If You Can't Beat 'Em...

Join 'em! Isn't that how the saying goes? The Lord only knows how I've wrestled with my husband's thrill seeking ways when it comes to his motorcycle. He's tangled with the hard dirt of the motocross track more times than I probably know about and lost every time. Ask him about his femur, the plate and 11 screws in his wrist, his broken nose, etc. But what I do love about him (and always have) is that while he's got his head on straight and is the best provider a girl could ask for, he refuses to grow up. He's nothing but a good time. Bottom line. He's a ton of fun to be around, and it's highly likely you'll never know what you might get into with him. So this past weekend when he asked me if I'd like to go with him to ride with some of his friends I (hesitantly) agreed. But not before we spent a few good hours with the Norton crew when they came up to watch Bethany cheer at a basketball game. The bad part about it is that I took all of two pictures before my camera battery bit the dust...I did, however, come home with a several dozen videos. Jonathan's parents so graciously gave me a Flip Video for Christmas, and when I pulled it out of my purse all the kids went nuts and had to have their turn with it. It's quite hysterical to go back and watch them.

When we got to the motocross track we unloaded Towns' 4-wheeler before we did anything else. There was a wide open field that was waiting to be plowed over! Towns was sweet to let Cate have the first shot at driving. She waited ever so patiently in her hand-me-down moto-x jersey that Mrs. Lucinda gave her...
She wore it for one reason, and one reason alone. She wanted to match her daddy!
The thing about Cate and giving her the first turn to drive is that she pretends like she doesn't hear you telling her to come in and let Towns have a turn...
She'll fake you out like she's doing what you're asking her to do. Then just before she gets to you, she'll turn and head a few hundred yards out. That's when Towns gets irritated at Cate's little game...
You can tell she's none too thrilled!
The girls were super excited that Grandmommy, Pop and Uncle Lance were coming to spend the day with us. We watched J ride while we waited for them to get there...
He rode solo and had the track to himself until the rest of the guys got there...
That also meant that Towns could try it out...
The rest of the afternoon looked like this...
Motorcycles, kids riding their hearts out, and catching up with family and friends. Lots of fun!
J's friend Eric met us and brought his cute little girl Reid with him. Our girls took to her immediately. They sandwiched her right between them and off they went...
Reid has a little motorcycle with training wheels. I've never seen anything like it before, but the funny part is that Eric tied a leash to the back of it so he could keep Reid under control. Lance spent part of the afternoon walking behind the girls because all they wanted to do was ride it...
Once they got confident, they built up their speed and sent J chasing after them...
When they weren't playing with Reid or taking over her motorcycle, they were playing on the jungle gym...
Or their mother...whatever you prefer to call it! That picture pretty much sums up our life day in and day out. I wouldn't have it any other way!
I have to admit that the competitor in me did enjoy watching J ride. Lately I've only seen him on the track alone so it was fun to see him riding with his old friend who has major natural talent...
My dad would die if he knew it, but J even took me for a spin while we were there. He seems to think that motorcycles and 4-wheelers are a one way ticket to your grave. Thankfully, so far it's only caused broken bones and a few tiffs because of them. :) I won't be sporting Fox racing gear any time soon and still have heart palpitations watching J ride, but I'd be lying if I said it wasn't great seeing him in his element. The girls really enjoyed themselves. They thoroughly loved being in a snow-free zone. It was in the mid-50's and they had their shoes off playing in the sand like it was the beach. It's all relative. Right? That kind of weather felt like a heat wave to us. We sure weren't ready to come back to the cold when it was all over with!

But if we must, we must. Monday was a rarity because the girls were out of school. Kidding. It seems like we've been out of school more than we've been in it lately...as in 4 full days of school since Christmas break. All the snow days and holidays don't leave much room for housework, laundry, and working from home. It couldn't wait any longer, though. So I put the girls on the kitchen stools with paint and Q-tips. That was a sure fire way to ensure I'd have a little time to work. Boy, was I right on the money...
At least she thought to get a hand mirror. And that's all I've got to say about that...