The leaves are on the ground and the days are getting shorter, so I decided to use our beautiful Saturday afternoon to finally teach Deacon to ride a two-wheeler. I would have taken care of this milestone sooner, but last year Deacon's bike was snatched off our front lawn by what eye-witnesses described as three teenage girls in a pickup truck. I don't know what game they thought they were playing, but I'm sure it was hilarious.
We managed to find an overlooked Supercycle on our local facebook group for only $15. Deacon washed it and we put air in the tires. Then we loaded all three of the boys' bikes in the truck and went to the Jr High running track, only a couple blocks from where Ella was watching a Studio Ghibli movie marathon at a friend's house.
Deacon had a helmet, and knee and elbow pads, but we forgot to bring gloves, so each time he wiped out, his hands got more and more scraped up. At one point his front tire turned sideways and he flew over the bike, landing on his butt and the back of his helmet at the same time. Despite all of this, he stuck with it and kept getting back on his bike, eventually able to pedal all the way to our improvised finish line (his older brothers waiting to catch him). The fact that his successful run came only minutes after he prayed to ask Heavenly Father for help, makes me even more proud of him.
A while ago I told Heather I wanted to make home made "Earthquake" sundaes, like the ones we had at Swensen's while in Thailand. In preparation for this, Heather would pick up a different flavour of ice cream each time she went out shopping. We couldn't find fancy bowls like the ones used by the shop, but we collected enough supplies to provide the eight different scoops of ice cream required for each Earthquake.
If you're counting, you should note that the small Village container was not included in the sundaes. That is a pint of their Oaxacan Chilli Chocolate ice cream, a personal favorite of Heather's and the best I've ever had. This spicy seasonal flavour has been discontinued for the year and I am anxiously waiting to see if they bring it back next year. If it returns in the summer, this pint will last us only if we don't squander it in a bowl of seven other flavours, whip cream, almonds, maraschino cherries, and chocolate-caramel-strawberry sauces. But if Village doesn't bring it back next year, this pint represents a pitiful stockpile indeed, and I will be faced with some difficult decisions about how to make it last for the remainder of my life - meting out small doses at only the most auspicious of occasions and accomplishments.
Either way, Deacon has already earned a spoonful.
- C
