12 Miles

I decided to turn a new leaf on Saturdays. I spend almost every Saturday, cursing Saturdays. Jeremy is studying, we have soccer games, and spend the rest of the day doing chores. (each child is assigned as many little jobs as they are old) So I spend the day helping Oly do her 5, Addie do her 7, and Naomi do her 2, (as well as my 31, and Jer's 32 jobs!) And of course I NEVER EVER get it all done, and its only fun when the kids are happy to do thier jobs quickly and painlessly. And I am always so disappointed that we aren't out being the outdoorsy, adventurous family everyone thinks we are but we really aren't. So, for now, I decided to try and do jobs another day (we'll figure out which day later), and spend Saturdays doing something new or fun as a family. So today we planned on going on a bike ride with Mimi and Papa (Jer's parents). All I knew was that it was flat, and beautiful. Something new?- yep, we'll do it! SOOOOOOOOOOO, to make a very long bike ride short, I started the day by crying because Jer is out of town and I don't (didn't) know how to change a flat tire, or hook up our bike rack. (learned how, got it done), Then before we even started riding Olivia was throwing one of the biggest tantrums of the year because she didn't like the helmet I brought for her. She uses the excuse that it hurts her. It may hurt her, but she uses it so much, and for everything, that I can't tell if it really hurts, or if she is using the tactic to win her battles...I won that battle.... back to the story. So by the time we had gone 2 painful miles down the Union Pacific Trail from Kamas to Wanship, Larry (papa) said, "we've already gone 2 miles- only 10 more to go!" Needless to say, that was a huge slap in the face- I had no idea that ride was 12 miles! I am not sure that my patience would last 10 more miles. It wasn't a hard ride, Adeline rode in front of the family the entire way "blazing the trail". It was a beautiful fall day. The scenery was lovely. We watched a cowboy herding his cows, we counted snake holes, watched migrating birds, and looked for trolls under every bridge we crossed. BUT, boy was it a challenge for little Olivia. Everything itched, she was so tired she couldn't keep her eyes open, she was so hungry she couldn't go on (she was holding a bag of m&ms so don't think she was starving), but if I said, "ok, lets stop and rest" she'd bark "stop trying to make me stop! You're going to make me fall over! We have to keep going..." For 12 MILES! But guess what? She did it! and Addie did it! and I'll bet that neither of them thought they could! And they were both so proud of themselves as they finished the ride. Jer's grandparents took our cars and drove them to the end, and we ate lunch (OK dinner by then) at the Spring Chicken Inn in Wanship. I am SOoooooooo proud of my girls! They are AMAZING, STRONG, and can do anything! I don't know why, but it thrills me to have them discover that about themselves despite the pain they put me through to do it. I must be a glutton for punishment!
then we went home and went to a ward halloween trunk or treat party and had lots of fun, but I didn't take any pictures all day because first- I had no idea what i was getting into on the bike ride and came very unprepared, and because we cram our days so full that we were late getting to the party! So ill be sure to take pics of the kids on Halloween in thier cute costumes!

So, the big question is- what's should we try next Saturday? Any ideas???

disclaimer: making your kids ride long distances really isn't child abuse- the pioneers made thier kids walk and walk and walk and walk AND walk- and think how strong they were. It REALLY wasn't a hard ride! And there really only was one kid making it painful, the older was a superstar champion bike rider and tree climber every time she saw a good one, and the smallest girl was with her other gramma trick-or-treating at the zoo!