2013 Fall Family Fun Day

The plan was perfect.  The day was going to be beautiful. We were going to ride our bikes from central Fayetteville on the Razorback trail to the Botanical Gardens and then around Lake Fayetteville. We'd have fresh air, exercise, and get to explore the gardens. Except....

The day was not beautiful. Weatherman got that one wrong.  By the time the clouds dissipated it was turning cold. The Botanical Gardens doesn't take American Express which was the only card we packed in our bag. Then I got not 1, not 2, but 3 flat tires. Two of which required walking to Lewis and Clark. 

At the end of it all we persevered.  Jenna rode ahead to get fixes for the bike and the kids and I walked. We just decided to let ourselves in at the Botanical Gardens and make a donation afterwards.  Oddly when we got home we had a fundraiser request from the Botanical Gardens in the mail. As far as the weather, God provided a make up to us with the most unbelievable sunset on the lake. 

I made a gallery linked below.  Not many pictures but a couple of fun videos. Overall it was a great day. According to plan or not.

Noah turned 7!

It's been a rough birthday week for the poor boy. ​First, his birthday party was snowed out.  Yes, snowed out.  Who would've thought you should plan for inclement snow when scheduling outdoor laser tag in May? It's been rescheduled for Memorial Day weekend and in a twist more kids will be able to make it now.

We did his best to make the day special for him but we were really busy.  Jenna put down a blanket of balloons on his bedroom floor which he thought was super cool.  Since the day was going to be so hectic, he opened his gifts before school.  He loves his new bike.  The fact that it's got a fork to take off-road means he hasn't found a mud puddle he can't traverse yet.

I was able to spend most of my day at the school with him and Jenna surprised him for lunch.​ The night tried to be about him but it's hard when he had a 745 PM baseball game.  This followed an 8PM game the night before.  Before the game he slid into another kid whose cleat got him just under his left eye.  The way it happened and the way it looked at the moment, I can't believe he didn't need stitches or wake up with his first black eye. 

I asked him last night if he felt 7 because I don't feel like he should be 7.  He said "I keep forgetting I'm 7 so I guess I don't feel like I am. What's it supposed to feel like? I don't feel any taller!" I guess we build them up too much when the kid thinks they are going to magically grow on their birthday :)​

He's a good kid and we are so proud of him.  Love that boy.​

Self-inflicted busy day

Busy days usually make us grumpy but this one was self-inflicted so it just made bedtime easy. We went for a bike ride at Lake Fayetteville. Noah is becoming quite the bike rider. He made it 3 miles without nary a complaint. He had to walk up the big hills and had one good scare going down another but overall he's rockin and rollin. When we were done, the climbing wall at Lewis and Clark was open so we gave it a go. Jenna rang the bell and Noah made it about halfway. His legs gave out on him so I figure next time we'll do the wall first. Throw in church, 2 workouts, choir, and Cam's nap and it was a pretty full day.

 

Big boy has wheels

Noah's buddy Jack outgrew his bike so Noah has become it's temporary owner. He does great on it. He has to stay on the sidewalk since we don't have a helmet yet but he still goes pretty quick.
Watching a kid on a bike is so nostalgic. I can remember being a kid and thinking I could go anywhere. Of course, our generation was allowed to go anywhere.
We've gone for family walks the past 2 nights with him leading the way so it's actually been a good addition to our routine.