No Fear

We recently got a four wheeler for the kids and it has been so funny to see their differences come out in how they drive. Aidan is very tentative, which reminds me a lot of me. He was actually content to sit atop the four wheeler without moving and watch the traffic in front of our house. When he is driving he is very slow to react. He will run into the garage door or the fence and continue to push the pedal to the floor. Though I am yelling at him to take his foot off of the pedal and back up, he just does not yet understand that he needs to change his action to get unstuck.

Reese on the other hand has almost completely mastered driving in just 2 days! Not only has she mastered driving skills (pulling her foot off of the pedal when she is about to run into something, knowing when to reverse or move forward, turning the handlebars to avoid running into things) she also found that she enjoys going fast! At first she pushed her foot down as hard as she could on the accelerator while saying, "Come on, come on!" Eventually she learned that by simply turning the grip on the handlebar the four wheeler goes faster. She usually does this in the middle of a turn. While I am worrying that she is going to be thrown off of the four wheeler, she screams in delight! I love that she is not afraid to try new things and to take a risk, sometimes I wish that I could be more like her!

Weekend Getaway

Randy and I recently took advantage of an invitation to my cousin's wedding and made it an adults only getaway. Being back to work and away from home 2 nights a week to attend classes, I was really hesitant to take a day away from my precious little time with the kids, but also realize that I need to make more time for Randy and I as a couple. After swim lessons, we grabbed a quick lunch and dropped the kids off with aunt Linda. My guilt was all for naught, because the kids were so excited to play with Linda and Lindsay that they barely had time to say goodbye. Getting back into the car without the kids was weird, but nice at the same time. We actually got to hold an adult conversation without interruption, or worrying what the kids would overhear. Halfway there, Randy realized that he forgot his dress shoes, so we stopped at Kohl's in Coralville and got to experience shopping, completely kid-free! After picking up some shoes, we drove straight to the hotel. The Hawkeyes were playing, so while Randy ran around trying to get the game on- the hotel did not have the right channel- I read a few chapters for my class. We lost track of time and soon my sister was calling to ask where we were. We jumped into the shower and ran out the door to meet up with my siblings for a pre-reception cocktail. By the time we arrived at the reception, most everyone was already seated. Thankfully, mom had gone and saved us a table. We opened the first of many bottles of wine and had a blast catching up and laughing. We stayed through most of the dance and excused ourselves for a little date, going out on the town in Cedar Falls and reminiscing on our college days. The next morning we realized that though it was fun to reminisce, we are definitely not college students any longer. After a quick breakfast, we drove straight to Linda's to pick up the kids. Our absence definitely had an effect on the kids as they were very happy to see us walk in the door! In the end, though I was reluctant to take the time away, I realize that it is necessary for all of us to have that time apart and I am definitely going to try to make it more of a priority!

First Crush

On Sunday we pulled out all of Reese's valentines, which she had already addressed to her classmates in her own handwriting, so that she could decorate them. With all of the valentines spread out in front of her, Reese said, "Where's Andrew's? I want to work on Andrew's first." I immediately asked, "Why do you want to work on Andrew's first?" Reese: "Because Andrew is so cute! I just want to take his picture so that I can hang it in my room and look at it whenever I want!" Me: "Does Andrew think you are cute?" Reese: "No." Me: (muttering under my breath) "Thank goodness!"