Memorial Day Bike Ride

Mom got a new bike recently, and she's been taking us out on rides fairly often of late. Lilly and James are quite content to be towed by mom in the trailer, but Ethan and I in particular have been getting really good at riding on our own. Finally, on Memorial Day, dad had a day off work and we had the chance to show off our skills on a little family bike ride together. We're getting stronger every day!

In Which I Learn How to Ride a Bike and the House Gets an Unexpected Washdown

Soon after the snow started melting early last month, dad took us all on a walk one Saturday up to the Ethan’s school and back. Ethan rode the bike on the way there and I rode it on the way back – it was so fun! Only problem is, there's only one bike, so we had to share it.

Well, no longer! Three weeks ago, after seeing how well we were able to pick up riding on two wheels one Monday, we both got new bikes with 20” wheels! Since the first day, Ethan’s been great at riding on a two-wheeler, and even started riding to school and back pretty soon thereafter. I was a little more hesitant, and asked to keep training wheels on my bike, which mom was happy to let me do until she got frustrated with how far ahead I get with the training wheels on! My training wheels are off again, and I definitely have my fair share of knee scrapes and elbow bruises, but I’m slowly getting better – I don’t even need to use the porch steps to help mount/dismount anymore! And, of course, now that I’m starting to figure it out, mom’s plan to slow me down is starting to backfire, as I’m getting faster than ever!

The same week we got new bikes, we went camping overnight in Pinckney State Recreation Area. We haven’t been camping since Stettler, Alberta, about a year and a half ago! Ethan and I really got into it – wading in the water, building a fire, roasting marshmallows, sleeping in the big boy tent (as opposed to the small girl tent that mom and Lilly slept in), and peeing on trees in the great outdoors. Some things I guess belong only to the camping world though, as dad didn’t seem too impressed to find us peeing on the side of the house one day when he came home from work a couple of weeks ago, and mom was likewise unimpressed to find me peeing on the basement floor today.

Still, those little hiccups aside, I’m looking forward to going camping again soon! Maybe we’ll even get to go canoeing next time!

Learning to Ride

About a week ago, on the same day as Ethan, mom had me starting to ride a bike without training wheels. I didn't pick it up quite as quickly, but remember I'm 1 1/2 years younger, too! Well, mom bought me a bigger bike, and we put the training wheels back on it cause I could go faster that way, then she found that was actually a bad idea because I'd just kind of take off ahead of everyone when we're riding our bikes accompanying Ethan to school. So she took them off to slow me down! Of course, I've only gotten better since then, and now I'm perfectly happy to ride with two wheels! Dad says once mom gets a new bike, we'll all go on a family ride together by the river -- it'll be so fun. I just hope I don't fall in!

Snow, glorious snow!

Mom and dad kept telling us winter had come, but until a couple of weeks ago, I didn't see any proof -- then, one day, we went to bed and the next morning... this! Wow. There snow storm was so big, mama and yeye even shared it with us in Maine! Church was cancelled that morning so dad used the time to teach Ethan to "fulfill the measure of his creation" (as Joel Harper, one of daddy's friends in Idaho, would say). The rest of us played in the backyard while they worked! Lilly and mommy sat on the patio trying to turn the watergun into a snowgun, and I went sledding in the backyard.



I don't... know what... the deal... is... here... s'definitely... nothing like... the "tallest... mountain..." we used to... sled on... in Edmonton... last... year...

Our Jungle Gym Downstairs

After a two-month absence from home life, dad returned home one day from work and took mom to the airport the next day -- or so it seemed to us kids. For the following week, there was no one home but him and us, prompting comments from the ladies at church like "What are you doing for meals?" -- as if my dad can't cook up a great mac and cheese! (j/k) Over that week, we helped him with a number of projects around the house, resulting in quite a few changes, especially in the basement -- an additional set of food storage shelves, a new work table which he promptly loaded up with camping gear, and, most importantly, a kind of home jungle gym complete with swing, ladder, rings, and colorful floor padding (for soft falls). How cool is that!!?

What a Glorious Mess!

One section of our basement has been turned into a dedicated playspace, and with our new independence, we have enjoyed making glorious messes each and every day (and if we're lucky, sometimes mom is too tired by the end of the day to make us pick it up!). Ethan and I love our new house!

Muttart Conservatory

This video was taken on a preschool field trip to the Muttart Conservatory in Edmonton that happened almost two months ago, but better late than never, right? I miss going to school -- Teacher Terese taught us some pretty neat things!