Bike:

Readathon

I heard about Amulet on NPR books but it wasn't until I read the reviews that I thought Tanner would like them. So, I immediately purchased all four books for him. I love Amazon.

The best part was the night he finished reading the first book.

He slowly closed the book.

Flipped Amulet over and looked at the cover.

After a few minuets of looking at the cover, he gently ran his hand over it.

Then while holding the book with both hands he gave a big sigh and said,

"That, was a good book."

Yup. Definitely the best part.

Tanner invited his friend over for a readathon. This did not last long but the effort was noted. Soon they were back to being normal little boys. Running around shooting things and making ruckus.

Climb on

We have not been climbing outdoors too much this year; Nate's schedule limits his time to go out, I would rather mountain bike, Casi is a busy Teenager, and Tanner does not climb. Somehow we managed a trip last weekend. Here is our day in bullet point form and iphone pictures.

• When your "I don't climb" kid says "I want to climb at Dogwood", you don't ask questions. You just go. 
• We should always bring snacks when we climb. 
• We were all hungry and irritable post climb. 
• Tanner would only go about 10 feet up the rock
• So Nate bribed him with gum and skittles.
• I did not recognize the power of gum and skittles to an eight year old.
• I loved seeing  my kids climb together.

Casi, having climbed once a week for two years at momentum, is fairly confident with the gear. She hooked Tanner onto the rope and belayed him during his climbs.

I love seeing her confidence and patience with Tanner as he worked out his fears on the rock.

I have video of them climbing together but I am having technical difficulties with the recorder and the download process.

Hmmm, maybe I will post it later. yea. MmKay!

Things I over heard: I am concerned for your safety

I would guess that this is going to be a little controversial and I may even get a few negative comments (Disclaimer: This is NOT about LGBT rights) but I have to post it because, I think there is a lesson in it. Besides I took pictures with my new iphone app and I think they turned out pretty awesome. So here is the story:

The kids and I went roller bladding and scootering at the Jordan River parkway (JRP) a few Saturdays ago. We decided to go while Nate was sleeping. He is still working nights, leaving us with another reason to leave the house on weekend mornings.

Casi and I skated while holding hands. (Love this)

We were having a great time with each other. Laughing, talking, chasing each other and all that stuff that comes with such activities. Of course, Tanner is spending most of his time jumping off of any bump in the trail. He rides without a care (for anyone or his own safety) When, Casi falls.

She gets up with a smile on her face and continues on. 

A few minuets later, a stranger comes up and starts to berate Casi and I with information regarding wrist guards, knee guards and helmets. "They can prevent scrapes." he says.

Side Rant 1: Scrapes? When have we EVER been worried about scrapes?

He continues on. Giving us lots of things to consider for the rest of the day and ending the conversation with “I am concerned with your safety.” 

Side rant 2: OMG! Really? I can see how I am living a dangerous life without wrist supports. Golly gee, I hope he has arch supports in his walking shoes. Can you imagine the possible feet problems he can develop if he does not? (sorry, I just had to let that out.)

Casi and I responded through out the conversation with confused looks uncomfortable laughter.

Now, the thing I have not told you is that as we were leaving for JRP Tanner tried to load Casi and my helmets*  ** and I told him not to. I did not think what Casi and I were doing required a helmet. Of course, this means I was taking some level of risk with Casi's head and my head. Although, it was a very, very, very small level of risk I will admit it  was there. I then told Tanner he would need his helmet. Knowing how he rides and his lack of attention of his surroundings.***
*This means that my kid is trained to wear a helmet and sees them as standard, necessary gear when riding wheeled items.
** I would never consider knee pads for the JRP unless my child was very young. In a fall on rough surfaces it can cause the person to stop too fast and slam their face into the concrete. Knee pads should be reserved for the very young and for smooth surfaces (such as skateboard parks, skate rings, and half pipes) where you can use the knee pads for sliding in a fall. 
***He ran 3 people off the trail and almost collided with one attentive (thankfully) bike rider. 

Some time later, before we pass this nosy stranger a second time, Casi feels weird and wonders what to say. I respond “You should tell him that his hair style is outdated and you are concerned with his social standing.”  She giggles because he sports the long wavy 80's hair that strangely match the Standard poodles he is walking. Then, more seriously I say “You did nothing wrong and it's just his opinion. We have our own feelings about the subject. I would say nothing.”

Of course, Casi and I discussed this issue the remaining time at the park. “I wish I would have said something when he said that." she says.

“Why?" I respond. "What you said was perfect." 

After our trip down the Jordan River parkway, Tanner and I raced down a short hill.
Tanner said "I think Mini Man would like this!" and sat down on his scooter.
"MiniMan"is what he calls his alter ego; the sitting Tanner.

Me racing down the hill. Being helmetless never felt so good!

So I have two questions on this:

1) Are we so trained as a society, that we can not allow others to evaluate their own risk?

2) What things do you feel so strongly about that you feel the need to share your thoughts to a perfect stranger? 

My list of things I feel so strongly about that I (may) feel the need to share them:

1) LGBT rights. J