She did it!

Paige has officially learned how to ride her bike without training wheels! She loves it and we are so proud of her.

After almost all summer of having no peddles on her bike, for balancing purp0ses, Paige said she wanted to put her peddles back on so she could ride her bike. Curtis and I observed her balancing skills as she launched down the driveway into the garage. At this moment she just looked older and so ready to take on this new adventure. Curtis was excited, too, and put those peddles back on. It was off to the park we went! Curtis ran along side Paige barely placing his hand on her back and occasional helping her out. It was a great night of practice!

Early the next morning, Paige was anxious to go out and ride her bike again! Curtis joined in her excitement and off they went. Immediately, Paige took off all on her own. It was an awesome experience for all of us! Here I was out in the street at 7:45 a.m., in my pajamas, taking video of Paige riding her bike. We are all so happy and to accomplish this by the end of summer was even better. It was high on our list of things to accomplish and Paige was happy to check it off the list.

Now, each day we load up our bikes and go down to the levy to ride bikes. It is a great way to spend time as a family!

Summer is coming to an end and ...

we still have fun things to get done.  Where has the summer gone?  It can't be over yet, can it?  In June, I was worried that Paige and I would be bored but that just hasn't happened this summer.  We may have been "too" busy because school starts in two weeks and Paige still does not know how to tie her own shoes and she still does not know how to ride her bike without training wheels.  Those two things were high on my list of things to do this summer.  Oh well, we will get there eventually.  Her fellow classmates and friends can't do one or both of those things either, so I won't worry too much.

Mom, Paige and I just returned from Silverdale, WA.  Just the three of us took a road trip to visit the McMickens, Houns and Aunt Loupy.  It was a great week of relaxation!  Paige hardly paid attention to me as she was so busy hanging out with her 2nd cousins.  One day we took the ferry over to Seattle and met up with my Aunt Loupy and rode The Ducks.  It was a great tour around downtown Seattle and Lake Union.  Later that evening the older boys "kid-sat" the three younger girls while the adults went out to dinner.  The kids did very well on their own.  We have been home for four days and Paige is still telling me little stories here and there about what they did.  One story was about spilling ice cream on Lori's carpet and another was about the smoke alarms going off and the boys hitting the alarms with the broom handle.  It is so funny to listen to her tell her side of the story.  Great memories were made!

Just Because.......

I really love this picture!

This picture was taken up at Winchester Lake

Paige turned 6 years old!

July 15 was Paige's 6th birthday.  Curtis' sister, Heidi, was here for the week and for the third year in a row we went to Silverwood for Paige's actual birthday.  Paige's favorite ride this year wase the Umbrella's.  Not so much "my" favorite!  We spent most our time over at Boulder Beach since it was so hot that day.  Later that evening we took Paige to Red Robin for her birthday dinner.  Red Robin was actually there but Paige would have nothing to do with him.  She was constantly watching for him out of the corner of her eye.

A couple days later, we had a birthday party for Paige at 360 Gymnastics.  A great group of kids came to the party and fun was had by all.  The theme of the party this year was iCarly.  We still can't get over how fast she is growing.  These six years seem to have flown by!

Rock Wall Climbing

This rock climbing wall is 35 ft tall and Paige climbed to the top 4 times. She has such strong arms and legs for a five year old. This wall is man made by Curtis' boss and family. It is amazing! They also have an adult zip line and a kids zip line but Paige came right back to the rock climbing wall. I thought the zip line looked safer but she prefers more of a challenge just like her daddy!

4th of July-McCall

We spent the 4th of July in McCall. The weather was a little cool for this time of year but we still spent lots of time swimming and laying by the pool. Paige was a fish this year! No fear of the water and she learned how to swim and dive with her goggles. Quite an achievement for her! The fireworks show over the Payette Lake was awesome. The last few years we have visited "our" spot, or so we call it, on the end of a dock to watch the show.

Paige took this picture of Curtis and I down by the lake.  I thought she did a great job!

Paige lost her 1st tooth!

On June 30th, Paige lost her 1st tooth! We had a feeling that it would come out while we were on vacation and it did. It had been super wiggly for a couple of days. Her daddy offered to just pull it real quick and she said, "no, I can do it". It wasn't too much longer and she pulled it out all by herself. So much excitement! Paige's next concern was the tooth fairy. How was the tooth fairy going to find her in "McCall"??? Paige decided she didn't want the tooth fairy to take her tooth away so we wrote a letter to the tooth fairy asking her not to take it. When morning came, Paige woke up crying because there was no $ from the tooth fairy. I was a little concerned because I left this job up to Curtis. In the end, we found $ at the bottom of her sleeping bag. Phew!!!