Bike riding without training wheels

With summer break on the downward slope to conclusion, we have been trying to fit everything we could possibly think of into our days. Our weather has been strangely hot and breaking records for the most days above 90 degrees in a row. So, our outdoor activities have been limited to after 4:00 pm.

With everything being already checked off our summer list, I decided to throw my daughter a curve ball and have her learn to ride a bike without training wheels. She eagerly obliged and didn't even know she was excited about learning, until I mentioned it.

She held onto those training wheels for security, even though I always knew she could ride without them. So me being me, I let her keep them as long as she wanted. And allowed her to be free of them when she felt she was ready to, and not a minute before. But, I would occasionally mention taking them off, just to see where she was at. Which was usually met with a great big no. But this time, she was brave and her ninja skills came through to boost her confidence enough to try it out. 

So I unscrewed the support wheels and loaded the newly found "big kid" bike onto the trunk bike rack. And just like that, we were on our way to her school's parking lot to achieve this monumental milestone.

Before I could process how we would go about learning to ride sans four wheels, I took a moment to breathe in my once little girl. The memories of her wild hair blowing behind her as she completed her fifteenth lap around my dining room table on her once beloved tricycle, flooded my forefront. Now, too many years later, she stands before me straddling a two wheeled bike and ready to conquer anything.

My heart pulled into my chest...

And I knew, this is on me. This is always going to be my issue about not wanting her to age, but for her, she loves learning new things and growing. So I allowed the memories to pass through mind, one at a time, and I smiled while relieving them, even if it was just for a moment. 

So, I walked over to her as she was loading up her best friend stuffed animals and dolls into her basket. Then, she continued to walk along the pavement, while straddling her bike, until she understood the balancing concept.

Within a few minutes, she was pedaling with my one hand on her seat for balance, then the next minute, she was pedaling on top speed around the empty parking lot all by herself. 

She rode up to me, used her pedal breaks, dropped her bike, then jumped into my arms expressing her gratitude about her new skill. 

Her smile was equivalent to Christmas morning. 

And so was mine. 

So I stood in that empty parking lot, with the sun beating down on me, while I watched her pedal and learn to maneuver her bike with ease. My son was riding his big wheel alongside her for support. Then, it turned into a game where she was would ride close to him and say, "come and catch me," then ride off. Which he would try for a few feet, then wander off on his own. 

We continued to go back to the empty parking lot each day the weather permitted. And each day, her confidence grew. 

And I loved getting the front row seat, watching her smile, as she learned to do something new. 

And just like that, my 5 year old learned to ride her bike fluently on only two wheels. She's growing up quicker than I can freeze the time. And realistically, I know time will never stand still. But in my life, I am taking every opportunity I can to relish in all the details because I am aware of how quickly everything changes minute to minute. 

So when I say I want to freeze time, I mean, I want to take not only a memory photo of what I'm witnessing, but I want to remember the way the air smelled, the way she felt, and the way I felt in each moment. 

A slip and slide kind of day

Last night after my softball game, I headed to our local store to buy pool filters that were on sale. I was just there a few days earlier and they had over a dozen left, but I thought I had a back-up set in my basement, so I unfortunately decided against buying them. Which in hindsight, I didn't have an extra set. Then, when I went back to the store, they were sold out. 

Of course they were. 

Story of my life.

But, while I was there, I scanned through the summer items that were 40% on clearance. Among them were some fun pool things like dive sticks, floaty balls, noodles, arm swimmies, etc. But, sitting alone on the shelf was the dented box of a slip and slide. Dented or not, this sucker was only $6.00, and I had to have it. 

Before I went to sleep, I left the box sitting out on the kitchen counter so it would be the first thing my children saw when they woke up. Ironically, we were playing with the hose earlier that day and I was telling them stories about the fun memories I had of a slip and slide. So it was just story book that I happen to buy it that evening. 

And like clockwork, my children squealed with excitement when they saw the box sitting on the counter. My daughter was the first to figure it out and then she had to describe what it was to her brother. I heard all this, from my bedroom. 

Then, it became a game for them to eat their breakfast like they were participating in a food challenge of how much can you eat, in the shortest amount of time, so they could get outside to try out the slip and slide.

So, before the storm made it's way to our area, we set up the slip and slide in our backyard, with the gymboree parachute added onto the end, for an extra ramp. 

It took them a few tries to understand how to do it. But, with a little "push" from mama, they got it. And they had more fun with that slide than I've seen any child have with anything.

Then of course, it became a race to see who could reach the parachute the fastest. 

Oh, and of course, I had to try it too...

I must say, my daughter took a good picture... Although, I would have loved to see the picture if she hesitated a few seconds and snapped it as I went through the water... That. Would. Have. Been. Hysterical.

Mid Week Humor: The laws of Motherhood

The laws of motherhood almost guarantees the word, "mommy," to be shouted immediately after sitting down... And also, when the phone rings... And especially, during an important conversation with your husband... Motherhood.

www.jackyhappydays.blogspot.com

*You can join the conversation by adding your parenting humor to the comments below. Or add the hashtag thehappydayshumor to any of the social media sites that I belong to.*

Camping, Amusement family fun

My children have literally talked about this camping/amusement park trip weekly, since we booked it back in February. My daughter had a countdown on her Kindle and showed it to me with the same excitement as Christmas morning. She would occasionally pull out the amusement park map and spread it out on the floor, so her and her brother could plan out their course of action when we get there.

So the day finally arrived... 

Neither child slept the night before and they woke us up way earlier than planned. The sun was barely above the horizon and I swear, I would have cried if I had to be awake for the rest of the day. Thankfully, they were talked back down to sleep, in our bed, for another hour or so longer. But, not before they chatted in rapid fire about what they were doing first when they got there.  

After the false start, we packed our car, ate breakfast, then drove our way to the campsite that awaited for us. 

I have been going to this amusement park since I was 7 years old. It's a lovely vintage park that is nestled among the trees and hidden from the streets. The admission is free and you could either obtain a ride all day handstamp, or pay as you go, or just sit and watch on the quaint benches that are scattered throughout. My husband and I started taking my daughter here when she was newly two and I was very pregnant. And just like that, this place has become a family summer/fall tradition among our lives, just like it was among mine. 

Last fall, for the first time, we rented a cabin in their campground, which is inside the park. We had such a wonderful experience that we had to do it again. It's a lovely concept because, you could come and go as you please and ride and eat at your convenience. But we only stayed for 2 nights and everything felt rushed. This year, we booked it for 3 nights, so we could experience camping, use their pool, and ride the rides without feeling like we're racing against the clock.

Our days were still a constant go, like all vacations are. Children are so very excited to do everything they can to maximize their days. And as parent's, you want them to have the very best memories possible. So, by the end of the trip, the adults were very robotic. We broke each day up between the pool and the park, meaning, we spent a few afternoon hours swimming, then came back to the cabin to change our clothes and ate, then finished the night off at the park, riding rides from 5:00 pm on.

I must say, I'm very lucky with my children, because whenever we're on vacation, they are always on their best behavior. Of course, in the past they had typical "toddler tantrums" but nothing like I've seen from other passing children. They were content to do whatever anyone wanted and to move at a slower pace. However, there were no tantrums on this trip and no whining from either child, which was the first time that has happened yet.   

The temperatures ranged from low to upper 90 degrees each day we were there. The pool was wonderful, but not as wonderful as the splash pad. Every place should only have a splash pad. They are a remarkable play area for children of all ages, my husband and myself included. As my regular readers know, I'm a very hands on parent. I play with my children and engage in their day to day lives. I'm not only watching their childhood unfold, I'm participating in it. So at the splash pad, my children and I played games, swam together (which must have been a sight watching an adult female who is 5'7" pretend to swim in a foot of water), and they chased my husband under the waterfall. We had fun. Lots of fun. 

Our park days were repetitious, riding all the same rides over and over again. My husband went on a ride where it dropped multiple stories, and his facial expression on a zoomed camera was priceless. I didn't get a chance to ride adult rides, I only rode the ones with my children. My son rode the ferris wheel for the first time and loved it. My daughter had several false starts with riding the roller coaster and even stood in line during the final hours of the evening, but couldn't brave it. My son on the other hand, absolutely loved it and rode it 5 times in a row. He threw a fit, begging to go on and I thought he wasn't ready to do it, but I was wrong. So wrong. By the second turn, he had his arms high up in the air like all the bigger kids. I have to say, I was impressed. Last year, he only liked the much slower paced rides. You know, the little boats that run like 2 mph. But this year, he stepped out of his shell and even rode rides that his sister wasn't on. Which would never have happened any other year. 

My daughter continued to ride every ride at the park that wasn't a roller coaster, however, I think she may have had some water in her ear from all the constant swimming over these past weeks because, she became dizzy after riding some spinning rides like the tea cups. But hey, I'm 34 years old and I can't ride anything that runs in a circle, so I get it. But she was sad that she had trouble riding her two favorite rides, the himalaya and the scrambler. Both spinning rides. And both made her sick. So we moved on and didn't attempt to ride those two rides again through the duration of the trip. I told her how sorry I was for her that she had trouble and I know she was looking forward to riding them, but we're coming back in the fall and she could try them again at that time. Instead, we rode the ferris wheel like 500 times, per her request, and she was content with that.

During the second day, when her brother was stroller bound eating a pretzel, she helped a younger girl on a ride and decided to sit with her so she didn't feel scared. These two girls rode a few different rides that we right around us within a half hour time frame. Then, they moved onto the bumper cars and waited a few turns to get first pick of the two pink cars. But, my daughter hopped out of her car to help the younger girl with her seat belt, some random girl jumped in the pink car behind my daughter. There was only a blue car left. So my daughter looked at me sadly and I spoke loudly across the ride to her, hoping the parent's of the car stealing girl would hear me, and said, "that's ok baby, I'm proud of you for putting kindness first and helping the girl with her belt. It's ok that you lost your long awaited pink car in the process. You could always ride again to get the same car, but good deeds are better than a ride." So we walked back into line, because the parent of the child didn't come over and tell their daughter to switch cars, or the parent's weren't even watching, which seemed to be a common theme. While waiting in line, the staff came over and handed my daughter a lemonade voucher because she was impressed at my daughter's kindness and said, "kindness should always be rewarded." My daughter was very thankful and hugged the staff lady. I was grateful for her to reinforce what I said. 

Then, she bought her lemonade right after the ride was over.

We ended the last day by sitting on the benches that surrounded the imagination theater and waited for the play to start. We do this every year and each year, they have different stories. Here, everyone gets to join in by dressing up and silently acting out the parts of each character, while the narrator tells the story over a microphone. My daughter and I were mermaids and my husband and son were pirates. They loved it! And I think my husband did too, as he usually does. It's the same pattern every year, my husband says, "no, I'm not participating." Then my children say, "please daddy!." And then he dons the outfit. It's a pretty simple routine. 

After the play was over, we walked our tired selves back to the cabin, where we were thankful for strollers, fresh squeezed lemonade stands, and the 3 days we had to create such wonderful memories. 

Throughout motherhood, I've found that taking family vacations has become different each year. Because each year, my children are constantly aging and changing. And for me, it's hard to witness all the differences a single year brings. Last year, my son barely rode anything and clung to his sister's shadow. This year, he was a thrill seeker and independently sought rides. My daughter was always the hyper one who eagerly sprung from ride to ride. Whereas, this year, she was quieter and patient. 

They both enjoyed hanging outside the cabin and playing with their toys, without rushing everyone. And trying to warm themselves up under the pine tree because we couldn't regulate our thermostat. They were OK with jumping in the campground pool that was apparently just filled with hose water. And laughing when daddy jumped in first, thinking it was much warmer than it actually was. My daughter patiently helped her brother pan for gems and fossils and was very animated and loving when her brother found gold. And she held him close when they were both on the little whipper and he wanted to put his arms in the air. 

They acted like grown ups, and that tugged at my heart strings. 

I'll never be OK with them aging. It's just something I have to live through. Thankfully, with being a sahm, I don't see the changes that happen because, I'm always with them. It isn't until they're compared with previous events, that makes me want to savor time even more. So I was the mom, who took too many photos and videos that I know I'll scroll through during the darkness of night. I'll sit at my computer with my cup of tea and cupcakes and tear happy tears at the thought of how much fun we had together. And how I know next year, they'll be even more grown up. 

Because that's what vacations should do, they should be a happy, memorable experience that leaves the images and vocals imprinted in your brain and keeps you yearning for more days just like the ones you had.

** As always, thank you so much for your continued support. I enjoy reading your comments and seeing your likes and follows. Instagram is my main account that I use. I try to post daily. And when I do, I post a photo and tell a little story about it. So head over there and like my page, the_happy_days , so you could keep up to date with my Happy Days. Thanks again! **  

Yep, I'm still here.

I just wanted to chime in quickly and let everyone know that I'm still here and blogging, however, I've been on a constant go, out and about, enjoying my days.

Sitting down to write out blog posts are more time consuming than posting a picture on Instagram and writing out a little story to go along with it. So if you're already following me over there, you are seeing daily pictures of my life. If you're not following me there, my username is, the_happy_days . 

I just got back from a week long camping trip, which I have started and stopped a blog post about 15 times so far. Our weather has just been so beautiful that I've been spending my days outdoors with my children, then binge watching TV with my husband after they go to sleep. As you all know, we don't get many great weather days where I live, and the majority of the months are kept indoors hiding from either the rain or the frigid cold. So, we've been taking all the days and soaking them in. 

Mornings are quick and bedtimes are pushed back. 

But I don't want to forget about all you sweet people who follow me and are waiting for more posts. So I'll get my camping post out by the end of this week.

Thank you all for your patience and being such dedicated followers. I appreciate each and every one of you. And, when the school year starts and my daughter is in school for 6 hours, I'm going to attempt a more frequent blogging schedule.

For the mean time, if you have Instagram, please head over and follow me so you can read more frequently.

Returning to my old neighborhood

Today, we sectioned out a little time in our busy lives to revisit my old neighborhood with my family. I wanted to get reacquainted with past family members and walk the old paths of my youth...

We stepped out of the car onto the grassy patched driveway beneath our feet. The air felt the same. The view looked the same. Magically, I was transported back in time and everything was left untouched. Time stood still. Of course, trees and bushes are now taller, houses are updated, and past neighbors have come and gone. But the memories of a past life, were still alive and vibrant. 

I lived in this quaint little neighborhood during the late 80's through the late 90's. My late childhood and teen years were forged among these few city blocks. 

We walked through the old yards and I pointed out a little field where we played baseball, which seemed much bigger back then. I showed them the combining yards that we would get all the neighborhood kids together and play hide and go seek in the dark, during the late summer nights. And the big hill behind our old home where we all would sleigh ride for hours.

When I lived there, each neighbor was still there from when my grandmother was born. Or, their children were now living there. It was truly Mayberry and I was very lucky to have that as the corner stone of my youth. A peaceful time where neighbors all looked out for one another and helped each other. A time where you sat on porches and talked, or had coffee and dessert. A simpler, more connected time. 

So today, we left my husband and aunt talking in the driveway and we walked the path to my old home, like I did a million times before. I could remember my aunt standing on her back porch with her light on and my mom standing on our porch with our light on and they both watched me cut through the middle field on my way home at night. I was terrified of the dark and I would run top speed past the darkened trees and bushes. 

As we stepped through the field and onto another neighbor's driveway, I heard a familiar voice talking on the porch. So we walked up and I introduced my children to my previous neighbor, who lived directly across the street from my prior home. My daughter eagerly stepped onto his porch and quickly made herself at home. She willingly sat down in the open chair beside him and answered his basic questions in detail. My son chimed in a few words, but he more enjoyed running through the empty lot next door. I stood in the street in front of them, admiring my old home. Vividly remembering all my youth. I remember learning to roller skate in the vacant lot next door and skate boarding down the street. I remember riding in a go-cart that my dad built for me. I remember spending hours on my bike, just riding up and down the street. And, I remember getting so excited seeing my grandparents pull onto the gravel driveway, when they would drive up from Florida to spend the summer with us.

I turned back to view my daughter still chatting away. She looked just like me on that porch, as I use to do the same thing when I was only a few years older than her. The neighbor's home still looked the same, only the porch changed from red to gray and the flowers were arranged differently, but they still were the nicest people and had the most inviting front porch.

The day went quick and both my children enjoyed hearing all the stories he and I told. Even all these years later, this place still felt comfortable and felt like home. My children must have felt the same way, as they didn't want to leave. They liked the idea of front porches and talking with neighbors about their day. Unfortunately, we live in a rural area and our neighbors aren't that close to us. 

But for a brief moment, my children were able to experience a chunk of the good old days.

When the sun was about to set over the higher mountains, we said our goodbyes to the friendly neighbor and thanked him for all the catching up. It's been nearly 17 years since I was back on that street, but it felt like not a day had passed.

As we left, my children begged for us to move onto that street. I'm not sure if it was because of the atmosphere or from all the memories being told. But, I told them that we couldn't move back because, life isn't the same as it was when I lived there. And as a parent, I try everything in my power to give them the memorable outdoor childhood like the one I had. And with that, the hope is one day, they'll bring their children back to our home and reminisce about all the fun memories that they had. They won't be the same kind of memories that I told today, just like my grandparents and parent's childhood memories were different from mine. But they'll be their own special memories about hiking, swimming, berry picking, outdoor fires, and adventures. But the love and passion will still be the same. And you know what? Those memories will be just as rewarding to their children, as mine were to them today.