On Friday, our family was able to take our kayaks out on the Salt River with another family from our church (they brought their two kayaks along). First, my husband and his friend went with our two oldest sons, while us ladies stayed behind to watch the younger children. About an hour later, we traded off farther down the river and my friend and I went with just Solomon while the men stayed behind watching the kids. It was absolutely lovely! We saw a lot of native wildlife, including herons and other amazing birds, a young bald-headed eagle with a fish in its claws heading back to its nest in a rock outcropping, and a coyote that was not acting as shy as we would have liked it to - thankfully, we were on the river and the coyote was on the shore. In the past, we have also seen huge wild horses drinking in the river, but this time we didn't.
We met up with our families about an hour and half later down the river, where we took the kayaks out and headed home. Since we had met at the river before 8 am, we were home again by noon and still had lots of time left to enjoy the day.
The boys spent several hours playing outdoors in the yard and pool. In the evening, I went to the bike store and picked up my bike that had been out of commission needing new tires, inner tubes, and the brakes fixed. I was so glad to finally have it in working condition again! Before it got dark, I was able to drive it through our subdivision for a half hour. As I did so, I found some cards lying in the street. They turned out to be bank/credit cards, as well as an ID card with an address on it, so I returned them to the owner. They were thrilled and wanted to know if I had found the whole wallet. I told them I hadn't, but drove back to show them where I had found the cards. As we stood there, I spotted where the wallet had been tossed into a nearby front yard, with the contents spilling out of it. It appeared there was still cash left in the wallet, so hopefully nothing important had been stolen. The people were really happy, and so was I.
Saturday was mostly a day of getting caught up around the house while my husband worked all day, although I did take my bike for a 4-mile trip around our neighborhood in the evening.
Sunday was busy as usual with two church services, as well as a going-away party and a baptism after the evening service. It was late by the time everyone had left our house (we baptize in our pool) and the kids were all in bed. The night was absolutely beautiful because it was cool and breezy, which is unusual for this time of year.
Yesterday, Monday (Memorial Day) was a GREAT day, partly due to the fact that we still had mild weather and were able to spend much time outdoors.
In the morning, the temperature was somewhere in the high 60s when I got up around 7 (I slept in - HA!). My husband said he would feed everyone breakfast and hold down the fort so I could go off bike riding in the cool morning breeze. The boys really wanted to come along on their bikes, so I agreed. Because I will not allow them to ride even on the side walk next to the busy streets where we live, we loaded our bikes into the back of the van and drove a couple of miles down to a park that is adjacent to one of Tempe's many bike trails - trails that are open only to non-motorized vehicles.
I had never been on these trails before, and oh, was I in for a pleasant surprise! Riding next to the canals gave us a nice, beach-like breeze. The pavement was immaculately smooth, the terrain was flat, and we just kept going. After three miles of winding through parks and along golf courses, enjoying the smells of desert vegetation and freshly-mowed grass, we turned around to go back because I knew Annie cannot be left for more than an hour and a half. She is still exclusively breastfed. In all, the four of us effortlessly rode 6 miles in about one hour.
We got home just in time for my husband to leave for his kickboxing class, something he has been enjoying tremendously. By lunchtime, the boys had folded all the laundry that needed to be folded and put it away while the girls played in their newly rearranged bedroom, which is now a miniature "house" for them complete with a baby crib, kiddie kitchen, shopping cart, and toy cleaning supplies.
While the kids were busy, I was looking on craigslist for a new bike for Solomon. During our ride in the morning, I noticed that his 20" bike was getting really small on him. The back wheel was also bent out of shape from a recent collision with one of his brothers, and the tire (outer tube) itself was so worn it needed to be replaced. I was able to find a really nice, like-new 21-speed aluminum-frame bike for him for ridiculously cheap. I made arrangements to pick it up in the afternoon because I was hoping we would all be able to go bike riding as a family at night.
We had BBQ pork ribs and potato wedges for lunch. Afterward, my husband left to go soulwinning for a few hours while the girls napped and the boys enjoyed some quiet time reading and coloring. I cleaned the kitchen and the van, and started on dinner. After the girls woke up we went to pick up Solomon's bike, and I finished making dinner - a copycat version of Island's Yaki Tacos, a family favorite. My husband fed and watched the kids while I went out soulwinnig for an hour myself in the evening.
As soon as I got home, we packed up the van with our bikes once more, because Solomon wanted to try his new bike and I wanted to show my husband the awesome bike trails. He is going to have to work like crazy all June, so this was our last chance to get family time this week. Since we do not have a bike trailer or a baby bike seat, my husband rode his bike with the three boys, while I pushed the stroller with Becky and Anna in it on my roller skates and Miriam rode her little bike beside me. Boy, what a workout that was! The tires on my skates did not spin easily at all, so it took a lot of effort - I definitely got a good workout!
Today, Tuesday, we went to the dentist for some work on Isaac and myself, and for Miriam's checkup. It went as well as can be expected. Miriam was so proud of herself. She told me the ingredients in the paste they used to clean her teeth: cantaloupe, cheese, lemon juice, onions, garlic, spicy bell pepper, and "numb" - but she assured me that there was NO fluoride in it!
Later we stopped by the bank, where Isaac found a $20 bill lying in the bushes outside. To say he was thrilled would be an understatement! He had given his last penny to help pay for the kids' kayak (which, in the end, was 100% paid for between the three boys), and he really badly wants to be able to buy a fishing rod before we go camping this summer. Lest anyone get all worked up again, rest assured that we asked if anyone had reported losing a $20 bill as soon as we got into the bank, but nobody had. They have our contact info just in case, but it looks like the money is Isaac's to keep.
Later we stopped by the bank, where Isaac found a $20 bill lying in the bushes outside. To say he was thrilled would be an understatement! He had given his last penny to help pay for the kids' kayak (which, in the end, was 100% paid for between the three boys), and he really badly wants to be able to buy a fishing rod before we go camping this summer. Lest anyone get all worked up again, rest assured that we asked if anyone had reported losing a $20 bill as soon as we got into the bank, but nobody had. They have our contact info just in case, but it looks like the money is Isaac's to keep.
After lunch, we did some school work while the girls napped, and right now they are all playing outside in the still unusually cool weather. Wow, this global warming is great! :)
Not much else left to do today other than running some errands, going to the library, and making dinner. I am hoping to finish answering the remaining questions on the Q&A this week. Sorry for the lack of photos in this post, hopefully I'll get a chance to post some later this week. I also have a little gem for all those precious people at Fundamental Forums, Sweeping the Cobwebs, Free Jinger, and whatever other little gossip/slander/envy outlets there are. No, really, you will like this one! We'll see when I get around to that.
And oh, I won a giveaway last week! Which reminds me, it is not too late to enter THIS giveaway on the blog of a precious lady from Ireland that I tremendously enjoy reading. You can win the latest Duggar book, due for release in a few days.
Have a great week, everyone!