Wheelathon--Will Desert Boy Make It All Eight Miles?

 On Wednesday, the local schools held an annual fundraiser called Wheelathon. The Kindergarten through second grade kids ride eight miles, and the third through sixth graders ride sixteen miles. I had called the elementary school teacher to make sure it was okay for Desert Boy to ride, and she invited us to come to her classroom a little early. We took Ernesto and his mom, too, and the preschoolers had a fun glimpse of what school will be like next year.

Finally it was time to start. The kids all got on their bicycles.

 Then we had to take a couple photos.

 These girls don't seem to sure that this will really be a fun event. But the wind was at our backs and we had a slight downhill, so I was feeling optimistic, despite the overcast skies.

 Getting into position!

 Some of the kids were so ready to go!

 And then we were off! I was really wondering if Desert Boy would be able to make it the whole eight miles. There is a snack stop every mile, where all the kids stop and eat and drink and wait for the entire group to arrive. I knew that would be a big motivator.

But I also knew that we took the training wheels off Desert Boy's bike only about a month and a half ago. He's been riding okay, but not super. He often would get distracted and crash. And he didn't know how to start very well by himself. And he kept begging to have the training wheels put back on.

I had talked Chandra, who has four athletic kids, and she advised me to bring the training wheels, but see if he could do it without. "He can learn to ride in eight miles," she said.

I liked that advice, so we went with it!

Desert Boy made the first mile just fine.

 After snacks, we got back on and rode some more. Desert Boy wasn't fast, but he kept pedaling his tiny bike with the 12 inch wheels. That's a lot of pedaling!

 We eventually met up with the older kids coming the other direction. They were riding into the wind first, and it was slowing them down a lot. We all assured them that riding the direction we were going was really nice, and they would have an easy ride back.

 The bigger kids also had a variety of bike problems. Some of the bikes get taken out of the garage once a year, for the Wheelathon.

 John had volunteered to be a chaperone. He said it was harder riding slow than fast!

 Ernesto did a great job of plugging along. His biggest problem was he got so warm from riding. He took off his sweatshirt but still was so warm.

 Bill and Marj were volunteers manning one of the snack stops. They had a lot of free time to read and relax while they waited for the older kids to get back to them.

 Even though there are mountains around, the road is straight and flat, making it easier to ride. There also are a lack of trees along the route, and no houses or buildings, so restroom stops are nonexistent. Fortunately that didn't turn out to be a big deal.

 As we approached one snack stop, we saw a structure up in the air. It turned out to be an orchard ladder, and we enjoyed some freshly picked peaches.

 The peaches revved up the bicyclists, and they were ready to go again. They had collected pledges for each mile they rode, so they were doing their best for the school.

 Before we took off from the peach stand, I climbed up the ladder to get a fun shot of the riders.

 Desert Boy riding with the teacher. We were a bit of a parade, with the bus and a few vehicles following us.

 Desert Boy showing his determination (and his shoes on the wrong feet, which he would not switch.)

Both Ernesto and Desert Boy made it! Good job preschoolers! They're showing off the marks they got at each mile. They think they are big stuff now.

It was a fun ride, and we're already looking forward to it for next year.

Kid Stories

 Desert Girl's babysitters do amazing things with her hair. She got her first braids and first French braids last week. How cute! She doesn't sit still quite so well for me. I figure a clippie barrette is a good effort on my part.

So why is Desert Girl so upset? And what is she holding in her hands? And why is her mouth smeared with chocolate?

Ah, well we were trying to find fun zucchini recipes, and I found a zucchini-chocolate chip muffin recipe. The kids helped me make them, and I put the pans on the counter to cool off. We got busy doing other things, and the next thing I know, Desert Girl is walking into the living room with muffins clutched in her hands, leaving a trail of crumbs.

I wasn't so upset that she was eating them, it was the trail of crumbs I didn't like! So I promptly set her outside and started cleaning up the kitchen, where I found that she had pulled the entire muffin tray onto the floor and most of the muffins were lying upside down.

The next thing I hear is Desert Girl bawling outside. I go and look and find that she is extremely distraught that Henry has been helping her eat the muffins. She doesn't want to share!

One more quick story, before I forget it:

One evening we were driving home and saw a beautiful  rainbow, ending in one of our fields. Desert Boy noted it.

He said, "Mom, see that rainbow?"

I answered yes.

He said, "Do you know"

And before he finished, I was already grinning, expecting him to say, "where it ends?"

I should know better than to try and outguess a 4-year old.


Instead he finished with, "how to climb up the rainbow?"

Help, please!

Mud and Dancing in the Backyard

We had a wonderful weekend getaway, off to the Midwest for my youngest brother's wedding. Now we're back, enjoying the end of our desert summer. That means lots of outside time.

And playing in mud.

Desert Boy asked me so politely, "Mom, may I play in the mud, please?"

Of course I had to say yes.

Then he went on to other activities, and Desert Girl took her turn in the mud.

Here's a little video of some of the backyard fun:

Caption Ideas?

This is what Desert Boy chose to wear one day this week. I didn't know what to say. I'm not sure he did either. I think he has on two different shoes because he couldn't find two of the same kind, but I'm not totally sure. His clothes are on backwards more than frontwards, but somehow he managed to get the shorts on sideways. And he really likes to dress up, hence the turtle tie.

If you have any insights into four-year old thinking, please share!

Tree House Expansion

 The tree house is looking splendid now that the leaves have sprouted, and Desert Boy spends more and more time there. He takes his honored guests to the tree house to hang out, and some of those honored guests have left their mark.

 Ernesto was one of the recent visitors, and I snuck in through the back to see what the boys were doing.

 You see, not only is there a back fire escape (which requires crawling), but there's also the new tire room, complete with balancing boards.

 It provides lots of fun, plus it's nice and shady.

 Desert Girl isn't about to be left out! She can climb into the tree house all by herself. She still has to learn to get down, but that doesn't seem to bother her much.

 Ernesto coming in from the back fire escape.

 Ernesto wanted to work on the tree house, too, so we found a hammer and nails and he started hammering away.

 He might need a little more practice. But at least no one went home with bruised fingers!

 Construction activities were monitored by Desert Girl.

And sometimes she stole the nails.

 Desert Boy decided to hang a horseshoe on the nail. When I told him that he should hang it the other direction for good luck, he told me,


"No, this is the way I want it."

He can be opinionated like that. After all, we should keep in mind what else he has said:

"I'm four, and I know everything."


Sometimes I find that it's very hard to keep from laughing.

Meanwhile, Desert Girl is getting on the talking wagon. Her favorite words are apple, cow, moo, cat, meow, dog, agua, uh-oh, oops, and mama. She's getting better at imitating words and phrases, so we have to be more careful about what we say. Or maybe we'll just send her out to the tree house to play!

Hanging Like a Monkey

Our tire swing broke, but Desert Boy has been entertained by the rope that had been holding it. Then, one afternoon my husband heard cries of Help! He looked out and saw Desert Boy dangling. He grabbed the camera on the way out to get a photo of a laughing Desert Boy. I guess irrigating boots aren't the best footwear for doing trapeze tricks.

And for another funny picture from the area, check out Your GPS is Wrong!!

Water Troughs and Hay Bales

 My friend Andrea and her family are visiting, and they had a special request to go down and see the equipment yard. The kids were in heaven as soon as they got there, quickly scampering over old equipment to test it out and drive to exotic locales. Then they found the old water troughs and started bouncing around.

 The sound was fun, as well as jumping from one to the next.

 Then it was into the back of an old truck for an impromptu dance. Desert Boy and Desert Girl were having a delightful time with their new friends.

 Desert Girl took time out to drive an old bathtub.

 Meanwhile, the older kids were looking for the next fun piece of equipment.

 Before long, they spotted some freshly stacked hay and couldn't resist scampering to the top of it.

 We made it!

 Even Desert Girl had to give it a try.

 Then back to a tractor.

The light was getting dim and it was time to head back. But before we made it to the vehicle, one more challenge remained:

 The stair step pile of hay. Who could resist?
(Okay, I could, but that's because I was wearing shorts and flip flops and knew the scratchy hay would make me itch!)

 Desert Boy saw his friends up on the hay and immediately thought that would be fun to do. The only problem was that he was a little too small to climb up by himself.

 So he enlisted some help. What great teamwork!

 Time to pose for a photo at the top.

 Then time to give a shout and head on down.

Ah, the simple pleasures of life!