Training Wheels Off

Today Alex learned to ride his bike.  It's been a long time coming, but he was finally ready, and once he decided that he was ready, it took about 25 minutes for him to master it.

Awhile back, I read an article about helping kids to learn to ride.  The trick is to take off the pedals (and training wheels), and make sure the seat is low enough that they can firmly stand on the ground.  Then let them push the bike along until they get a sense for balancing and steering.  Use progressively steeper and longer hills that they can coast down to practice at speed without having to coordinate the pedaling. 

It sounded like a good idea, and sure enough it did the trick!  We started out inside the garage at the top of our very short, steep driveway.  I waited across the alleyway and Alex rode down to me.  He repeated this 7 or 8 times.  Then I had him start from the back of the garage to build up speed.  He did this several more times.  Then I had him start to turn when he got to where I was standing in the alley.  Finally, he was ready to go over to the "yellow park" where there is a large circular concrete path that goes up, then back down a gentle hill, and is surrounded by lush grass.  I brought along his pedals and a wrench, in case he started to really get the hang of it.

After about 3 times around the circle, with me pushing him up the hill and him coasting down the hill and around, he stopped for a break.  Then we put the pedals on.  He was apprehensive, so I reassured him that they were "just for resting his feet on" while he continued practicing balancing and coasting.  But sure enough while I was still pushing him up the hill the first time, he started pedaling and was off on his own before I realized what was happening.

Our neighbor and friend Kaylin, also 6, who has been riding for at least a year now, came to the park with us, and she offered tons of support and encouragement as she rode along with us.  Definitely a helpful touch! 

The rest of the afternoon, Alex was riding all over the alley and telling everyone who came by that he was riding without training wheels!  A very proud moment.  He and I rode together back to the yellow park later this afternoon for a "victory lap".

Here's a short video of Alex taking one of his first laps around the yellow park loop:

 

Camping Trip

At long last we took a camping trip!  It was a beautiful, sunny weekend at Hermit Park, and we stayed in the rustic Aspen Cabin.  We blew the dust and spiders off the camping gear in the basement and packed up Merida (the new blue Highlander) for the weekend.

I think the only thing of note that I forgot this time was butter, but a quick stop at Safeway in Estes Park fixed that.  I also grabbed a bag of intensely stale marshmallows out of the back of the cupboard.  But Alex swore that he liked them that way, even eating one raw.

The kids had a great time all weekend collecting "crystals" (all the bits of quartz rock they could find).  Everyone loved the bunk beds in the cabin, and the private pit toilet next to the cabin was immaculate!  Dana and I even had a few brief opportunities to relax and enjoy the mountain air, in between frantically getting food ready, keeping kids safe and happy, and sleeping.

On Saturday we stopped into town to swim at the indoor Estes Park pool, which was all but deserted.  It was like a giant bathtub, warm and full of water toys.  The much-needed hot shower afterwards was an added bonus.

Now my mind turns towards how could we do this sort of thing more often?  How could we have more fun, with less effort, and in more seclusion?

Growing

Today I had a strange experience. Dana was called in to work on a patent, so I took the kids out for some Saturday activities. First we stopped at Target to pick up Genevieve's new glasses. Her doctor gave us a prescription for the time being, since he doesn't think it is time to operate yet on her cataracts. She picked out a pair of pink glasses last week. As she puts it, "they're pinker than that!"

Then in true weekend-Dad form, we stopped for a donut at Donut Haus in Loveland.




Then it was off to the Bounce! house in Loveland to bounce out that donut energy. This was actually a special treat for Genevieve, because her "star chart" was all filled in. Thanks to some heroic work by Ryanne last week, Genevieve has started using the potty! So G has had this "star chart" for several weeks now. She designed it and it has stars on it that she can color in when she uses the potty. Now finally she had completed it, warranting a special treat.




We have been taking the kids to this Bounce house since Alex was about 1. It is very familiar, and comfortable. But in all that time the kids have wanted us near them, in fact would not bounce without one of us bouncing with them.

Today, however, much to my surprise and amazement, as soon as that had their socks on, Alex and Genevieve were off and bouncing on their own. They were happy to have me around, but now perfectly comfortable on their own. After 4+ years of dependence, the time had finally come for me to sit aside and enjoy a cup of coffee, semi-peacefully, while they played. This, combined with Genna's newfound potty skills, and new glasses, really underscored these changes. They really are growing up.

After the bouncing we trekked a few miles south to Beethoud to have lunch at our old haunt, A&W. Then we took a "Daddy hike" around Berthoud to see what the kids remembered of it. By the time we walked past the old house the kids were clearly tired, and Alex asked, "can't we just stop here at our house now?". I was pleased to note both the Santa Rosa plum and honey crisp apple trees were happy and full of fruit.