Two more firsts

Two new firsts this week.

First family bike ride together! Prep time: 3.5 hours. Actual riding time: 30 minutes.

Still, it was good. Ever since the kids got their bikes for Easter, they've been wanting to ride and our neighborhood just doesn't have a lot of good riding territory. They go up and down their little stretch of sidewalk a lot - the stretch that isn't frighteningly steep. We actually left their tires semi-deflated to keep them from going too fast at first. But they are getting proficient...enough to be leaving skid marks everywhere. Sunday we had nice warm weather - so it was time to break out and go RIDE! Yee-haw!

The prep time was so long mainly because we had to find various assorted bike rack parts in our jumbled garage, assemble and then install the bike rack on top of the car. We also had to buy a new bike pump and pump up all the tires. Finally, we were ready with 2 bikes on top and 2 in the trunk, with a bungee cord holding the trunk lid. Very classy. We don't need no stinkin' minivan.

Got to the trail and the wind started to blow...40-mph gusts. Alex was scared that the wind would blow her away, like Dorothy in the Wizard of Oz, but with encouragement she managed to keep her wits about her. Sam wasn't scared at all - though he should have been - he kept looking BACK at us instead of in FRONT where he was going...ran off the trail twice and looked most surprised to be in the grass all of a sudden! Still makes me laugh to remember it. Glad he is still years away from driving the car.

Anyway, the second "first" of the week was Sam's first plunge off the diving board at swim lessons. I am so proud of my two fearless fishies. Maybe it's because I'm such a poor swimmer, but I'm so thrilled that they are loving the water.

MauldenNews April 2011

Hi all,

April was a busy month for us - I worked my 2-week full-time on-call hospital rotation, and we celebrated Easter and Sam's birthday. Happily we had Bryan's mom (Nana) here too, which was awesome as usual.

Happenings this month - in no particular order:

Alex, protesting an enforced bedtime despite her creative juices flowing at full speed: "But Mom, can't you see I'm making a PROTOTYPE?" Sure enough, she knows what a prototype is: "Something that is the only one in the world."

For Sam's 5th birthday we had a successful wild rumpus party, complete with pinata (our first!). Twelve kids and 11 adults made it lively enough.

First the burro's head came off, but the candy was still all down in the other end...

Weather in April was typical for Utah. We went hiking in 70+ degree weather one day and had 10 inches of snow the next. We actually went sledding last weekend - on April 30 - at a local park. Hopefully that's the last time until winter.

Alex made her own gifts for her teachers for Teacher Appreciation Day - each got a plastic baggie with a Clementine, toffee bits from a restaurant ice-cream topping bar, and a sesame cracker.

Alex also locked me and Sam out of the house one day. Grrrrrrrrr. Luckily for me, our renter was home and opened the basement door for me. I now have a spare key hidden in a special location.

I had the kids loaded in the car to go to school one day and found the car's battery was dead. While I was busy getting it jump-started, using the renter's car (second time she saved me that day!) the kids were playing in the yard. Only after I got the car going again did I realize that they had been eating dandelions. Alex heard they were OK to eat and convinced Sam to eat some. Yummy yummy.

Alex put a purple band-aid on her forehead one day and wore it to school and church. When people asked what happened, she said, "I'm not really hurt. I just like to wear this for extra attention."

For Easter we tried a new recipe: "Empty Tomb" rolls. You wrap marshmallows in dough and bake, leaving rolls with an empty space in the center. They were awesome, and easy. I can see these becoming a family tradition. We also dyed eggs and had Easter egg hunts at home and at church. Bryan and I were up until midnight or so assembling new bicycles for the kids. They were thrilled with their first 2-wheelers (though they are totally dependent on the training wheels). The only shadow of the day was when Alex figured out that the Easter bunny was actually...mom and dad. She was actually pretty mad, but recovered. She still seems to believe in the tooth fairy, but I'm not sure how long that will last.

Easter morning... Hunting for eggs

And that is about it for now. See you next month. As always, keep in touch.

Circul Magic Shop & Chai la Rebirth Water 2011

Am fost, ne-a placut, am dansat, am cunoscut oameni frumosi, am revazut oameni dragi, am facut cadouri, am descoperit o padure minunata si ne-a placut foarte, foarte tare Alpha. Ne-a placut de vecinul cu Vegan Food, ne-au placut baietii de la Kombucha, ne-am bucurat ca v-au placut biscuitii si negresele si sa ne vedem la anul la fel de colorati si minunati.

Noua ne-a placut mai mult padurea si cum multi nu au reusit sa o descopere in timpul festivalului, avem poze cu crangul minunat.