My Little Bike Riders

Here are the boys with their new bicycles. Dylan loves to ride around and around the driveway. He toook right off on his. Chris started out not quite getting the hang of how to keep it going forward. He kept putting on the brakes, then getting frustrated. He also couldn't figure out the turning. So he would just drag his foot and bale off, push it backward up to the house, and try again.

Saturday, Mark taught Dylan how to ride without the training wheels already. He's only 5! He would run along beside him in this big circle on the level part of our drive. It nearly wore Mark out! It wasn't long until he was doing it all by himself. At first Dylan would only go in a circle clockwise and he really had to concentrate. After while, he got to feeling pretty confident, and he said, "I'm going to try it with my eyes closed." Mark said, "Oh, no you're not!!" :) In order to stop, he would drive off into the grass and just fall off. When I went out to watch, he came running over to me and said, "Vovo Sheryl! I fell off and hit my elbow, but it didn't hurt because I had my pad on!" Mark drew a big figure-8 in the drive to get him used to going both ways.

I wish I knew how to put videos on here, because now Dylan starts and stops all by himself - looks like he has been riding for years. Chris even has the hang of it now. It will be awhile before he gets rid of the training wheels. You can just tell Dylan has that natural athletic ability. Mark said when Dylan was 3, they were playing soccer on the beach in Brazil, and a couple came along and said they wanted to sign Dylan up right then. :) (Soccer is HUGE in Brazil!) Guy said he couldn't out-kick him when they were kicking the soccer ball in the backyard Saturday.

I cannot believe this weather here! I know that tomorrow the colder weather is coming, but I think this is the latest I can remember since moving here that winter has been so delayed. OK, I know I should knock on wood, because we will probably really get it before spring arrives, but I tell you, I love this shirt-sleeve weather in January!!

My first week of school went pretty well, other than a standardized nutrition test, that was to be given on Thursday, did not arrive. They even sent two sets, and I didn't get either one. I've been given permission to be on campus for only the time I'm in class. The rest of the time I spend at a public library three miles from the campus to work on the pediatric content of my course. It is a fairly new library. They have wifi access, so I take my labtop and my books and get a lot done. They even have a little private sound-proof room that has an easy chair with a rotating laptop desk attached to it. Boy, that's the life! I'm going to like it there!