Family Time

One of our favorite things to do together as a family is go for after supper bike rides. It does take a bit of effort to get our lazy parental butts out of the house after a long day of work (at home and outside the home) but we really enjoy it once we get out there. Being active as a family is important to us. Like everything else involved in parenting; kids learn best by their parents setting the example.
Its so nice that the "big kids" are now old enough to have bikes (and bike riding skills) to keep up on a real family bike ride. (In case you are counting there is a neighbor girl along for the ride).
Its fun time spent together and its great exercise....which is important for us "30 something" parents :)

Yes, Roman is wearing his spider man pajamas. I can't remember why , but for some reason he had showered and got ready for bed early that evening. We decided afterwards to go for a bike ride and it wasn't worth having him change. The gravel road and the trees don't really care anyway.
We got him his first training- wheel- free bike this spring. He was ready for it years ago but keeping him on a little slow bike had its benefits...less trips to the ER. He's been riding since shortly after his 2nd birthday. Keep in mind we only have a few months out of the year to ride bikes up here.
This spring it took about 3 seconds to show him how to mount and balance on his big kid bike and he was off. He hasn't looked back since. Within a couple days he was building jumps and within a week he was doing this!
What a stunt boy.
Roman LOVES his bike.

Silas likes his new seat too. He sits in a child seat in front of Dad and feels like he is really riding a bike. He even fights with Daddy for control of the handle bars. :)

Its that time of year again. We are gearing up for another harvest. We could be harvesting lentils within the next few days. We have had SO much rain and cool weather lately that we are pretty late getting started. I'm picturing a muddy harvest!
Considering our tendency for drought we hate to complain about moisture but some dry weather would be ideal for getting this crop off.

I must admit I feel a little unfocused this year. We've been thinking so much about our post harvest move to Mexico that its hard to focus on what needs to get done first. I have been filling my freezer with baking (buns, muffins, cookies) in preparation for packing field lunches and back to school lunches though so I guess I haven't lost focus completely (I just run mental packing lists through my head while doing it :)

Its been SO nice to have some chill time at home to recover from our slightly hectic summer and prepare for the next season. A couple weeks ago all the kids were burnt out and grumpy. This week they are back to their normal cheerful cooperative selves. Its amazing what a bit of routine, some decent sleep and some quantity (not just quality) time with mom will do for a kid!

I miss and think about "Cub" a lot , but I must admit I am enjoying how much more time I have in the day and how much more energy I have to pour into my own kids right now.
Considering the major life changes that lie ahead I think God knew we needed that time to re-group as a family.