Mr. BikeMan built his first wheel!

Chad had the privilege of learning how to build a bicycle wheel from one of the best wheel builders on the East coast. Here is the fruit of his labor. He'll be building his second wheel soon.

Note the absence of crutches and the presence of two real shoes! Whoopee!

ilsa's hot new wheels

It became very apparent yesterday that Ilsa has outgrown her cute, pink bike. So a trip to the bike shop was in order...

Ilsa is very proud of her big girl bike with REAL BLACK TIRES, because "only little girl bikes have white tires."

She had also outgrown her helmet, which was a hand-me-down from a 2 year old Ingrid if you can believe it. We found one with....LADYBUGS!

"Thank you Mommy and Daddy, I ADORE my new bike!" - Ilsa

old town alexandria

We finally visited historic Old Town Alexandria yesterday afternoon. Didn't take as many pictures as I should have, but I'm sure we'll be back. One of the most interesting places we found was the VeloCity Bicycle Co-op. Mr. BikeMan has passed this place for months as he makes his way to and from work (via velo of course). The Co-op serves as a place to learn bike maintenance, tool sharing, and general bike joy.

We also found a kilt shop, The Kilted Nation. The owner was out of town up at ComicCon (lucky guy), but his utterly delightful parents were watching the shop. Ingrid and Ilsa have decided that they now want kilts for Christmas. The website doesn't show their entire inventory. One neat product they do carry are velcro-closure children's kilts which could literally be worn for years and years as the child grows.

two-wheelin' wonder girl

About three weeks ago, Ilsa voiced interest in learning how to ride her bike without training wheels. It was apparent after an afternoon of trying that she wasn't quite ready yet.

Then this past Saturday afternoon, she pulled out Ingrid's little bike without wheels and spent about 2 hours scooting around on it...not riding, just balancing. (This was all on her own.) On Sunday afternoon after church, out came the bikes again. This time, Chad took her out into our quiet street (no, there weren't any cars there!) and gave her the final nudges she needed. Within 10 minutes she was riding!


No, she didn't hit the neighbor's SUV. She swerved just in time.

Of course, she is perfectly coordinated with her bike: pink and purple.

MonkeyLectric

I think people would DEFINITELY notice Chad if he had this installed on his bike. I better start saving up now for Christmas next year.

puttin' the bike back in bike book bread

Cue the trumpet fanfare: after eight months of bikelessness, Chad's bike is here! Thank-you wonderful bike guys at Fair Wheel Bikes here in Almost Mexico, AZ and Gunnar Bikes in Waterford, Wiscaaahnsin. Next major savings account project is a new iMac for Mama.

kindergarten and two wheelin'

Monumental few days in this Almost Mexico, AZ household. We received our first notice from Ingrid's school for kindergarten registration. Would you lend me your wisdom parents? I have some questions about kindergarten:

1. To those of you with experience in sending children to kindergarten outside of the home, what hours and days of the week does/did your child attend? In other words, what is the most common format for kindergarten? Monday/Wednesday/Friday 9 - noon, Monday through Friday AM or PM, etc....

2. For those of you who home school/homeschooled kindergarten, what home school kindergarten curriculum did you use? A mishmash? Something out of a box? Has anyone utilized a State-provided, on-line supported curriculum for kindergarten?

The cake pictured above and to the right is in celebration of Ingrid getting rid of her bicycle training wheels! You go girl!

And not to be outdone by big sister, Ilsa potty trained this week! Literally overnight. I was practically in tears the day before because I was so tired of pullups and she had shown no interest whatsoever in doing the deed. The next day, she wanted underwear and nothing to do with pullups.

wear a bike helmet. always.

Last night at 6:45 I received the phone call that I never wanted to receive: "Steph, I've been hit by a car. You need to come..."

I grabbed the girls (half dressed for bed...). Ilsa's dress was inside out in fact... and drove "purposefully" to the scene -- only 1 mile from our home. The authorities had not yet arrived, but there were lots of cars in the area with hazards on, and a group of people standing around. There he was, sitting on the curb, surrounded by strangers. Right there. Next to the offramp from I-10 onto a major north south arterial here in Almost Mexico, AZ.

The driver of the car had stopped to turn left (to go northbound) at the top of the offramp, Chad was proceeding south on the arterial. As Chad continued in front of him, the driver pulled right out into Chad. Chad went onto the hood of his vehicle headfirst, rolled across onto the street. His ankle was hugely swollen, and he had lots of cuts and abraisions, aka "road rash".

We went to the ER, a friend watched the girls (bless you, Cora!), and Chad was checked out. It could have been so much worse. He wore his helmet. Had he not, this would be a very different day in our household.

May we praise the Lord in our thankfulness and joy! This accident was known to him before the universe was created. May we honor Him in our humility and trust. Praise the Lord!

tires

What a perfect morning! No humidity, about 80 degrees and sparkling skies at 8:30. And we have it all together, too! I am ready to pull down and assemble the Chariot, attach it to my bike and head off to the park with Ilsa in tow, and Ingrid cycling along.

Pull out the bike. Flat front tire. Drat. Pull out the Joe Blow tire pump. Drat. The valve steam has a leak. Call Chad. Me: Hey Hon, the tyre pump isn't working. Am I doing this right? Hon: Yep, just ream on it hard to cover the whole valve. Drat. I just dropped the cell and lost my call.

Ingrid: "Mooooom, I'm not being patient. Let's GOOOOO." Drat. My perfect morning is unraveling.

Plan B: put on the stroller kit and push to the park. Drat. Two flat side tires. Oh wait, the pump is working! Woo hoo. Drat. One of the stroller wheels is missing.

(More whining and unraveling.)

Plan C: put on the jogging kit (which is hard to just walk with 'cuz you can't turn. You have to put the front wheel up in the air and pivot). Drat. Flat single front tyre. Oh wait, the pump is working on this one. (Okay, those unraveled loose ends are tied up. Phew. Let's go.)

Off to the park. Great time! Swings! Cute dogs! Popcorn for snack! Great time!

Romans 8:28 - And we know that for those who love God all things work together for good, for those who are called according to his purpose.

Eccles. 7:8 - The end of a matter is better than its beginning; Patience of spirit is better than haughtiness of spirit.

Eph. 4:1-2 - Therefore I, the prisoner of the Lord, implore you to walk in a manner worthy of the calling with which you have been called, with all humility and gentleness, with patience, showing tolerance for one another in love...

Do you ever wonder about those times that nothing, nothing, nothing seems to go your way? Was there a wacko at the park? A mad dog? A crazy driver along the way? Why, oh why do I struggle with patience so?!! Shouldn't I know by now that God has his timing?

project rwanda

What a hopeful vision for Rwanda!

http://projectrwanda.org/

Goin' to the "libarry"/Whoo hoo Daddy's Home!

Yesterday, Mama took the girlies to the local library for the preschool "reading" hour. It's more like controlled havoc. I sat back and watched with the hope that my beloved little girls (4 and 2 years old) would actually listen to the (silly) story that was being read -- which no one could hear above the din. There always seems to be that one kid who is totally out of control, and his/her parent is oblivious to this fact, or just doesn't care; I think it is usually the case that this parent is soooooo worn out because this is Johnny's normal mode of operation and they are just ignoring it.

What do bean bag games have to do with reading hour? Or singing the "peanut butter and jam" song? I dunno. But my girls actually participated this time, which is better than last week.

The great thing about the library, though is it is nice and cool. That's important here in Almost Mexico (thanks to my wonderful friends V & K for that phrase, pertaining to the northern border in their case) where it is going to be 101 today and 106 tomorrow.

We did manage to get out alive with 19 children's books and a few DVDs of varying quality and a copy of "The Road" for me -- I'm scared to read it though, after Hubby described his experience with the book. He really felt it was a great read but bleak, bloody and scary.

Last night, we sat on the curb and waited for Daddy to come home. Ingrid met him at the corner and escorted him home. I'm so glad he rides his bike to work. As of today, gas is $3.79 a gallon.