Oh, and also these things happened...

So, the part of this blog that is a record for myself of things my family does kind of got understandably sideswiped this summer (and into the start of fall).  The death of my father and what that means going forward is still something I am processing, but regardless, our lives have continued on in busy and interesting fashion, and I need to jot some of it down before I forget it ever happened.

This is essentially "How I Spent My Summer Vacation" without the sad parts and with many photos.  Here we go:

I did post about our trip to the cottage already.  Ian and the kids (including my niece) got to return there for a week in August as well.  I love that the cottage is a summer tradition for our family.

Early in the summer I finally got the appropriate archery equipment for the girls to share.  There are several public ranges in the park system in Milwaukee, and sometimes we'll picnic there when we go out to shoot.

Quinn's still too small to handle the bow yet, so he acts as a human quiver and also retrieves arrows.  The girls are improving quickly and we've been having a lot of fun.  Next summer I plan to get a third bow so they don't have to take turns.

Summer means trips to Leon's Frozen Custard.  (Or, at least, more seasonally appropriate trips to Leon's.)  Aden has discovered the joy of the banana split.

Bike Trip to the Fabric Store

It seemed like a good idea.  It really did.

But before I get into that story I feel the need to share some pictures of leaves because this Fall has been particularly beautiful.  (These are from right outside my front door and from the park nearby.  Don't let anyone ever tell you Milwaukee's not beautiful.)

No Helmet

Today was "Bike (or walk) to School Day" around here.  We have two extra kids staying with us for a couple of weeks while their mom is out of state with the National Guard, so it was a bit more of a production for us to participate, but the kids were motivated so we did it.  It was Quinn's first time biking to school since he learned how to ride last summer, so he was really proud of himself, and I was impressed that he had no problem doing the nearly two mile route.  Our youngest guest doesn't bike yet, but she took her scooter about a third of the way before that became too much and we packed her up into the bike trailer for the rest of the trip.  It was a lot of fun, and definitely something worth making the effort to do again.

This got me thinking, though, about one of the choices I make that diverges from the norm in parenting circles nowadays:

I prefer not to wear a bike helmet.  I hate them.  I have a nice one, and I do wear it when I know I will be using busy streets or I'm participating in an event where it's required, but otherwise?  No thanks.  And when just biking around the neighborhood?  I don't make my kids wear them either.

Quinn Can Bike

Quinn learned how to ride a bike last week.  He did it with very little help and no training wheels.

He's six, and when I asked him recently on a nice day if he'd like to learn to ride a bike this summer he shrugged and said, "Okay."  He's been reluctant to try in the past, but he's great on a scooter so I knew he'd have the balance for it.

The things Quinn is good at he is very good at.  He reads at at least a sixth grade level, his geography is better than that of most adults I know (myself included some days), he's gotten off to a strong start on piano....

The Amazing Milwaukee Race on Bikes!

Back in April I 'ran' with my friend Linda in The Amazing Milwaukee Race.  This past weekend my husband and I participated in the biking version of that race, and it wore me out but we had a great time.

There were two courses; the A-course was 40 miles, and the B-course was supposed to be 20 miles but turned out to be 25.  Of the 72 teams that participated only 23 finished, and of the 14 B-course teams we came in tenth.  Not bad for a team called "The Slow Spokes."  The whole thing was a lot more grueling than anticipated, but it was the kind of event where the enjoyment of it comes down to the company.  There were several moments when I was cold and wet and sore that I realized if I were with someone else I would have been miserable, but because I was with Ian it was fun.

Ian ready to ride!

Me briefly enjoying dry clothes

Here's a rundown of the whole adventure (including address locations for locals interested in the path we traveled) and some more photos:

I've got a bike, you can ride it if you like....

We've been biking to school as a family whenever we can the past few weeks.

The upper elementary kids had a series of bike safety classes in May and Aden was inspired.  In mid-May there was a (school-wide? city-wide? national?) bike to school day.  Of course on that morning it rained, but we gave it a shot the day after.

Aden ready to ride

I love activities we can do as an entire family, but it can be complicated when you have kids of different ages.  There aren't a lot of games or physical events that work easily for both the ten year old and the five year old.  I didn't really think biking would be among them for some time.

Mona was resistant to the idea of learning to ride a bike (preferring her scooter) until recently.  But she got a new hand-me-down bike from a friend that she was excited about, and Mona, being Mona, didn't want any help and taught herself to ride that bike over the course of a couple of hours and a few nasty spills that we were expected to ignore.  Now she bikes fearlessly as only Mona can.

Quinn with his scooter fresh out of the box

Quinn learned to ride a scooter this Spring.  His tricycle is too small and he needed something to ride, and I was nervous about him having a scooter with only two wheels, but of course he wants what his sisters have.  Now he zips around the block, gracefully when he's well rested, tumbling and ripping holes in the knees of his pants when he isn't.

So all my kids have wheels, but mixing bikes and scooters doesn't work well if we want to stick together.  Aden was determined to get us all biking to school, however, and she reminded me we had a bike trailer in the basement.  I had thought of it as more of a toddler hauling accessory, but we pulled it out and had Quinn get inside, and he liked it.  He sings back there, and keeps treasures in the side pockets.

The distance to the school is just over a mile and a half, and there are a few busy streets and intersections along the way.  We picked a simple route where we could primarily use sidewalks and did a practice run in the evening to time ourselves.  It takes our odd little convoy about 25 minutes from door to door.  (Alone, Ian or I can do it in a bit less than ten.)

The first morning we biked to school Ian had Army responsibilities, so I had to take the kids alone.  Hauling the trailer uphill with Quinn is hard, and I was a little frazzled trying to give directions and keep everyone in a little group while monitoring all the morning traffic.  I had Aden lead, and I stayed in the rear listening to Mona chatting away.  I prefer when Ian joins us and can haul the trailer, but I'm pleased with myself for managing to get all the kids to school on time with the bikes on my own.  Since that first morning we've gotten better at it.  The kids are familiar with the route now, and their biking skills have improved.  (Although there was a day last week right after a rainstorm that resulted in a lot of sticks on the ground, and I swear to you Mona hit every last one.  I considered asking her if she really was trying to hit them all but then I decided I didn't want to know.)

It takes extra planning and work to get ourselves out the door in time to make it to school before the last bell, and we can't bike in bad weather, but I'm glad we've gone as often as we have without the car.  With the half-day pickup that's six trips between our house and the school every day.

We had been at it about a week, some days proving more conducive to biking than others, when I came across a PBS program one night that caught my attention.  I watch a lot of TV, but not on our actual television, and one evening when I got home late from work and made myself a little something for dinner I decided to eat it alone in the family room and just flip around with the remote awhile for fun.  I stopped on a program about families dealing with childhood obesity and what people can do to change, and most of it was stuff I knew (like not eating alone in front of the TV) but the one line that jumped out at me was a doctor saying that many people have the mistaken idea that a healthy lifestyle doesn't take work.  He said that families who are able to do a successful job of eating the right foods and being active are exceptionally organized.  They plan, they make sacrifices, and they make it a priority even though it's difficult.

You know what?  That really made an impression on me.  Because I think I did have a sense that maybe there was something wrong with me that trying to incorporate more of the activities and choices into our daily lives that seem healthier were also an incredible amount of work.  That maybe I wasn't cut out for it somehow.  Cooking decent meals takes planning so produce doesn't go bad and some days our schedule is really tight.  Getting around with the kids by bike takes a lot more thought and effort, and some days we can do it and some days we just can't.  Having someone not just say, "This is good for you and your kids, you should do it," but add, "It's going to be a lot of hard work but it's worth it," makes a difference.  It changes your expectations.  I don't feel like I'm a failure if I can't do it all the time.

So I'm proud of us for making the effort, even though it's not easy, and the truth is when it all goes according to plan it's great.  As the school year winds down for us in another week I will miss getting the kids there by bike.  It's been lovely, really, despite middle-schoolers letting the air out of the girls' tires on the playground one day, or the occasional squabble about who leads and who follows, or stopping to fuss with a bike chain.  I think it's been good for our kids to see us solving problems as they arise and sticking with it.

There's a level of independence that comes with being on a bike that's also positive.  Aden even got to bike home alone one afternoon when she stayed late to play with a friend on the school grounds.  She was confident enough about remembering the route back that when she called to say she was ready to head home she said she wanted to do it on her own.  I won't lie that it didn't make me nervous because some of places she'd have to deal with traffic scare me, but I'm proud of her for doing it.  She did fine.

My favorite part of our commute is where we cut through the park, and in the middle there is a large pond that at this time of year is teeming with red-winged blackbirds singing in the reeds every morning.  It's beautiful.  And worth the extra work it takes to get us there.

We'll have to find new destinations to bike to as a family once school is out, because now that we've gotten into the groove of it I don't want to give it up.  It is worth the effort.  And my kids agree that the world looks better when viewed from a bike.