After that, Joel had researched bike trails in the area, so we headed down to the Wheatland Ferry, (a favorite place of mine anyway), for a bike ride. We all had our warm coats. We were prepared for a little rain, really hoping we wouldn't get more than that as the weather report wasn't on our side either.
We saved $4 (a latte!) by parking on the west side of the river and riding the ferry over on foot, with our bikes. We spent a few hours riding paths on the edge of the Willamete River. What a gorgeous day, birds singing, squirrels running above on branches, and the last hour we even had shadows!
Since it has been really (REALLY) rainy around here lately, there were tons of puddles on the trails. It never got old watching my kids ride right through the middle, on purpose, with their legs wide in the air. We rode a variety of trails, from nice wide paved paths to very very muddy trails shared (apparently) with horseback riders to hard packed, very skinny dirt trails. Some of us really need new bikes- the Bigs have outgrown theirs, and mine is the one I won in 6th grade by memorizing the most bible verses during Rad Summer. (I am guessing almost no one who knows what Rad Summer is reads my blog, but if you do, hey, speak up.) Anyway, even though 3/5ths of us are riding outdated, too small bikes (mine is outdated, but not too small!), we had a GREAT time. We can't wait to get down there again- it was only 20 minutes from our house!
Carter is so proud of his 'double bike' that he gets to ride with Daddy.
My neon pink 'Motiv' from circa 1990. (And my faded and worn Keens from circa 2008.)
Signs of spring!
This would be what we term, 'natural consequences.'
Natural consequences times three! (It all washed out, no worries!) And also, this is how Carter rides when he's tired. It's hilarious.
Garrett has the ultimate helmet head here! Yes, I do realize he really needs a haircut.
After we rode back over the ferry, Joel loaded the bikes up and the kids and I walked down to the riverbank to throw rocks. I sat in the sun and took too many pictures and watched my kids laugh and their daddy teach them to skip rocks.
Technically imperfect, but the emotion couldn't be more perfect.
Carter points, ALL the time. He's always got that little pointer finger going, waving it around.
We drove home, watched some Olympics, (I LOVE THE OLYMPICS), took naps, ate a yummy dinner at home, and generally enjoyed being a family. Such a nice day. We have a beautiful life.
1 comment:
What a fun day! I can't wait to get a bike! Your pink one looks great for its age! I too won a bike once (in a high school raffle), then parked it somewhere in college, didn't ride it for awhile, and could not, for the life of me, remember where I'd left it. I looked everywhere, but the bike racks were so full it was hard to look properly. I've been wanting to replace it ever since, and now that we have lots of bike trails around, I can't wait. I'm glad you had a great day with your family! What were you ferrying across? The river?
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