"I don't want to drive up to the pearly gates in a shiny sports car, wearing beautifully, tailored clothes, my hair expertly coiffed, and with long, perfectly manicured fingernails. I want to drive up in a station wagon that has mud on the wheels from taking kids to scout camp. I want to be there with a smudge of peanut butter on my shirt from making sandwiches for a sick neighbors children. I want to be there with a little dirt under my fingernails from helping to weed someone's garden. I want to be there with children's sticky kisses on my cheeks and the tears of a friend on my shoulder. I want the Lord to know I was really here and that I really lived."

— Marjorie Pay Hinckley


"None of us come to this earth to gain our worth; we brought it with us."

--Sheri L. Dew

Friday, June 14, 2013

Milestones

Grace and Thaddeus have been riding bikes for some time now.  Except for one small problem, the training wheels, a.k.a. the crutch wheels, they were doing okay.  Well, one day I got so frustrated with Grace using her training wheels, we couldn't go anywhere without her getting stuck or falling over (I thought they were supposed to be helpful?).  I looked online to find out how to take off her pedals and crank shaft so she would have to learn to balance on her own, and we found a way.  After taking off her pedals and crank shaft and training wheels she had to just scoot along and she learned to balance fairly quickly.  We finally got around to finding her a used bike and yesterday we went to the track to practice.  In the meantime my sister-in-law had asked for their training wheels back that were on TD's bike so I took them off and he was scooting around too (except I never got around to taking off the pedals and crank shaft so he has a few scratches on his leg, poor kid!) 
  
    Anyway, back to the track.  We get there and TD starts scooting along and then out of no where starts pedaling and just takes off!  I was amazed.  I counted myself lucky and turned to Grace, not really looking forward to the whole "teach you how to balance and ride" lesson.  Well, I started pushing her and it was obvious she didn't need me to balance her so I let go and off she went!  I have to say, in that very moment my heart swelled to 10 times it's normal size, I was so pleased!  It was amazing!  So, now we are riding bikes everywhere and they want to go back to the track this very minute to practice more. 

   So, to all of you I say throw away the training wheels, google how to take off the crank shaft and pedals and let your kids learn to balance and they will be riding in NO time!!  You are welcome.  I would put up a picture but the camera needs batteries and I don't have any.  :(
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