Last week Matt and I took the girls to Walmart to buy them each a bike. They both expressed interest, but they were pretty nervous about it. Honestly, we should have gotten Kirsten a bike a long time ago because I think a lot of fear has set in, but in the past, she has begged me not to buy one for her. I wasn't about to spend the money on a bike if she was begging me not to get her one. But we finally got to the point where she wanted a bike--even if she was a bit nervous, and we bought her one.
When we got home with the bike, she got on, but she cried every time she went over a crack in the sidewalk. She refused to ride the bike with me, and Daddy had to work. So, Kirsten and I gave up in frustration. That evening she was excited to show my mom the bike, and apparently she was willing to ride it without crying with my mom at her side. Unfortunately, she fell off and scraped her hands. We weren't able to get her back on the bike for three or four days. To get her back on we had to make several threats and offer several bribes. We offered her fruit snacks, an oreo, and two bedtime stories and told her that if she didn't get on her bike she couldn't have any bedtime stories. She was finally convinced, but believe me, she was not happy about it. I mean, I want riding her bike to be fun, but it can't be fun until she is willing to get on!
While we were at Walmart, Reagan insisted that she did not want a bike. We couldn't do anything to convince her, and quite frankly, it's been enough of a challenge to deal with getting Kirsten on her bike that I'm glad we don't have to deal with Reagan at the same time. Honestly, I don't remember being scared of riding a bike with training wheels at all. I could be wrong, but all I remember was the extreme excitement of finally having a bike. So, I just don't get it. I suppose I just have to accept that my children are different from me--or at least different from my memory of myself.
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| Kirsten on her new bike |
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| Reagan on her trike. |
On Saturday we went to a service day at Church. We started off with a breakfast where everyone socialized, and then we did our service project to help an organization in Salt Lake City called Hearts Knit Together. Hearts Knit Together puts together kits to help refugees and battered women. The kids, including Reagan and Kirsten, worked on sanding wooden toys for children who didn't have toys. Kirsten told me that she sanded two toys. They both seemed pleased that they got to help children who have less than they do.
At the same time, Matt and I went into the gym where there were some crafts set up for the adults to do. I thought it was neat that they had the men and the women work together on the crafts because all of the activities were traditionally "women's work." Matt and I both learned how to sew a blanket stitch and sewed felt hearts together. You should have seen Matt's neat, tidy stitches. I was very impressed. I think he's missed out on his true vocation.
On the way home, we walked next to our neighbors, and the girls enjoyed holding hands with their little friend.
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| Holding hands with Millie |
On Tuesday we went to Jolley's Ranch, which is a park in Hobble Creek Canyon. We ate a picnic at a big pavilion, and after lunch, the girls saw a trail heading into the woods. We walked the trail, and they were so excited. Reagan exclaimed, "It's like we're explorers!" I saw a deer while we were hiking, but the girls were too distracted to focus in on it. After we finished our little hike, the girls played in the creek and ran through the sprinklers. They were filthy and soaking wet and so, so happy. I was so pleased to see my kids just being kids.
That evening they suggested we go on a walk, and even though I knew Kirsten was just trying to get out of a bath, I agreed. A walk sounded really nice. I was glad we went because when we got to the Hall's farm, Dutch Hall invited us to go in the through the gate and feed the animals. He even gave us bread to feed them. We spent quite a while enjoying ourselves on their farm.
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| Reagan feeding a donkey |
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| Watching the Mommy and Baby Alpacas. The baby was so funny. It would run away whenever we came close, and then randomly run at us. It seemed so playful. |
Yesterday we met up with our friends Jennie, Brett, Alana, and baby Lizzie at the Museum of Natural Curiosity. We enjoyed ourselves a lot. In the evening we went swimming as a family. We went down the water slides for about an hour. We all loved it.
