Ivan was soooo proud! He rode his bike home from school today. It took us about 20 minutes to go the whole mile home, but we finally made it. 

Ivan and Mommy with their new bikes. :-) 

Monday, September 26th
By now just about everybody has heard the story of the 100 lb bike that Ivan's dad bought him last summer. (Ok, so it's not really 100 lbs, but I dare say it might be nearly 50! It's darn heavy. Yahoo, so what it's a TREK and it will last forever. It has no chance of getting worn out if the kid can't ride it because it weighs 10 times as much as the kid... end of rant.)

So today, after feeling so much pity for my poor little gawky son who has absolutely no chance of learning to ride a 2-wheeler with that bike, I decided to take my son and some cash and make a little side trip to Walmart after school. We picked out the biggest bike that still had training wheels on it, a 16" Huffy with red, white, and blue paint that cost a whopping $34, before tax. When we got to the park and Ivan started riding, he looked like he'd been freed from unfair too-heavy-bike domination in his life. He rode like the wind! He was free! He was riding and riding and going up hills and down hills and over bridges, and oh... my... gosh... it's... so... hot... Mommy... don't... make... me... ride... any... further! But yes, he made it back to the parking lot with the van and we made a bee-line to the nearest convenience store for some cold water bottles. It was a joy to watch him ride bike like this, even if it still has training wheels. He's gotta get comfortable like this before we can talk about the ultimate freedom....

No, that's not our neighborhood. We don't have any trees nearly that big, nor do we have those nifty techologically advanced things they call SIDEWALKS in our neighborhood. *grumble* I took him to the park in town where our MOMS club often holds playgroups. It has a nice long circuit around the greenbelt. 

I had to run a good bit of the way to catch up. With a heat index of 105� and my feet burning from the heat of the sidewalk, I began looking forward to some cooler fall afternoons for this passtime. 

While Ivan and I were in Walmart picking out a new bike for him after school today he saw hula hoops and since they are a pretty cool retro toy for under $1 each, I decided, sure! why not? It was more of a comedy of errors than anything else, but I enjoyed the side-splitting display of lunacy in my own front yard. 

She is de-termined! 

Oh my gosh! My son will sooo hate me if he ever finds out I put this on the internet! *rofl* I don't even need to caption this one, it speaks for itself... as I fall off my chair laughing my rear off! (I wish it really worked that way, I wouldn't have to put so much energy into this diet if I could just laugh my rear away. *sigh*) 

It's almost like being there... without the noise. 

Rollin' down the street. 

Bianca's not doing so hot getting the hang of the tricycle, so we decided to give the scooter a shot tonight. I think she needs the handle bars lowered for her, but otherwise she does ok. Longer legs will help her too. She's tough, though, much moreso than Number One Son. (is moreso a word? hmm, I don't think so. too bad.) 

Hanging out with the kids down the street, eating popsicles, riding bike, waiting for the mosquitoes to come out so we can run home again.

Saturday, September 17th
I can't believe Daddy took BOTH my precious babies up that rickety thing!

Somebody had fun. ;-)))

"Yup, she looks big enough to me!" Unfortunately, the certified expert freako carny guys didn't all agree. Some of them did, some of them didn't. It was disappointing that Bianca got turned away from some of the funner little kid rides.

...waiting.... oh yes we're waiting... "I've been waitin' on the railroad, all the livelong day!"... waiting... 

Yipee! Are we having fun yet? I dunno, it looks like some of the parents are having more fun with this than the kids on the ride. Lame ride. L:-/

This ride looks a little more fun. (Bianca on top in the purple dragon, Ivan in the bottom in the orange one.)

Momma and the chilluns at the little local city festival Septemer 17th. 

Ivan cuttin' up at Dr. Sue's house after his piano lesson.

The girls were showing off their lipstick to each other. (You'll have to scroll down to read the story of Sasha's visit and see more portraits.) 

Sunday, September 18th. Sasha came over to play at our house with Auntie Dr. Sue and her grandma, Harmony. Later this week Sasha will be going back home to her family in Korea and this will be the last play date at our house this year. It could be the last time we see each other, who knows, so we had to make it fun and memorable!

Our friend, Sasha. I think she's not quite 3 years old yet. (Maybe her birthday is next month, if I remember right?) 

How can you see when you're laughing so hard? (Am I going to get in trouble for saying this? No really, seriously, can you see when you're laughing?) 

This was a great activity choice. Look how focused this child is in her work. There's little time left to be The Beast when she's so busy being good and playing.