No training wheels!

It was a big BIG BIG day around here! Kayla learned to ride her bike without training wheels! Go Kayla! Woooooooohoo!

Okay, summer can officially end now. That was quick. That was easy. There she goes. And that's that.

 We paused during our bike ride to admire a cute little (actually, they're not so little) praying mantis on the side of the street

We had a goal this summer and it was to have Kayla learn to ride her bike without training wheels. She was willing and ready to learn, but to be fair to her, we just didn't commit the time she needed to learn this new skill.  I was not going to put away bikes yet until we put in our time running up and down the street, helping her balance on two wheels. So here we are, summer is gone and fall is here; and I've been feeling bad about not reaching our goal yet. We wanted to pull out bikes next spring and be ready to go with no training wheels!

Fortunately we have had BEAUTIFUL fall weather this past week, including this weekend. I told Kayla 'Today is the day'. She got a wrench off Daddy's workbench and took off her training wheels (she's practiced before), geared up in pads and a helmet, and off we went down the street. After five minutes of me running behind her she asked me to not touch her bike anymore. I took my hands off her bike and haven't touched it since. The rest is history.

Despite this highlight, it has been a very rough weekend for our family. On Thursday, Aaron and I spent the day in the hospital for his hernia surgery. This is an intense, rough, hard surgery and recovery; we were not prepared. Come Saturday, we realized that the over-the-counter medicine we had been giving Kayla for her week-long cough was not working; our trip to the walk-in clinic revealed she had a double ear infection. Whoa, that came out of nowhere! Then we thought that Khloe's similar coughing symptoms might be a sign of the same diagnosis, so on Sunday I went back to the walk-in clinic with Khloe (thankfully there was no ear infection). To sum up, this has not been an enjoyable weekend for anyone: Aaron is immobile and in pain day and night; Kayla and Khloe are fighting terrible allergies, and I spent the last three out of four days in doctor's offices with three different patients. I learned two things this weekend: A) I was not cut-out to be a nurse, and B) I was not cut-out to be a single mom. I have had to play both these roles this weekend, but thank goodness I am neither of these full-time! Please pray for speedy healing and recovery for everyone here! We need our "normal" back!

Soooo, Kayla's accomplishment was a ray of light in our otherwise dark weekend. She literally learned how to ride without training wheels in five minutes with a double ear infection. Aaron and I just stand in the driveway watching her ride back and forth in the street, laughing, amazed, proud.She is allowed to ride to Asia's driveway to the left and down to Sophie's driveway to the right. She seems so big riding independently in the street, yet seeing her ride away from us makes her look so small. It all happened so fast!

Despite the challenges we faced this weekend - and will continue to face this coming week - there are still many things to be thankful for. We are thankful for caring, skilled doctors and nurses, modern medicine, nearby friends and family for hands-on help, warm fall weather, and bikes without training wheels!

We're in awe with you Kayla! Great job!