First, Marci finally got her special night at Gramma's. To say she was excited would be an understatement for sure! She had a great time, and when we picked her up on Saturday I was startled to discover how much older she seemed. Our baby is growing up!
Osten has been quite the little bike rider lately, and he and I had some rare time together Friday afternoon. He wanted to go for a bike ride and so I slipped on my running shoes figuring we would do he usual one-mile route. Au contraire! He made it all the way around the 2.4-mile loop near our house with me trailing behind trying to catch my breath. He really pedaled his little heart out, and I swear I could see the smile on his face as I struggled to keep his helmet head in sight!
Saturday morning, we took Osten to a 5K at his school. He ran in the 1/4-mile kiddie fun run around the school track, and then he astounded us by doing the 5K with us! He ran about the first mile and then we alternated running and walking to the finish line. Other than about a two-block piggy back ride on Daddy's back, he was right in stride with us the whole time. And he gave it his all to sprint across the finish line at just over 48:00. We celebrated with breakfast for three at one of his favorite establishments, Waffle House. It just so happened that there were three stools at the bar, so it was an added bonus to be able to watch the cooks as we waited on our food. Osten was especially entertained by an egg that dropped from a basket overhead and cracked onto the griddle. I hope he never loses his ability to find amusement in the little things!
We ended the day with a long-overdue family movie night with all four of us sandwiched on the pullout couch in the bonus room.
After church on Sunday, we played basketball in the driveway and ate club sandwiches complete with leftover turkey bacon from breakfast ~ a haphazardly discovered new Sunday tradition! Osten was adamant about another bike ride, and we decided to divide and conquer the afternoon. Daddy and Marci took a golf cart ride to the grocery store for a few missing necessities for dinner, and Osten and I set off on our bikes. I let him pick the route, and he chose the 3-mile ride to the playground. I was skeptical, but we gave it a try. Although the route is cart path the whole way, there are a few busy intersections that were a little nerve-racking. In typical Osten fashion, he quickly adjusted to our safety routine, and we were navigating intersections and taking turns giving the "all clear" in no time! We got the playground, and he surprised me again by doing the monkey bars all by himself, a feat he's been working on pretty much since he recovered from breaking his arm on the monkey bars three years ago. We ran into one of his buddies on the adjacent basketball court, and the two of them played a few games of P-I-G as I sat and watched. I think he would have played until sundown, but since we had another 3-mile bike ride home ahead of us, I had to cut his playtime short. The ride home was even more fun than the ride to the playground, and he raced into the house to share the news of his accomplishments with his Dad and sister.
Good times!!
