Public Beware: Sam and Nate just got one step closer to going solo on the open road. Over the past several weeks, Sam and Nate have been fascinated with their tricycles. They wanted to ride them all the time: in the garage, in the driveway, to the park. We knew the day was coming when their knees would longer clear the handlebars of the tricycle and they would need something bigger. And bigger is what they got. In one day, they went from small little trikes to 2-wheeler bikes (with training wheels for now) with 16" wheels. What amazed me the most about these bikes was not how big they look, but how quickly both boys jumped on and took to them. One second they were in the store looking at them, and the next second they were half-way down the next aisle pedaling at top speed. I've never been kicked out of Walmart, but I was pretty sure this was going to be the day. Oh, and both bikes have Spider-Man on them, which adds a little attitude to this newfound freedom.

After tooling around the garage for the afternoon, we decided to take the bikes on a real ride at the river trail down the street from our house. This proved to be a great way to christen the bikes, and the boys looked like they had been riding for weeks. Of course, we did get to the trail a little too late, which meant it was getting pretty warm and muggy. And we went toward the direction of the trail where all of the 50-something weekend warriors training for the Tour de France ride. So, next time we will get there a little earlier and use the other half of the trail, which seems to be less crowded.

I must add, this whole shift for the boys was initiated by their weekend at Uncle John and Aunt Carol's farm in LaGrange. We went down last weekend and spent a couple of days with the Kelly family, and the boys got to play with their cousins, Max, Wes, Emma and Luke. There are all kinds of fun things to do at the farm, but what the boys loved most of all was riding the battery-powered Gator and four-wheeler. It almost made me start worrying about what's going to happen when they want a car. Almost. For now, I will just tell myself it's still cute and enjoy watching them drive circles around the house. I'm also pretty sure I know what they will want for Christmas.

You can see more photos of our bike riding and trip to the farm in our Web Album.