Bode on a Bicycle

Bode has learned how to ride a bike.  Yes, we are bad parents in that we waited so long to teach him.  However, both in Ohio and in Colorado, we do not live on a street that was/is conducive to learning to ride a bicycle.  This is not to say we live in a heavily trafficked area.  Quite the contrary.  Here in Colorado, we live at the very top of a dead-end street.  Traffic is not the issue.  The large, 10% incline is what is troublesome to a first-time bike rider.  What got Bode on his bike sans training wheels?  Peer pressure.  There are some neighbors down the street.  They have a six-year old and a four-year old.  Bode saw the four-year old riding a bike, and that is really all it took, plus some encouragement (goading) by dear-old Dad.  Here are some action photos.

For the time being, we are staying in the driveway (which is still steep in some areas).  However, we did walk Bode and the bike to the bottom of the hill, where he was able to ride a bit further.  Also, we ate dinner at Grammy's house, and she lives on a nice flat street.  After dinner, we took a walk around the block.  Bode rode the whole way.  He's yet to have a major wipe-out...we have stocked up on band-aids and bandages knowing it will surely happen :-)

Ashley took the below movie.  Not the most thrilling of footage, but those riders who post videos of themselves on Youtube going off 20-foot jumps have to start somewhere.

We are both impressed how quickly Bode learned how to ride.  He did have one of those Stride-Rite bikes (pedal-less bikes).  He learned how to balance himself on that, so getting on a real bike wasn't that big of a difference.  We did have to work on using the bike's break as opposed to his feet, but we think he has that down.

Nothing too exciting in Colorado Springs--hot, dry, and fire-danger is high.  Makes us miss the humidity of the east coast (yes, really).  Pleasant week to all.

Nana and Papa

Ashley's parents are here for a month.  No, they're not staying with us--Harley would probably drive Frank nuts.  They have a camper, and they hauled it up here from Florida and are staying in the Famcamp playground on the Air Force Academy.  Bode loves the camper, and he'd stay there every night if he was allowed.  Over the weekend, David came down with Teddy and Charlie.  The boys love playing together.  Here's a nice shot of Bode and me on a big rock with Charlie in the foreground.

The boys went to a playground and did some running around.  Here is a cute one of Bode.

On Monday, we all went to the zoo.  The kids love feeding the giraffes.  Look how big that tongue is!

Next time we need to remember to bring a whole head of lettuce.  The zoo sells five pieces of lettuce for two bucks.  Seems like a scam.

The zoo upgraded their elephant exhibit.  Still doesn't seem like a large enough area for elephants to be happy...

The Cheyenne Mountain zoo has probably the most scenic view of all zoos in the country (not that I've been to more that three of them, but as I blogger, I feel qualified to give an expert opinion on anything).

Near the play area was an old, wrecked airplane (or some sheet metal painted as such).

The peacocks get to run wild at the zoo.  Charlie managed to p*ss one off :-)

We stopped at the leopard cage.  For the longest time, we couldn't see anything--some folks concluded the leopard wasn't even in the cage.  Fortunately, I used my tracking skills, honed by 18 years in the military, and located the beast.  Despite the photographic evidence, Nana still couldn't see the leopard.  Those spots do work.

The tiger was very active, probably because he lives right next to the eatery.  I could smell the food cooking, so I can only imagine what the tiger must think.  Thank heavens this fence was between us, or I would have been his lunch.

No trip to the zoo is complete without a ride on the carousel.  We need to time this better, because we always seem to do this after lunch.

We had a lovely time at the zoo.  Afterwards, we treated ourselves with a trip to Jersey Mikes, our favorite sub shop from Dayton that finally has a franchise in Colorado Springs :-)  This past Sunday, I ran the Garden of the Gods 10-mile run, and finished in 71:50.  I ran this same race over 10 years ago.  My time was 79:45.  Thus, every ten years, I drop seven minutes from my time.  Imagine how fast I'll be when I'm 50! Pleasant day to all.

A Week Off

Ashley and I took the week off from work.  Did we do anything exciting and fun?  Depends on your definition of those things.  If by fun you mean "not working your job" then yes, we had loads of fun.  If  by fun you mean some type of exotic vacation, definitely no.  We stayed in Colorado Springs, goofed off, sat around, went to lunch, played with Bode, and a bunch of other odds and ends.  The one thing I failed to do was update the blog, so this post is going to be a smorgasbord of pictures and different events.  First up is a picture of Bode and Harley dog.

Bode's relationship with Harley has really grown.  He's very nice to her, and she seems genuinely excited to see him when we get home from school.  Boy's best friend.  A couple weeks ago, we went out for brunch to the Broadmoor for my 40th birthday (yes, I'm old).  It was a beautiful day, and we got this nice picture of the three of us.

As usual, we ate too much.  Waaay too much.  At my age, I need to start making better decisions about what I eat.  Afterwards, Bode wanted to play in the fountain.  Fortunately, we managed to keep him from diving in.

Bode is in a little soccer group this summer with a gal who lives down the street.  Coach Maran played soccer in college, and she has some fun games for the kids to play.  It's not really soccer--more like fun activities that the kids associate with soccer, meaning when they hear the word soccer, they'll think fun. Or so that's the idea.  Here are some pictures of Bode running around.

Nana and Papa (Ashley's parents) are in Colorado Springs for a few weeks.  We went to the zoo on Monday.  Stay tuned for pictures.

Party and Swimming

Today, Bode attended Abby's birthday party.  Abby is the youngest girl in Bode's preschool class, and according to her parents, is very relieved to finally be five.  The party was held at a local bouncy house store.  The kids were thrilled.  Here are some pictures of Bode doing what he does best.

Bode and I raced through the obstacle course.  He won, although I don't think I tried as hard as I could have.

After some hard playing, it was time for some cupcakes and ice-cream, all with a Mickey Mouse theme.

After stuffing their bellies, we wanted to get a picture.  Unfortunately, as soon as the kids were back in the play area, they all took off on the obstacle course.

We managed to get the herd back together for a nice group photograph.

Bode had a lovely time at Abby's party.  Afterwards, Bode had a swim lesson.  You may recall Bode is a Dolphin (Level 4).  There are eight stickers which he needs to earn to become a Seal.  Before today's lesson, he only had two of them.  He's really starting to do stuff that looks like swimming--moving his arms, sort of breathing on the side, and doing the racing start from the side of the pool.  Of course, he hasn't quite mastered some of the fundamentals.  Here is Miss Jade showing Bode how to best alternate his arms.

Here's a movie of Bode putting together is entire swim arsenal.

After the lesson, Miss Jade said Bode earned three more stickers.  He's up to five on the Dolphin Level--three more and our little guy is a Seal.  Amazing!

Not much else going on today.  I had my 40th birthday and received lots of lovely presents.  Tomorrow, we are going to the Broadmoor for brunch.  Thus, we are fasting until then :-)  Pleasant day.