Going Out With a Fizzle

Friday through Sunday Michael and I were in Sun Valley.  He was recording a conference for work so he had to go.  He also had to drive.  He suggested biking but I didn't feel like spending days biking uphill covering 160 miles each way.  So we dusted off the minivan and went.  We did bring our bikes with us so we didn't have to drive once we got there, but it still felt like we spent the whole weekend in the car.  Monday dawned as the last day of our bike month.  I needed to do another large grocery run and visit the Grocery Outlet but my face felt like it was going to explode from allergies and Ethan was running a fever.  So we sat around home all day being miserable.  Our car free month just kind of fizzled out.  I couldn't have that.  So I declared our bike month extended one more day.

Tuesday, we made it to Grocery Outlet.  We made it to Winco.  Michael wasn't available to help haul groceries home so I did it myself. 

No picture of the Grocery Outlet grocery run but it included a watermelon, a lot of bread and lots of cold cereal.

My Winco haul.  And yes, that is a chicken in the background.  Pooky is a bit of an escape artist.

The bananas made it but the kiwi didn't.  Kiwi smoothie for dinner!  Yay!

I felt pretty awesome, I must say.  I also felt extremely weak hauling the babies and groceries up the hill.  I used my lowest gear for the first time ever.  I contemplated getting off and walking my bike up the hill but I wasn't sure I could push my fully loaded bike.  I was also afraid if I stopped I couldn't start again.  Fear motivated me up the hill. 

Finally, a photo re-creation of our church trip.  Michael hauled all this for 7 miles round trip with a nasty hill. 

I didn't have any grand epiphanies during our bike month.  I didn't lose any weight.  But I also didn't long for the car.  I enjoyed biking around town and the couple times I had to use the car I found myself very bored and wishing I was on my bike.  It was a fun month.  Honestly we will probably all continue biking until the cold weather hits.  When I have to find gloves for everyone before leaving the house I tend to give up and just drive.  Maybe I just need to be better organized...

A Person With Half a Brain Would Have Given Up

Michael and I do not have half a brain.  We have determination and stubbornness.  It would be easier if we had half a brain.

Sunday morning we woke and got ready for church.  We had a trip of 3.5 miles with a nasty hill to make it to church.  We figured if we left the house at 9:30 we could make it by 10:00.  We walked out of the house at 9:15, everyone with hair done and church clothes on.  Oh yeah - we were doing awesome.  Michael pulled his bike out of the shed and immediately noticed he had a blasted flat tire.  Goat head season is killing us.  I don't remember when we last had a flat and now we can't keep our tires inflated.  Michael proceeded to whip off his tire and replace the tube fast - like greased lightning - but very carefully as he was wearing his white church shirt.  He got the tire put back together in record time and went in the house to wash his hands.

Meanwhile, I had the babies in the trailer and went to hook it up to Michael's bike.  Alas, it was not to be.  Michael has braces on his bike to help carry wide loads, (which he has dubbed "Hobo WideLoaders") but their location made it impossible to hook up the bike trailer.  Michael came outside to find me muttering and close to swearing (it was Sunday, so I couldn't actually swear).  He grabbed his drill and started disassembling his hobo accoutrements.  Five and a half minutes later, we were ready to ride.

It was quite the sight.  I don't know why I didn't get a picture of it.  Probably because I didn't have the camera and we were in a hurry.  Now usually Ethan and Libby would bike themselves but it was an unfamiliar route and we weren't sure if we would have to be on Cole Road for any length of time.  I'm not letting my kids bike along Cole.  The trip was actually very quiet with very little traffic, but I digress.  Michael had Ethan and Libby on the back of his bike and was pulling a trailer with Grace and Sam.  I'm surprised his bike didn't take one look at the load and simply refuse to move.  If I get ambitious I will make everyone recreate the ride so I can photograph it for posterity.  Meanwhile, I was biking my own little self.  The time was 9:30.  Amazingly, we were still on time.

A quarter of the way to church the rain started.  Blue skies behind us, blue skies in front of us, and a deluge precisely overhead.  No rain for weeks and suddenly, on this Sunday, we have rain.  Michael wanted to pull over and wait it out while I was for pressing on.  He hates getting wet.  For disliking cats so strongly he sure acts like one when it comes to water.  Before I could convince him it would be okay he had already taken himself and the kids to a covered sidewalk against a nearby building.  After much coaxing and assurances the rain would soon stop, coupled with promises of ice cream, he agreed to come out.  I went to the light which soon turned green and I hollered to Michael to hurry out.  "I'm stuck!" came the yell from his shelter.  I turned around to find he had wedged the trailer in a corner against a post and couldn't wiggle free. After a brief struggle I managed to free him and we were on our way.

There was much grumbling when I proved to be an unreliable meteorologist and the rain persisted.  About this time Michael realized he'd left his tablet computer sitting on our trailer in the back alley, open to all.  I was expecting a nervous breakdown and a panicked pedal home but we continued on.  The hill almost killed him but we made it to church and before the opening hymn!  I took the slightly damp kids in to the meeting while Michael called his father to rescue his tablet.  Does this count as cheating?  Asking someone to do a favor for you, knowing full well they are going to drive to do it?  It makes my head hurt thinking about it.  Any opinions?  I guess the important part was his tablet was saved and we made it to church on time.  Thanks, Con!

After the meeting everyone loaded back up on bikes and we started home, receiving many looks of awe and consternation.  Everyone driving away got an up-close view of our contraption.  One woman said, "You look like those Asians!"  Michael and I must have looked confused because she went on to say, undoubtedly in a futile effort to clarify her original statement, "My husband is Asian."  I had no idea what to even say to that - still don't.  I can only assume she was talking about pictures on the internet, like this one:

http://www.melbournecyclist.com/forum/topics/1684380:Topic:13534

but the way she said it still sounded so very wrong.  Kind of like our whole Sunday adventure.  Really good intentions but still so wrong.

Not So Much Fun

Car free has been great.  I've driven the car once and it felt really weird.  I was wishing I didn't need to go out to Meridian because it would have been an excellent day to bike.  But alas there was no safe way to bike where I needed to go.  Other than my one trip in the car we are standing by our car free lifestyle.  Michael even hauled home a large trunk and a small school desk.  He hitched up his cargo bike trailer and away we went.  Everything has been going swimmingly.  And then I posted on my blog about our goal and then the universe decided I needed taken down a peg or two.

Yesterday evening we were to meet Michael at Julia Davis Park for Art in the Park.  He called to let me know he was heading out of work and I headed out the front door.  I loaded the babies in Maddie and started backing her up.  The wheel started grabbing.  Upon closer inspection the back tire was completely flat.  I pumped it up only to realize it wasn't slimed.  I didn't have a spare tube but I figured I could still make it work.  I would hook up the bike trailer to my normal bike.  Yes, I have two bikes.  So does Michael.  We have a lot of bikes.  Alas, I had forgotten it had a flat tire as well.  Meany-butt goatheads.  They ruin everything.  I couldn't call Michael because he had already left so I dumped the babies in the stroller and let the big kids bike.  Thankfully their tires were hole free.

Today Michael started fixing tires.  Yay, on the road again.  Except...he broke Maddie.  It wasn't his fault but I still feel like blaming him.  After he fixed the tire and was putting it back on, the rear derailleur hanger (the part that attaches the derailleur to the frame) sheared in half.  For the uninitiated, the derailleur is the thing that makes shifting possible and keeps the chain on the bike.  It had been bumped at some point and was just holding on by the skin of it's aluminum teeth.  This made Michael growl and grumble.  This made me growl and grumble.  Meanwhile the babies are burying tools and spinning pedals.  Tra-la-la-la-la-tra-la-la-la.  This did not add to the adults' enjoyment of the situation.  Although Michael had already biked close to ten miles he jumped on his bike and headed to the bike shop.  There he found out the happy news that derailleur hangers are not standard and we need to order one from the manufacturer.  It's Saturday and everything is closed.  We also learned derailleur hangers are made of brittle aluminum and are designed to fail under stress, sacrificing themselves to save the bike frame.  Without this little hunk of aluminum, we would be looking at frame repair and oodles of $$.  So thanks, derailleur hanger.

With false cheer I said I would use the bike trailer.  I really don't like pulling the trailer but I can suck it up for a week or two.  Then we realized I no longer have the trailer hitch on my bike.  It is on Michael's bike and we can't find the second one at the moment.  For me to pull the trailer we would have to take the back tires off both bikes, move the hitch, then put everything back together.  I have a sneaking suspicion Michael doesn't currently feel like doing that.  The growling and grumbling coming from his direction is still going strong.

So I still have a bike.  I just don't have a way to get the babies around.  The big kids have their bikes and Michael can haul the trailer.  Tomorrow we have a church meeting several miles from the house.  The original plan was to put the older kids on the back of Michael's bike and put the babies on mine.  Given the MIA second hitch and the grumbling, it's looking like he will haul the big kids on the back of his bike while pulling the trailer with the babies while I happily pedal alongside.  I'm currently not loving this car free month.

On the upside I finally got a recent picture of Maddie.



 
Sad, isn't it?

Two Weeks In

It seems we have spent this whole summer driving from one place to another.  It's been great fun to visit so many places but I grew weary of driving everywhere.  So two weeks ago Michael and I swore off the car for a month.  We decided we could bike, walk, or bus to wherever we needed to go.  The only exceptions would be emergencies and a couple of unavoidable trips.  One for work (to Sun Valley) and two trips for homeschool co-op (in Meridian).  We'd take the bus to co-op but the Boise public transit system is less than stellar.  Other than those exceptions our minivan would just have to stay parked.  Today is day fourteen of the experiment and I am proud to say I noticed the van was very dusty when I biked past it yesterday.  It hasn't moved an inch in two weeks and we have still managed to get everything done we needed to, postponing nothing.  It helps that Michael and I have truly awesome bikes.  Seriously - they're frickin' rad.  In case you aren't familiar with our bikes, here are some pictures:

Look how little my babies were!  Oh, so very cute.  This is the most recent picture I have of my bike.  It's not nearly that clean right now.  Also now I usually only carry Grace and Sam as Libby is quite old enough to ride her own bike, much to her dismay.

This isn't a recent picture of Michael's bike either but I'm doing the best I can here.  It hasn't changed any though.

A picture of our groceries.  I know how exciting this must be for most of you.  I know everyone is dying to see my groceries.  Except, not really.  But the exciting thing is that Michael managed to haul all of this home on his bike.  Look at those bananas!  They aren't bruised a bit.  Winco is two and half miles from our house with an unfriendly hill to climb on the way home but we made it work.  I didn't really want Michael to do the shopping by himself because I get grumpy when he doesn't read my mind about quantities and brands.  I seem to think the scrawled grocery list I make means the same to him as it does to me.  So the kids rode their bikes and I put Grace and Sam on my bike and we met Michael after work.  He hauled the groceries home and I hauled the babies home.  I think I got the better end of the deal.

A week or so later I needed to go to Zamzows and get chicken feed.  Michael had work he had to do and the babies were sleeping.  So I grabbed Maddie (my bike, short for Madsen, her brand) and the big kids hopped on their bikes.  They needed to go to Zamzows and buy fish.  We stopped at Grocery Outlet on our way because we were biking right past and when you are biking everywhere you learn to consolidate trips.  My haul might not be as impressive as Michael's, but that's okay.  I managed a forty pound bag of chicken food, didn't squish the bread, and kept two fish alive.  I felt pretty awesome.

We are two weeks in and going strong.  Because we decided to not drive the van, Michael ended up biking almost 25 miles one day to get his honey-do list done (thanks for picking up our entries, ribbons and prize money from the fair, honey!).  I haven't lost any weight or had any grand epiphanies, but I do enjoy the feeling of self sufficiency and not relying on a fossil-fueled machine to get me places.  Two more weeks to go!

Something Fishy

Ethan has been working odd jobs and scooping dog poop for a month now.  He has been trying desperately to save his money to buy his own pet.  Unfortunately it is hard for an eight year old to save.  He met with several setbacks in the form of the Dollar Store and Idaho Youth Ranch but he continued to persevere.  He spent hours searching craigslist for rats, lizards, mice and hamsters.  He never did have enough money.

In the meantime Libby became rich on her birthday.  She ended up with $26 spending money.  She asked if she could have a pet also.  I took a deep breath and hoped I wouldn't regret saying it and then said, "Yes."  

Now both Ethan and Libby were allowed their very own pet.  I was scared.  What if they both bought smelly guinea pigs?  My whole house would smell.  Or snakes that had to eat live mice?  This could end very badly.  

Thankfully the deciding factor for the kids was cost.  Betta fish were cheap and we already had a couple of vases to make homes for them.  That meant they wouldn't have to buy a cage with their precious money.  We biked down to Zamzows and the kids spent their hard-earned money on fish and fish food.

May I introduce you to Isabella (yes Libby knows he is a boy but decided because he was a fish he probably wouldn't care what his name was)

and Ethan's Agent F.  May they live long and happy fishy lives.

Seven Years Already

My little girl.  Such a smart, beautiful, little mommy, passionate, dramatic, deep-feeling little girl she has become.  She was such a placid little baby I wondered if she would grow up into a person who didn't stand up for herself.  I needn't have worried.

I can't really say I miss the baby she was because it is so exciting to watch the girl she is becoming.  I wonder and worry if I am teaching her all the things she needs to be a productive and happy woman some day.  Sometimes in that process I forget to appreciate the child she is now.  Such a lovely, spirited child she is, too.  Now that I've reached my sentiment quota for the week, on to pictures we go!

Celebrating her birthday with her cousins.  All three have their birthdays in August so we celebrate all together.  There was Russian honey cake, chocolate chip cake, and Libby's choice - cheesecake with raspberry sauce on the side.  I was one busy cake baker.

A week later we celebrated on her actual birthday.  She wanted a princess cake so we headed to the dollar store and bought some decorations.  I frosted her chocolate cake with chocolate frosting and she embellished it with white frosting and plastic jewelry.

She had a great birthday.  A lot of people gave her cash so she feels rich.  She has decided to take the money and buy herself a pet.  I told her that was fine as long as it is a small pet. I hope she goes for a fish instead of a hamster.  Fish don't smell.