Dear Paxton and Ike,

I learned a lot about life from the back seat… of a tandem bicycle.

Ammy was a crazy bicyclist. At one point, she decided to turn our playroom into an extra room to watch TV.  I think it was discussed that it could be a sort of date room, or a room where our friends could hang without being in the way.  The best part was, there was this itty bitty television, but you couldn’t actually see it very well because all of mom’s bikes were hanging from the ceiling in that room.

One of the Christmases I remember the most entailed a bunch of little notes leading your Uncle Logan and I all over our house, through the barns, and culminating with new bikes for each of us. Ammy couldn’t just put a bow on it like any other parent, we had to do things like “Walk backwards 20 steps” and “Face the pond and take 8 strides.”  If I ever do things like that to you, know that I come by it honestly.  Ammy’s dad, your papa, still likes to wrap individual $1 bills in about 6 layers of duct tape.   The apple doesn’t fall far from the tree.

We started small, rides to and from town (about 7 miles one way).  Then we would make this trip to Warrensburg, a nearby town, and back. That was special because there was a little restaurant where we could eat barbecue and drink lemonade.  Then, all of the sudden, we were riding our bikes to school (again, 7 miles away) and being signed up for some longer bike rides, 25 miles here, 50 miles there.  Ammy had a couple road bikes, a mountain bike, and eventually, a tandem.  It was a red Burley tandem, and it was beautiful.  I don’t know how it was decided who got to ride on the back of the tandem, but it was usually me.  Actually, now that I type that, I get it.  Ammy picked the wimp. I would ride on the back of that tandem to school, hop off, put my helmet in my locker, and Ammy would ride it the rest of the way to work, by herself, with those back pedals spinning as if they were being powered by an imaginary person.

We spent a lot of miles on the pavement, dodging willy worms (you know, those fat caterpillars), talking about life, flying down hills and crawling up them.  I thought I was really sneaky, and I would occasionally (ok, all the time) take my feet off the pedals, leaving Ammy to pull our weight by herself.

Eventually we were doing some of the larger, multiple day rides.  PAC-RACC was a three day, 220 mile ride.  That’s a lot of time to spend on a bike, no matter if you are 12 or 32.  Some years it poured, some years it was miserably windy or hot.  We rode on that tandem bicycle with a battery powered radio strapped right behind my seat and a coonskin tail dangling from the antenna.  (Yes, I too am a bit embarrassed reading that back to myself!)  We rode, or at least I did, for the rest stops.  At the rest stops, we would get off the bike, grab a snack, fill up our water bottles, and chat with fellow cyclists.  I still distinctly remember the taste of gatorade coming out of my waterbottle, the smell of my bike gloves after riding all day, and the muscle cramps in my butt while cruising along to some country music.

I learned valuable lessons on the back of that bike, things I couldn’t have learned sitting at home playing video games.  Things like: 1) Once your underwear is wet, you can’t get any wetter (so stop complaining about the fact that it’s raining and we still have 60 miles to ride), 2) you will crash, 3) you better get up and keep going, 4) always wear a helmet, no matter how ‘uncool’ you think it is, 5) don’t get too excited about downhills, there’s bound to be an uphill real soon.

Life right now, as crazy as it sounds with working full time, finishing up my master’s degree, moving into a new house, etc… life right now is a downhill.  I think it’s one of the reasons I haven’t spent much time on this blog, I almost feel guilty talking about things going well.

The month of July was full of many adventures.  Selfishly, I love July because Daddy works at summer school and I get you both all to myself.  I also had a break in grad school classes in July this year, so besides editing thousands of pictures, you had all my attention.

I’ve decided that I want to devote this year to exploring more of the beautiful state we live in.  I’ve always wanted a camper, and I started really laying it on heavy with Daddy.  After all, I’m pretty convincing and I can usually get what I want.  I still don’t have a camper.

On the 4th of July, we went up to Denver to Logan and Kelsey’s house.  There was a small parade in their neighborhood, and then we swam for a bit.  It gets more and more fun each time we get together, watching you two play with Lane.

We tried to time the drive home so that we could catch some fireworks along the way.  We pulled over at a little scenic overlook after stopping for chocolate milk.  As soon as we parked, Daddy looked at me and said, “Is Ike going to puke?”  I turned around and recognized that look…and got him unbuckled and out of the carseat in under a second.  I, in a moment of desperation, could only extend my arms and hold him straight out while he puked everywhere, all over himself, a little over me, splattering all over the pavement.  I was just so ecstatic that I didn’t have to clean up the carseat, that I said, “Nice job, team!”  I heard some additional dry heaving that I didn’t recognize, and it was then that I realized that the entire vehicle next to us had their windows down and had watched, listened to, and smelled the entire thing.  Did we head home?  No, we changed shirts and went to watch some fireworks!  Turns out we were entirely too far away to see anything, so we hopped back in the car and headed towards home.  Pax, you hadn’t slept all day and it was nearing 9:30 p.m.  We were keeping you awake so you could see them on the drive.  We caught a beautiful show near Manitou Springs, and you finally passed out .  When Daddy woke you up to carry you inside, you moaned and said, “No more fireworks, let me sleep!”

When our deck was inspected at the new house, they found several rotten boards.  Because that was my favorite part of the house, and because we plan on staying here for a very long time, we decided to go ahead and have it torn down and rebuilt.  This meant a lot of noise and a couple weeks of having a 12 foot drop-off right outside the front door.  The contractor asked if we wanted to save $500 and stain the boards ourselves.  That seemed like such a great idea at the time, but it really took a chunk out of our time together. Because of this, you were both forced to play together and to entertain yourselves.  Ammy was in Florida helping out with Papa’s heart surgery and PopPop was busy with his own projects.  Somewhere in this 3 week period, Pax, you began to express yourself/ beg for attention, using your clothes.  This stage has no end in sight…

Daddy has been busy training for the Pike’s Peak Ascent.  Just writing that sentence makes me happy.  The Ascent is what always brought my family out to this area for vacation, and now we live in it.  We can’t wait to cheer him on next month as he climbs America’s Mountain (aka, our front yard).

In these sweet couple months of coasting downhill, we’ve had our series of adventures.  Our own personal exploring of this beautiful place we call home.

I learned a lot on the backseat of that tandem.  Right now, it’s simply about enjoying the ride.  Watching you two grow into the little people you’re becoming is my favorite thing in the world.  I’m trying to hold my breath.  You know that sweet feeling when you are coasting downhill and the wind is blowing against your face.  You lift your legs up for a second (or a lot of seconds if you’re on the back of the tandem) and all seems right with the world.  I know that at the other end of the downhill comes the uphill, but for right now, right in this moment, I’m feeling the breeze.

I love you both,

Your mom.