Learning The Value of $$$

Late last fall, Lauryn decided that she wanted a new bike. I told her that unless it was a gift for Chirstmas or her birthday, I was not going to just buy her a new bike. But, I did make a deal with her. If she would earn half of the money to buy the bike she picked out, mom and dad would pay the other half. She started her bike fund then. But she wasn't too serious about it. All through the winter, especially during the holidays she would spend a little here and a little there. This spring Lauryn was finally confident enough to ride without her training wheels and she really wanted her new bike. It was then that she decided that she was going to be dedicated and earn the money for her bike. A couple of weeks ago, we got a Target add that had a bike she really liked, and attached to the add was a coupon sheet that had a $20 off coupon for bikes. She has been doing jobs for us and for her grandparents and aunts and uncles to earn the money. Yesterday, she finally earned the last of it. With the coupon I had, she had to have $25. I took her to Target and we found the bike she wanted and bought it. We went to the cashier and Lauryn handed her half of the money and I paid the rest. The cashier was so impressed that she had earned that much money and that she was using it to go towards her bike. Lauryn was so happy!! She came home and put on her helmet, and it didn't fit anymore. Brady would not let her ride unless she had a helmet on, so it was back to the store for me to get a helmet that would fit. After waiting and waiting for me to get back, she was more than excited to ride around on her new bike. We spent family night out fixing and riding bikes. It was a fun night. Lauryn is doing a great job riding her bike, and is so excited to have a nice new "girly" bike!

Katelyn has practiced at her cousins house and was doing pretty good without training wheels so Brady took hers off her bike. As soon as they were off, all of the sudden, she "couldn't" ride anymore. She was just a little nervous, so Brady put them back on. But I told her that we are taking them back off. They are bent and don't fit so well and when she is riding with them, she is leaning sideways and looks like she is going to tip over. They don't really do any good anyway, so they are coming back off.

Dylan was so excited to ride his new bike. He got his helmet on and his knee and elbow pads on and he was ready! But, his tires needed air and the pump that I had just bought a couple of weeks ago was useless. So as I was getting Lauryn's helmet, I was exchanging the pump so Dylan's tires could be inflated. So he also had to wait and wait. Once it was all ready, he could not wait to take off and ride. He was kind of surprised when he tried to peddle and his little legs aren't quite strong enough. Brady and I both worked with him to teach him how to peddle and after an hour or so, he was finally figuring it out. He told me that he had so much fun! He can't wait to get out and ride some more.

Megan got Lauryn's old helmet and put it on. It cracked me up. I guess she figured the rest of the kids had one, she needed one too. She loves to scoot herself around on her little 3 wheeler. She doesn't use the peddles, she uses her feet like the Flintstones. She was so cute cruising up and down the driveway. Luckily for her we live in a cul-de-sac so I don't mind if she goes out into the street as long as an adult is out there with her. She loves riding around!

And little Jaxon, he just sat on his blanket and watched everyone. He was perfectly content to play with my camera case and laugh. I don't know if he was laughing at the kids or the wind or what, but he was entertained by something!

We had a great time out playing with the kids!! It reminds me of my summers as a kid and all the time I spent bike riding and playing outside. I am so happy for summer to start and to be able to have a lot of fun times like tonight with the kids!