Sam and I hiked his bike into the woods on a mountain biking trail (Ben was in my pack) to take training wheels off and coast back down the trail. It was pretty muddy, and the further we got the more ravenous the mosquitoes were! Sam and I have been talking about mountain biking like the big boys and even found a new trail really close to us with jumps and stuff. We got to see some big boys do the jumps the other day. Sam is so jazzed to learn how to ride without training wheels just like the big guys. So I figured, why not on a mountain bike trail, where wiping out is part of the thrill!? I packed in a wrench today and Sam said, ok let’s do it! So we did. He did really great! I helped a lot (no easy feat with Ben on my back and mud underfoot!). Sometimes he was swatting at mosquitoes instead of holding onto the handlebars, and other times Ben was reaching down and grabbing Sam’s helmet just as I’m saying “don’t lean!” It only gets easier from here, though! ha! We had a fantastic time and celebrated out at Sam’s favorite place, Zia’s. (Dave is working swings this weekend so this was a totally unauthorized outing.) Sam was really pumped up for himself – he did, indeed, bike a bit on his own. He gave me big high-fives when he did it, and felt the thrill of success. When we do what normal parents do and try it on a grassy field, maybe it will seem less daunting 🙂 I was just thrilled for him. What a guy. We were covered in mud going to Zia’s, walking through a bunch of people doing a wine tasting, but they are very good folks there and totally understood the big occasion. When I asked him to show the waitress his legs and say what he’d just done, he was quiet, focused on the maze he was completing on the kids’ menu. So later I asked why he wasn’t talking about his big feat and he said “I’m…just…THINKable.” I asked what that meant – he said something about just wanting to think about it. I understand…he doesn’t want to be a spectacle and would want to quietly relish the victory, just like Daddy would. UNTIL, that is, we descended upon Gramma’s house to sneak up on her and stomp around dropping mud all over…Thankfully she and Richard enjoyed that very much! Sam cut loose and told Gramma all about the big expedition then…