Saturday, May 07, 2011

Let's call it "Play Day"

Today was a pretty awesome day. I had a family photo shoot this morning so Liam went to play with his friends Jeremy and Ethan around the corner. He had a great time with their family! We then stole Ethan for about 45 minutes to run over to Home Depot and do the Mother's Day workshop. Since we got there so late, they ran out of the tulip planter kits, so they each got to build a sail boat! They were tickled. Ethan told me that he fully expects me to take him to the workshop from now on. I totally agreed that was a good idea!




After the workshop we dropped Ethan off at home and we headed home too. We were hungry so we put some lunch in our bellies and hung out for a bit. I finally got Liam peeled from his Dad's phone (Angry Birds - Rio) and we headed to Lakeshore Learning for their deluxe craft workshop they were hosting. Liam got to do 4 art project stations. He made a funny purse with beads, decals, etc - then he did a painting, then he did a clay-like sculpture of a turtle, then he did a drawing and framed it with orange foam. We love going to their workshops every Saturday! Such a fun store!

After that we came home to see Dad for a bit before his night shift started. I said hi and then proceeded to my comfy bed. I slept for 90 minutes. Very nice.

Liam and I got a few things done around the house. Then I told him my big surprise plan! We were headed to a bike trail! He didn't know what that meant. He was mystified - was it a race? was it a race track? who would win? where is it? is it far?

Much explaining was done after he helped me get the bikes loaded into the Mountaineer. He was so excited, he fell asleep on the way there. Ha!

When we arrived at the Jordan River Parkway, he perked up and helped me get the bikes outside. He was so happy to be there and get going!

So we get on the paved pathway and the first thing we see if the VERY thing he wanted to find. A tunnel!!!! We echoed through there super fast as there was a downward hill into it. So fun! So thrilling for him! (Oh and me too!)

Then we had the first tumble. We were on a boardwalk that was fenced since that section of the pathway trailed through a bog. There was sharp right turn and he was going too fast to handle it. I watched his little body slam left sided into the hefty boards. I was sure he broke his shoulder. He popped up and claimed it was his knee, no crying. Hopped back on his bike with the lesson learned about speeding on corners. Fearless. Pride beamed out of my head, but I still kept close to him and yelped out reminders to break for hills or corners and to stay right for oncoming riders.


It was such a satisfying ride to be out there and see him be free on his bike. No cars to worry about. A beautiful day to enjoy outdoors. Perfect time spent.


We headed back to where we parked the car, but then decided to keep going the other way. It was such a nice ride. I liked seeing this part of Salt Lake City. A very different view - and a very nice one. We rode for awhile and then I finally said it was time to turn around and head back. He agreed and turned around with great agility!

Then we had the second tumble. There were a couple small dogs being walked on the trail. Since Liam had mastered going into the grass and gravel, I told him to do just that to avoid the dogs. Little did we know there was a nice big pot hole in the grass. He tumbled right over his handle bars and literally ate dirt. He popped up to his feet and then realized he was in pain. He had the wind knocked out of him and a few scrapes. I held him and put him on my lap. Before he could even cry I made a comment about those small dogs and how cute they were. He got back up and over to his bike. He told me he almost had cried, but didn't. I sympathized with his pain and reiterated how tough he is. We got back on our bikes like nothing bad had happened.


He helped me load the bikes back in the car. When we got on our way home, he said, "This was the best day I ever had! We need to do this every stay home day!" I thought that was a pretty good idea and said we should try to do that.

After bath, tooth brushing, pajamas, he picked out a book to read and sat on his bed to wait for me. When I went in he said, "Mommy, we should call stay home days 'play days' from now on."

I snuggled him to sleep, but not before a bit of pillow talk about our day.


2 comments:

Anonymous said...

Sounds like you had a fun filled day, Liam is doing super great on his bike, We can't wait to see him,we miss you guys !!!! Give Liam a big hug and tell him we are proud of him. Thank- Liam for the wonderful card. Love you, grandma

utmommy said...

Those workshops are so much fun! Looks like he enjoyed himself!