Family Bike Ride

Ok, I am going to try to make this long story a little shorter...although that isn't really my forte! :)
A few months ago, I decided to dust of the spider webs off of my bike and ride it around. However, there wasn't a chance that I would be doing any sort of extra curricular activity without my bug! So, I promptly headed to Walmart and found a baby bike seat. I was extremely considerate of my husband's needs....buying the "pre-assembled" seat. Well, once he decided to install it (thanks to my never-ending begging and threats to have a guy at work do it) it was quite a hassle and he ended up with a huge gash in his hand and I ended up hearing that he wasn't a darn bike repair man (that is the Disney friendly version, not a direct quote). So anyhow, I was happy as a lark to have my bike with the baby seat!

Next step, getting Brady on the bike. That wasn't an easy feat. The bike was all good...but the helmet...way too binding for his taste. After daddy and I tried it on and told him how cool his "hat" was, he finally went for it. Mommy was in hog heaven riding down the street with Brady as her "Hollywood accessory," who, by the way, was way cuter than that Tinkerbell tote that Paris caries around. hee hee

So, now we have to get Zach a bike for his birthday. We found a nice shiny golden one and he loved it! So, Ally decided to get the 20" bike from her nana's and give it a try. Up until this point, she thought the bike was too big for her and refused to ride it. She finally rode it, and at the young age of 9, she decided she was finally ready to get rid of the training wheels. I was so proud and I have it all on video! Two weeks later, Zach had his training wheels off too! WOW!!! Then, about a week after that..his bike was stolen!!

About two weeks ago, Brian called me and told me he had a bike! This came as quite a shock to me, because Brian is a little afraid of the sunshine. ;-) I was ecstatic!! My dream of a family bike ride was getting closer!!!!

However, Ally's bike had rusted very badly sitting in the backyard at nana's until she finally rode it. So, she decided to use the money that she had saved to get a new bike. She chose a silver mountain bike and we helped her pay for it. Zach had been riding Ally's old and very pink bike since his has gotten stolen, so we splurged and got him a stylin' red and black BOYS' bike!

We are all set to go!!! About a week ago, Brian came home and told me today was the day!! We all got on our bikes and off we went to the bike trail. We rode about thirty minutes on a bike trail, took a break at a really fun park, then rode thirty minutes back home. I couldn't help but think how cute we must look all riding our bikes in line, smiling and laughing. HEE HEE. It was a dream come true, and we had soooo much fun!!

Two days later Zach left his bike on the porch, despite everyone having told him 100 times to keep it in the garage. :( It was heartbreaking for him because he had planned to start riding his bike to school (which made mama a little nervous!!!!) Now, I agree that he should have listened to us and not left his bike on the porch, but what kind of heartless piece of poop would steal a bike from a six year old? Not to mention, he had to walk up to our door to get it! That made me feel so violated!!! I can't believe someone would actually steal an obviously brand new bike from a child. :(

So, for the meantime, no more cutesy family bike rides. We are hoping to get a hand me down bike from one of Brian's friends and then we are off for more fun!!

What up Yo!

So, Brian is pretty anti-rap and anti-rap lingo. I love hip hop!! It has a great beat and makes me want to shake my bootie!! Anyhow, Brian has threatened the kids' lives if they listen to rap and basically implied that most rappers are bad. So much to the point that if someone drives by with rap on, the kids duck down and turn white as a ghost. I try to balance out Brian's extreme nature, and tell them that not every person who has a rap song on is going to do a drive by. No luck so far!
Anyhow, this brings me to the title. I remembered a few weeks ago that my brother used to say "What up Yo?!" So, in a rather comical way (not like I said it to co-workers!) I started to say it at the house. I thought it was silly and funny and I'm all about being a crazy goofball.

Well, the other day Ally came home and told us that Zach had been saying "What up Yo!" to all the neighborhood kids. Brian told him that he was not allowed to say that ever again!! He said, "But Mommy says it!" Way to be a good role model mom! lol Anyhow, all I had to do was tell him that rappers said "What Up Yo!" and it was instantly extinguished the phrase from his vocabulary. He doesn't want to grow up and do drive by's, you know. ;-)

Introduction

I decided to create my own blog since I can not seem to write in a journal. I've been planning to do so for 2.5 years now, and the journal has but a few pages. I'm not sure what an initial entry is supposed to look like, but I assume that I should introduce my family.
My name is Nicole and I am a 32 year old mother of three. My husband, Brian is 37 and he is my best friend. I can't imagine my life without him. We have three children. The eldest two I adopted from Brian's previous marriage. Our daughter, Ally, is 9, our son, Zachary, is 6, and our youngest, Brady, is 20 months old. They are all a great joy to us and we feel very blessed. We also have two chihuahua mixes, Spanky, who is 12, and Rico, who is 4.

So there you have it, Planet Dixon! I am certifiably crazy (just ask Zach, he tells me daily) and we will surely have some funny stories to tell. There is never a dull moment at the Dixon household!