October 2, 2011.
It was warm and sunny and beautiful. It was Sunday.
We decided to take a family bike ride. Usually we bike through the nature reserve area, but on this day, we decided to take a different route. So we headed to the park. It was quite a long ride... longer than we expected. But we did it. When we got there, the kids played for a bit...
...until someone had to go to the bathroom. Rather than riding through this big gigantic park to find the nearest open restroom, we decide to just head back home.
Now, this was not the first time we've been to this park. In fact, Sebastian's school field day had been held at this park at the end of his 4th grade year... so I KNEW there was a short cut that went from the park to the school grounds. Taking said shortcut would have cut off a good five minutes of riding time to get us back home.
So we headed in the direction of the shortcut. We crossed the railroad tracks, hauled our bikes through a bit of a tight path through the trees, and got to the fence that opens up onto school property... only to find the fence had been chained and padlocked. Ummmm.... not going that way anymore.
Plan B. or Plan C. ???
Plan B - We COULD go back the way we came. Back through the trail. Back through the park to the other end. Back on the bike path. We could.
or....
Plan C - We're right here on the tracks already. And we know where they'll come out. And it's a more direct route than back through the park. Maybe it will be faster?
Plan C.
Bad idea.
We started pedaling. To state the obvious, it was bumpy. We all bumped along and teetered and tottered on our bikes again, until we started to get a rhythm. Soon, Lucas was going strong, and Sebastian wasn't so far behind him. They took off down the track.
I was ready to follow right behind. BUT. Meagan was having difficulty. And Isaac was having a melt down. He was none too pleased with Plan C. Not at all. He was mad because, well, because of everything you can imagine... it was bumpy, it was hard, it hurt, it was hard, it was bumpy, he kept falling off, it was bumpy... you get the idea. Little man had himself a protest right there on the tracks. He hopped off of his bike and refused to ride it.
So he walked. And Meagan rode slowly. And I... well, I just laughed. I couldn't help myself. I tried to hold it in because I knew Isaac was so frustrated, but that made it even funnier. I started laughing. And I couldn't stop. I think I got as much of a work out from the laughing as I did from the bike ride. It was the funniest thing! I kept looking forward at Lucas and Sebastian, who were quickly shrinking into the distance. And at Meagan who would pedal three strokes and topple over. And at Isaac who was putting all of his effort into being mad. I don't even remember anymore who had to go to the bathroom, but at the pace we had going, I'm not sure how that person managed to hold it in til we got home!
Funny stuff!! I love those funny, unexpected moments in life that turn out to be favorite memories. This will always be one of my favorite memories with our kids. Because it was spontaneous. And different. And poorly thought out... which made us laugh (well, all except Isaac). And it will never happen again, so I guess you could call that a once-in-a-lifetime moment. I like that.
Well, this for sure is a story I want to have included in our album. When I look through the documentation of how we lived our lives, it would be a shame if I didn't find this story in there. So I did a quick page about it...
(Click here to view full credits)
I used a bunch of goodies from TLP's Something Old Something New sale (SOSN). Every Wednesday the designers select old or new items and put them on sale 50% off. You can check it out here: TLP Store
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1 comment:
Wonderful
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