Kees! 

Boys, and Game-Boys... I guess if it gets really intense the helmets will come in handy ;-) 

Kees riding the climb everyone else walks! (An interesting fact: he's riding Willow Koerber's bike, wearing a jersey we got from her, shorts from Jimena Florit and Jeremy Horgan-Kobelski's helmet... yet it all looks like it was made for him!)

And there it is... although we can't stop or get close to it (at least that's what all the warning signs say). 

George something-or-another has a ranch near here doesn't he? 

Kiersten in the "Culture Day" parade at school, dressed in authentic Volendamse Kleed (Volendam Costume) from Volendam, Holland... this is the real stuff, hand made out of wool, cotton and lace by little old ladies in the ancient seaport town of Volendam on the Zuider Zee. 

Kees looking very fast at the Big Ring Challenge! 

MTV's "Real World" house in Austin. 

Lucky Kees... ten minutes in a car and he can do this: zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz! 

This is what happens when you wear dark sunglasses and then go through the woods and hit a cut-off stump at almost 20mph! Kees was following me and said I was flipped ten feet into the air... ouch... 

Rriding in the Texas "Hill Country" on the course used for the Texas Norba Marathon race ... can you say ROCKY?! 

After Varekai the "second performance" began ;-) 

Fun with the Normans at Shady Grove in Austin. 

Check out that rear tire... she flatted on the starting line and raced the entire course on a flat tire... and finished third! She said she had to run the climbs and some of the descents were REALLY hairy when the bike would wobble back and forth. Way to go IronGirl for not quitting! 

Kiersten letting out a sigh of relief after crossing the line... leading through the first half of the race, she crashed a couple of times in the very technical back section and then had two chain-suck incidents which all but ended her chance of a win and she finished in second place to local racer and 12-year old national champion Megan Steward.

And the conditions just got worse... Kees looking above his glasses coming across the line in the driving rain. Tough course and conditions for only his second-ever mountain bike race... way to tough it out Kees!

Trent Lowe just wanting to get across the damn finish line ;-)

Alison Dunlap looking happy to finish!

Former Canadian and World Champ Alison Sydor actually thanking the kids for cheering for her (the girls appreciated the kids' cheering more than the guys did ;-)

Willow Koerber managing a smile and thanking the kids for cheering her on!

Susan Haywood tolerating anything in her, Alison Dunlap and Mary McConnelough's epic quest for UCI points to secure that one spot on the US mountain bike team for the 2004 Olympics...

Australian Tren Lowe thinking that riding on the road for the Discovery Channel team in '06 is looking more interesting (9 months later he signed with Discovery)...

Adam Craig and Geoff Kabush walking, and not riding, their bikes up one of the easier little hills on the course...

Olympian Mary McConnelough, like many others, having to look over (and not through) her sunglasses...

Geoff Kabush coming through the feeding / mechanic zone (the first race in the US to utilize the new UCI rule) followed closely by Adam Craig and Jeremy Horgan-Kobelski (out of the picture)...

Adam Craig stylin' in his mechanic's shirt en-route to second place...

Canadian Geoff Kabush laying a K-bomb on his competitors in the men's elite short track...

Tapatio Springs NORBA race... women's short track... former world champ Alison Sydor followed closely by Katerina Hanusova, her teammate Shonny Vanlandingham and Willow Koerber...

Kiersten's class took a field trip to the King Ranch... at almost 900,000 acres, the largest ranch in the world located near Kingsville, Texas, about 45 minutes from Corpus Christi. This is a shot of the main ranch house.

Kiersten's a little muddy as well! In her race she hit the trail-head in first place, and although challenged the entire race by Megan (who is the national champ in the age-group above Kiersten's) Kiersten held her off for the win!

First race of the year at Warda, and first-ever for Kees. It was in the forties and rained the entire time turning the trails into flowing rivers of molasses! How wet was it? Check out his hands! 8-year old Kees raced in the 10&U division and he hole-shotted the start into first place but eventually was passed by the 10-year olds to finish in 4th place. Pretty darn good for his first race and he couldn't stop smiling afterwards! I mean, what kid wouldn't enjoy riding a bike in the mud and not getting in trouble for doing it, LOL!

and I think you already knew who won ;-)

and I have mine...

Kees has his snowball...

The obligatory snow angel.

How cool is this?!

At the marina...

Christmas day, 2004... wow... a record snow of up to 14 inches in places fell on Christmas Eve! Walking down the street to the bayfront to see what it looks like...

I think the novelty of the snow and the COLD might be wearing off with Kees ;-)

Changed into jeans and went to check out what snow on the beach looks like! As you can see, Kiersten thinks it's so "coooooooooooooooool!"

It's snowing!!!!!!!

In the church after the Christmas Eve service. Dig those little elves' outfits! Kiersten's coat was made by an ex-girlfriend and I had the hat made to match it... Kees' is pretty much straight out of good-old GAP. Little do we know that as we stand there getting ready to leave the church...

Looking at Pieter's memorial plaque before the Chrismas Eve service at our church.