Risky Business

Rollerblading does NOT look fun. In fact, the only thing that comes to mind when I see a kid on skates is a gruesome broken bone. Not only a simple break but an arm which bends in all the wrong places or perhaps the glimpse of white bone poking through flesh. I've seen it all before. So when Hailey wanted rollerblades for Christmas I frowned. Then when Dave agreed that he would love to go skating together with his daughter, I grimaced. Well, she got rollerblades for Christmas.She rolled around the house for a couple of months, always holding onto a wall or a countertop. In the meantime I hid Dave's skates in the basement since he is an accident waiting to happen.
Now that it is summer it is about time Hailey tried the real thing. So while Dave was safe at work I took Hailey and Tanner out for a walk/skate. Since Tanner is in a wheelchair thingy it gave Hailey a perfect chance to hang on or let go of the chair as we walked. Before long she was going solo (as long as the trail was flat).
  *note* Dave's skates are still hidden...as far as I'm concerned he has no skates!! There is nothing more helpless than a full grown man with both arms in a cast--

rollerblading looks easy when there are things hold on to

Summer Bath

In the summertime Tanner likes to get dirty, really dirty. He turns dirt into mud, he turns mud into a pond and then he sits in his pond and pours mud all over himself. When he is done turning my flowerbed into a flood zone, he then wants to walk back into the house and resume his position on the couch. In years past I used to strip him and hose him off like a dog. This year I decided on a kinder, gentler approach to his cleanliness. I call it his Bucket Bath. Needless to say he hasn't had a regular bathtub bath since summer started.

garden hose + dirt + grass clippings + splashing =  a wet, muddy boy

 Tin bucket + warm water + soap + scrubber = clean boy

Bathed and ready for bed!

Will Ride For Candy

LRRH 2013

The best thing about road biking in Logan is the relative flatness of the country roads and the greeness of the alfalfa. We come back to Logan year after year to ride with 2000 other women and every time we drive into the valley each of us wonders why we don't live here. This time the fields seemed greener and the lakes were bluer and the birds were more colorful. Maybe this year I looked more at my surroundings than at the road ahead. I know I rode slower, thought more, enjoyed nature in more detail. The best thing about participating in the "ride for cancer" is that we get fed every fifteen miles. The organizers set up snacks and treats and energy bars and sandwiches, but mostly I go for the candy. I stock up on M&M's and Reese's and Red Vines. Of course there are fresh fruits aplenty and granola bars and peanut butter. I ride for the candy though. I ride for the ice cream sundae waiting for me at the finish line and for the cold diet coke fresh out of the fountain. I grab a fistful of Red Vines for the drive home.




 eeww! no thanks.

 Hey, there aren't any more Reese's peanut butter cups because they're in my pocket

 I am ready for another fifteen miles!

 Thanks mom and sisters for another great ride!