Bicycles!

On Easter we did church and family. We saved the candy and gifts for this past weekend, explaining that while the eggs and candy and gifts are fun we don't want to forget that Easter is about so much more. The kids were okay with this as long as they got their share of candy in the end too. We did do a small bit of candy. And then we explained that this is not normal but because this was their first Easter, we had a special gift for them... 

Bicycles! They have been hoping and wishing and praying for bicycles! They dreamed about them. They longed for them. Oh to have a bicycle!

Now at an average of at least $80 plus another $20 for a helmet, we were looking at $400 at least. While we do have that much in our savings account, we would actually like to retire someday and there is an endless amount of kiddie gear that could stand between us and that goal. So as a compromise, I did some checking around on Craigslist. There I found a guy a half hour away that buys old bikes and gets them back in full working order to then sell them again. Upon arrival at this guys' house, JoAni asked why we were buying used bikes (she had been drooling over the ones at WalMart). I explained that we could buy them used now or wait another year or so and buy them new then. She quickly agreed that this was a good thing and even gave the other kids the same speech when the conversation came up again later. This guy probably had 60-80 bicycles in his yard, most of which were children's sizes. Before we arrived, I told the kids that they would have to be patient as we tried to find the right size for each of them. But the allure was just too much. They were overwhelmed with excitement. Sarah kept telling the guy "I'm Sarah! I'm 6 1/2 years old!" For $140 we purchased 4 very usable, good quality, just what we needed bikes.

Then we needed helmets. For that we did go to Walmart. We let them pick out whatever they wanted (almost). They were so excited that they put the helmets on and wore them up to the counter.

Yes, that is the cardboard still attached to the helmets. They wore them that way all the way through WalMart, the 20 minute ride home, and around the driveway until we could cut them loose.

Isn't my daughter beautiful with that big smile? She is 100% happy to the core in this picture! 

For well over an hour, I ran back and forth and up and down the driveway propping up a kid and trying to explain the basics of bike riding. JoAni and Sylvia are learning quickly. And Sarah and Ryan are determined to figure this out too. And when all else fails, they just walk their bikes around the driveway. Sylvia even talked Ryan into helping prop her up when I got too tired. But she returned the favor, running along side him and holding onto his bike while he tried to figure out how to turn those pedals.

Today on the other hand is a different story. The kids, Ryan especially, were very disappointed that their bike time got rained out.