great weekend

a bike-less weekend
not proud to say it
but is was a bike free weekend
it happens

had an awesome weekend
even without the bike

going into the weekend I knew I was going without the bike
which is far better than going into the weekend thinking you have a ride planned and it ends up not happening
going into the weekend I knew I was booked

friday night in a bar... that does not happen often
then there was yoga of me and for lisa in the morning
there were the requisite dog walks
arrived on time for the mr. mom/coach roll with dean and his four/five year old soccer game
some time in a vaccuum I am at home depot
it is like the twilight zone
dean and I grab some flowers for the back yard... those will be the mother's day flowers
there was a birthday party for my brother's son
it was awesome... some simple theses of pizza and foam swords and cardboard shields for a dozen young knights put me into the roll of Shrek... got my work out getting hit in the head with foam swords
left over pizza for bed then bedtime for everyone

mother's day/my wife's birthday
one of dean's major buddy's dad had a good idea
while drinking one too many drinks at the neighborhood bar this man came up with a kid evacuation for mother's day morning
there was talk of the diner in adams morgan
but my mother babysitting blocked that
instead it was heller's bakery
his kids dig my kids
all the kids dig donuts
this would be easier than corraling cats

the morning stats late
everyone stayed up the late night prior
we all slept till almost 8
be got dressed
after the boys were dressed I had them each give their mother a potted plant
not the plants I would chose for the yard
but dean picked them out at home depot
lisa smiled a wide grin
she even liked the necklace for her birthday from appalacian spring

a morning call for a meeting/departure time
it was cool and nice
all the boys in shorts and sweat shirts
the march was fast
the service was good
has the wisdom of ordering my breakfast sandwiches while the kids roamed and decided what they wanted
donuts and everything was eaten in the Lamont Street Park
everyone was in good control
they were playing well together

the time was getting late
was starting to look like we were going to miss the already bumped back drop off time for the kids at my mother's
but
it is easier to move the kids at their speed
and honestly
we were having a good time
we huddle up
I tell them that I want to play stuck in the mud at the park
that we need to focus and move as a group

the boys all respond
we move down the road
crossing the street like hands across america
moving the sidewalk like parkour course
the boys are treating everything like a balance beam or a jump
I get locked into a game of stuck in the mud
the kids are smiling
I am having a great time as well
even two year old grant is freeing the boys
there is grand interaction across the board

stuck in the mud moves to races
the boys love race
try to stagger things fair
issah and dean are pretty evenly matched
issah may be a tad faster
he is a year older
but dean is much taller
sammy and grant get a ten then a twenty yard each
we have several races
each race taking up a section of the alley walk home
it may take the same time as just walking with meandering and argueing
but this is whole lot of fun
everyone is giggling and smiling
even me

we get home and try to organize things as fast as we
things with a two year old and a four year old are not always that fast
dean has taken off his shoes and his sweat shirt
that is the way things go
I try to get him to get it all back together
these things take time
these things can be frustrating
but he needs to do these things himself

late
we finally get things to my mom's
she is excited to see the boys
she is sweet to let us be so late
she is excited to see the boys and she is excited to give me and lisa a moment to be alone
she is sweet to think of us
lisa and I head to great falls on the maryland side to hike with the dogs

we shoot for Falls road
lisa is worried about the time and wants start more directly on the billy goat
we go to the lower parking lot at old angler's inn
not sure what the dogs remember
but the dogs have been going here
I have been going here many times a year for almost thirty years
the dogs have been going here many times a year for each of their nine years
more times in the years before kids
it was an awesome hike
we took it at a healthy rate
we worked some alternate paths
we worked some less traveled sections

on the way back we got some subs
starved for food and for time we at our fresh steak and cheese subs while rolling to my mom's
the boys had as much fun as grandma's
the day became more standard from that point on through the day
mother's day became a regular day
but it was still a pretty great day just the same

just watched the Sopranos while reading some blogs
thank goodness for DVR
as the dean was not ready to sleep by 9
while napless grant went down with no issue

let me list some of the blogs I went to tonight

http://arsbars.com/

http://blacksheepcycles.com/
http://conversationswithmud.blogspot.com/
http://www.dcmtb.com/blog/archives/78
mother's day marla
http://raisindetra.blogspot.com/
http://timmyp.typepad.com/singlespeed_dream/
http://bikenerd.blogspot.com/
http://www.notfortourists.com/

time for bed