not every ride is written about not every moment is documented with the camera

this photo is not from the day I a writing about
no photos on the bike that day
too wet to mess with the camera

on monday the boys had parent-teacher conferences
which meant... no school

I scheduled all the conferences back to back in the morning
in the morning... not early... no where close to early
enough to get coffee and then be done in time for a late lunch
early is not my thing... and why rush the boys when I do not have to

the morning came on and the boys were given a pass
they could wake up when they wanted and they could do what they wanted
television... Wii... Nintendo DS
heck... they can use their computer or they could use the old iPhone that no longer has a service plan but is still loaded with a number of movies and also an assortment of games

this of course... gave me time to sip my coffee
then walk the dog and then sip some more coffee in front of the computer

we left out the house with some peanut butter crackers a couple of capri suns
some dried apricots, cashews, and a few water bottles filed with ice cold water
then on top of that they had a soccer ball and a kid size football
all of this so that they would be well entertained while I went to the parent teacher conferences

when we left out for the car we all soaked in the glory of the day
it was magic
young Grant commented on the perfection of the days' weather

it was just right... not too hot and not too cold
warm and shockingly not all balmy as warm days can often be when they arrive in DC in the winter

out of the car and everyone smiled as we each independently thought about how we wanted to spend the rest of the day
I knew that I wanted to get the boys on the bikes
Grant knew that he wanted me to fulfill a promise mom had made that he could spend some of his birthday money at Target
while Dean may have had his own thoughts... tends to be agreeable and would more than likely go with whatever is decided

not late but running right on time I picked up my pace
the boys went to the renovated playground with its astro turf soccer field and I went into this DC PS and straight to Dean's home room and met with his primary teacher

the meetings went well and the reviews were all positive
there were things that should be worked on and decisions to be made about this and that
but over all... I was pleased with the message that was being shared

from one teacher to another... visiting two people for each child I was happy with what I heard
my boys were making me proud

everyone went over their allotted time... which threw off my schedule to go from room to room to room to room and then be gone
everyone went over which had me need to shuffle the schedule and roll on later into the afternoon

while in the first meeting I caught a glimpse of fast approaching black clouds
in the main office I heard talk of tornado warning
then in the next meeting I could see that the black cloud had engulfed the area
then it rained

the boys were out on the astro turf
not sure how long they were in the rain but they came in the building pretty wet
not entirely soaked
but still pretty wet

they were wet and they were hungry
the cashews, dried apricots, went along well with the peanut butter crackers
somehow the capri suns were over looked
the water was vital
although they were soaked they were still thirsty

the boys set up camp in the hallway as I finished my conferences
the boys were refueled
once finished the final conference we left for home
there was talk about Target
but I did not want Target to happen without the bike
the rain really was a downer
the day started as the most beautiful day of all time
and then this
crap... total crap

wet... rainy
rainy and wet

we drove to Harris Teeter and grabbed a few things for dinner and then some sub sandwiches for lunch
it bummed me out that the sub special had jumped from 2.99 to 3.49
which did not sound like as much of a deal

the price of the standard sandwich went up as well

the boys wanted to eat their sandwiches then and there
they also wanted chips
each of the boys were able to pick out a box of cereal
sugar cereals were okay... Frosted Flakes and Frosted Mini Wheats
lucky for me the boys have yet to experience the pleasure of Captain Crunch
if they do.... they may never eat a non-sugar cereal again

bags packed and back in the car we drove home
it was not raining hard but it was enough to have to run the windshield wipers intermittently
we got home and rushed inside for lunch

after lunch it went seamlessly to screen time
the boys back in the kids room with the television playing the remainder of the Clone Wars from this morning
while I went up to the computer and got back to where I was earlier in the day
some time passed and I checked the doppler radar

it did not look like the weather was getting any worse or any better
things were not so bad
I told the boys were were getting on the bike and heading to Target

without hesitation the boys responded
well... maybe I had to rally them and tell them the standard five times
raising my voice and altering my tone with each repeat of the request
never getting angry
just getting more serious

with windbreakers zipped and helmets on their heads we left off for the garage
I coached the boys that they were more than likely going to get more wet from the spray of the ground than the rain from above
before I could get my cargo bike out of the garage Grant was riding down the stream that was running down the center of the alley

this of course got full volume
GET OUT OF THE PUDDLES! YOU ARE GOING TO GET SOAKED!

on the bikes I coached the boys to ride together
it is tough
Nine year old Dean has to slow down and Seven year old Grant needs to speed up
I want to move forward faster
but Grant always acts as our lowest common denominator

at four way stops I instruct the boys to slow down
we slow to a near stop
there are no cars from any direction
there is a car that is trailing behind
momentum is key
we roll through

talking for a good majority of our ride
never sure what they hear
yet I instruct just the same

at Target Grant bought a new Wii game
then we left for home
I extended the ride home slightly... but nothing too long
no need to soak the kids
they had already been wet... put on dry clothes... no need to get wet again

and of course...
last week both the boys were home sick
no need to get anyone sick

a lesson was learned
or at least... a lesson was taught
a little rain is not enough to keep us from living
we can still leave the house... we can still do stuff