An Errand

Today Gabriel is home from school and we needed to return a movie we had rented, but instead of driving he wanted to ride bikes to the store.  So we set out on our long ride.  What a gorgeous semi-overcast day.  Jojo, who neither has a good bike for longer rides nor the stamina, had to ride in the bicycle seat.  As you can see, he was not so thrilled.

We stopped at a little playground along the way. 

I was relieved because we were almost to the traffic light where the store is located.  Gabriel did a fine job following me and stopping at intersections and cross streets.  As we were preparing to walk our bicycles across a busy street two cars cut us off, so Gaby learned why we need to walk - not ride- across busy intersections. 

Then we hoofed it home, but I needed to stop to figure out the gears on the bike.  Finally, I removed the cute little basket on the front to fix the problem, but lost my balance and down went the bike and Jojo in a slow free fall as I tried to hold the now detached basket and bicycle with him in it.  Jojo learned why he needs to wear his seatbelt at all times, and I learned that the kickstand is not very reliable when anyone is sitting in the attached child seat.

Gaby said, "Watch, Mommy!" He tried to 'pop a wheelie', and his next trick was to ride with one hand. He really likes his bicycle.  Both he and Christian want skateboards, but I'm not as worried about Christian riding because he's more cautious. 

Then we got home an hour later and we had a nice lunch.  The route we took must be around three or four miles, and I was impressed that Gaby kept up.

After lunch, Jojo went outside for awhile to ride his bicycle.  He informed me that he told some barking dogs to "shut it down".  He must've heard that phrase from his friend, the dogs' owner.  For some reason "keep it down", which I say about 20 times a day around here, hasn't resonated with him.