Another week of summer down (and another week closer to reality starting up again....). Our biggest highlight of the week was transitioning to a family of bike riders!! We also enjoyed parties, time with family, and lots of destruction.
The kids with Sage and Bryn. This week was the second-to-last week with our amazing summer nannies, Shaun and Netta, and the last week at our house (we alternate weeks). This was literally the first week all summer that our kids did not have to go anywhere in the morning and could just stay at home. They were in heaven.
One thing that has become a favorite of the lunch crew is a Peanut Butter and Nutella wrap. Hard to believe that our family had not tried Nutella until this summer...and there is no going back now.
Monday night was the "Cast Party" for the kids' play. The water was pretty cold so I only waded in it, but both kids seemed immune and had a good time.
Life is never dull with three cats. Poor 19-year-old Audrey is looking for some love.
Tuesday night, we had the Thorntons over for dinner. A free night where none of us had any plans - craziness!
We introduced the kids to the Weird Al video "Word Crimes," which you absolutely must watch (click here) if you have not experienced this gem yet.
On Tuesday, we decided to work on tackling one of our goals for the summer...riding bikes without training wheels. This is the 5th summer in the row that we have worked on this. I was honestly starting to think that Annika might be doomed to a life of bipedal transportation and had made peace with the fact that this would be okay.
Since no method we have tried has worked, I had googled, "How to teach a 10-year-old how to ride a bike" or something like that. Through a forum, I came across a new method that gave step-by-step instructions that was all about breaking learning how to ride into smaller pieces (like balance, steering, braking, etc.). The first step was removing the pedals and placing the seat low to the ground so that you could touch your feet to the ground to stop at any point, but would get practice on balancing on the bike (click here for article).
Daniel and Annika both practiced riding without pedals at the nearby church parking lot. Daniel eventually got tired of practicing and he and I did sprints/races instead, but Annika had a blast. She got to where she could ride around and steer all over with no pedals if she started on a downhill.
Wednesday night, we headed over to Bergman for more bike practice. Daniel opted to run races with me and play on the playground instead.
Meanwhile, Annika made awesome practice on her bike riding. Will reattached the pedals and she practiced with one pedal at a time, then both pedals. Once she got that down, she practiced riding down the hill by Bergman, and pretty soon was able to pedal up the hill when it started to climb back up. And - she was riding a bike!!! Something that we have been working on since she was 5. I cannot begin to express how proud Annika was. I asked how riding a bike made her feel, and she responded with a huge grin, "Really awesome!!"
We rode back home and Jeremy was shocked to see that Annika was riding, especially given her trepidation when he had been working with her. Annika and Will went on a bike ride then and she was so thrilled.
The next day, we decided to buy a used trail-a-bike at the Pathfinder so that Daniel would be able to go on bike rides with us, too. Daniel was intitally "terrified" of the bike since it was a very different feeling, but once he got used to it, proclaimed it was "awesome" and wanted to ride everywhere on it.
We biked over to our friend Jen's house, which was about 2 miles each way. Annika did great! The kids had a wonderful time playing with Brynn and Brady, and were super excited to meet their hedgehog for the first time.
On Friday, we went back to the Pathfinder to look for a used bike for Annika. Her bike she had been using was ridiculously small, but we figured there was no need to get a new bike until she learned to ride. We found a great used bike complete with hand brakes and gear shifting, which Annika adapted right away to.
While I went to have dinner with church friends, Will and the kids rode to have dinner at Dairy Queen.
Both Will and I did lots of running and walking this week. I actually got up every single morning to either run, walk, or run/walk, and am really deciding that I need to start going to bed earlier if I don't want to turn into a Zombie.
Saturday, my parents came up to visit, and my Mom brought a wonderful gift - she scanned all of our wedding pictures so that we have them electronically, and gave us all of the snapshots she had! Thanks so much, Mom!!
Perfect day to play outside. Hard to see, but Greg is playing with our t-ball set.
Playing "tennis."
Our Hula Hoop Girl.
Best part of summer.
The lunch plan for the Stilson crew...checking out the new Taco John's. My parents had never been and we had never eaten inside the one here. I give it a huge thumbs' up - so much better than Taco Bell.
My two non-smiling guys.
Looks like I was there, too.
Greg was an enormous fan of the Potato Oles. I think he ate the equivalent of two containers' worth.
Daniel was very cold.
My dad took this picture of Daniel later in the afternoon, completely zoned out while playing Lego Batman 2.
We had to introduce everyone else to "Word Crimes," too.
My dad keeps one of his bikes here, which made it a perfect time to head out on a family bike ride!
Since one fast food restaurant was not enough, we also headed out for chocolate and drinks later in the day.
Saturday night was a very special event...a surprise graduation party for one of my best friends, Melendra! Melendra is finishing up her Master of Library Science, which is awesome, particularly given that she has two young kids, is working full-time, had an international move in the process, and has been doing this at a university located 1.5 hours away. Way to go, Melendra!! And way to go, Joe, for planning this!
The running crew - Me, Melendra, and Alphild.
Julie and I had to continue our tradition of Sister Selfies at the party.
What's everyone doing? Oh, watching Weird Al on their phones, of course.
Congratulations, Melendra! We are so proud of you!
We are pet-sitting this week for two families and Annika is in heaven. Her new best friend, Gravy, is below.
This morning, Will and I taught the "Games" unit in Rotation Sunday School. First activity was puzzles and information on a lot of the Jewish Feast and Festivals.
The Dreidel Game!!
After worship service, we headed out to Pizza Hut buffet for a post-church lunch with a lot of the other church families. Not the best picture, but we had a girls' table, an adult women's table, a boys' table, and a men's table. It was practically like another Church Ladies Dinner Out again!
One of the other women in our congregation commented that everyone's children always seemed well-behaved and under control at church. HAHAHA! Right as she said this, Daniel was playing in the window at Pizza Hut.
Sunday afternoon was Mother/Daughter Book Club at our house! We read one of The Spiderwick Chronicles' books, which wasn't Annika's favorite, but that's the beauty of selecting a different type of book each month.
Before we discuss the books, the kids always play while the moms sit and talk (which was super useful this month, given that 4-H Fair is this week and all of us had many questions). Here is some of the aftermath of play-time.
We had to jet at the end of book club to head to church night meetings. Annika went to a friend's house, while Daniel was delighted to spend three hours in church childcare and engage in all kinds of destruction and havoc with his church buddies.
This upcoming week promises to be a busy one...4-H Fair, the last week before our trip, and the last week of Will's summer class. But we still plan to do as much biking as we can!
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