Day 63

Mon nouveau vélo.

Friday brought with it Mom's triumphant return . . . and early in the day too.  This early appearance made it possible to gather our flock and get out of the house for a spell.  We decided it was time to outfit our eldest with a new bicycle.  We brought his from home, but it is still just a bit too large for him despite the hacksaw modification his old man did on the seat post.  Over the course of the past two days, I have managed to finish some of the much needed home renovation projects around Madame Chabou's echoppe and things are now nearing completion.  I am very thankful as this will allow even more time to study the language and attend to other matters that are far more entertaining.

We had a quick lunch and then headed out for some retail therapy.  We went directly to the sporting goods store we have grown to love and bought a shiny new steed for our first born.  It is a nice lime green affair with a minimalist flair that I appreciate.  No un-necessary decals, just the basics.  To be honest, I was somewhat surprised by his pick, but since he is at that age that he still wants to be like his dad I suppose the decision was fitting.  With the bicycle loaded into the Jetson wagon we headed over to a local clothing outlet with reasonable prices to stock up on some summer clothes.  Again, the eldest benefited from this outing much more than the rest and is fully stocked in summer kit with a French flair.  The fit of their clothes is quite different and if the blonde hair and blue eyes don't give him away as a foreigner, his prior mode of dress certainly would.  With that issue resolved, we decided to take the newly acquired btwins out for a spin in the park.  The weather was fantastic for a ride and the clip the boys could muster kept mom and dad at a brisk walk.  It was nice to share one of these experiences with mom since she is usually absent from these outings.

With the boys sufficiently worn out, we headed back home for the evening.  I am pleased to say that the cycling bug seems to have bitten my youngsters and they seize every opportunity to go for a ride.  This is a treat that we don't enjoy at home on the gravel country roads of eastern kansas.  I don't think that this is a fact that is lost on the boys, which may make their enjoyment of this activity even more grand.  In fact, the eldest now requests to take his bike EVERYWHERE.  To cap the evening, mom ran to the store while I tended to said youngens.  The eldest demanded to go to the store with mom, which as we all know is not a child's favorite activity,  just so he could squeeze out a few more minutes of pedal time.  With mom now being the only member of our squad without a bicycle, the hunt is on.  The wife is not as keen on the sport and would not shell out quite as much money as I would on such and endeavor, so we are bargain hunting.  I will keep you posted on what we find.

Take care for now.  I will update again later as the weekend with the wife home has put time at a premium and I find myself once again a day or two behind.