Someone Likes Mountain Biking!

8 Years Old

Eighth Birthday Party from Robert Kerner on Vimeo.


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On Their Own Two Wheels

Last weekend, out of the blue, the kids asked to have the training wheels removed from their bikes. It came as a surprise because they didn't know how to ride without the training wheels. They spent almost no time on the bikes last summer, preferring instead to play on their scooters. But last Saturday they decided it was time to be independent. Within a very few minutes of practicing in the street, they were riding solo with minimal support. 

The next day, they were up early and asked to go to a park to ride their bikes. Happy to oblige the request, we packed up and drove to a local state park with long multi-use trail (MUT). Robert was off on his own almost immediately but Sammy required some coaching to get the bike going. They were both doing fine after a half-lap around the park.

Robert's skills are quite good. He seems to intuitively understand how to balance the bike and absorb shock with his arms and legs. His balance is excellent. At one point, while waiting for his sister to catch up, he rode around in figure 8's. It requires good bike control to swing back and forth from one loop of the 8 to another, yet he did it effortlessly. He also climbed a short hill by getting his butt off the saddle to deliver more energy to the pedals; again, not something most kids do on their second day of riding a bike.

By the end of the afternoon, both kids were comfortable enough to ride on unpaved surfaces.

Yesterday, we took the kids to a rail trail in the Hudson Valley for a change in scenery. We rode 8 miles through quiet forests from Highland to New Paltz, New York.

We finished up by going out onto the Walkway Over the Hudson to admire the view and take a photo.

Having the entire family on two wheels is liberating. It opens up a host of possibilities for summer vacation.

As always, if you want to view a larger version of any photo, click on it in your browser.

Thanksgiving

Thanksgiving 2015 from Robert Kerner on Vimeo.

Piccolo Rides

We have had a Burley Piccolo for about two years now. It's an ingenious half-bike that connects to the back of one of Bob's bikes and allows the child to pedal and change gears on his or her own.

Burley Piccolo Rides June & July 2015 from Robert Kerner on Vimeo.

Father's Day

Ward Pound Ridge from Robert Kerner on Vimeo.

The Birthday Party

The kids celebrated their seventh birthday at the Long Island Childrens Museum the first weekend of May. In our community, very few families host backyard parties for the younger kids. A party is "an event" to be conducted at a remote location, with special activities and-most importantly-no cleanup afterwards. For their 7th, Sam and Robert wanted something spy-themed and it just so happened the local children's museum was able to accommodate that request.

Donna made lovely e-invitations that looked much like the photo above, but with Robert in a Bond-like costume. He's not a big fan of wearing the correct costume to the party, as you can see above. He was "disguised" as soccer star Lionel Messi!

The party began with a welcome committee meeting the kids in the lobby and taking them to an activity room where they did some spy-related arts & crafts and games. Then the kids formed two groups: one group hid clues out in the main museum, and the other had to find them. A cool pretext to get the kids moving around.

Then it was back to the activity room for lunch, cake and party favors.

Donna was very clever with the party favor bags…

The party was very nice. The aftermath wasn't.

Later that evening, Sammy asked to go to her favorite Mexican restaurant for hot dogs, of all things. We went out and got dogs from the supermarket and grilled them instead. As we were putting the dinner in front of the kids, Sammy got violently ill and stayed sick for the next 30 hours. Robert got sick the following day, Bob the next after that and Donna the next after Bob. The whole house was sick with GI illness for the better part of 8 days, extending into Donna's birthday and Mother's Day. Thankfully, ours was the only family impacted; we were worried that people got sick because of the party.

We are all recovered now and looking forward to the end of school and the start of a long summer.

Spring Time

Spring has finally found its way to New York. The kids awoke this morning and immediately began their hunt for Easter eggs. Robert found one in the mail slot of the front door. Clever bunny.

We don't put pants on until we have to go out of the house! That's how we roll.

Sammy outside in her church outfit. 

After church, Robert and dad went for a ride on the bike.

Last week, the kids celebrated Multicultural Day at after school. Here they are posing in front of German Chocolate cupcakes and eating foods from around the world, particularly if that part of the world serves pasta.

Samantha and one of the teachers practicing martial arts.

Hopefully we've seen the last of the snow. Spring is for planting and celebrating life. Happy Easter.

Presidents' Day Outdoors

It's winter vacation for school-going kids and we kicked off the week by heading into the woods. Not too far away, just to the local nature preserve. It has been wicked cold here in NY the past several days. The thermometer registered -4 when we left the house.

Once we got moving, it was easy to stay warm. Robert brought along Peter, his "Flat Sam" character, that he is supposed to take on adventures this week.

Peter and Robert tried some sit ups along the trail

and then a few minutes later Peter fell off a cliff. Bob pulled him to safety with his trekking poles

and then we got back on the trail.

We've lived less than two miles from this preserve for many, many years and never hiked its trails. It is now on our list of favorite places. It has a nice network of trails through the woods, which means we can take the kids snowshoeing without having to drive too far in the car.

Stay warm and toasty this week.

Snowshoeing

We bought the kids their first set of snowshoes and they tested them out today on a set of trails in the woods of Bethpage.

First Snowshoe Hike from Robert Kerner on Vimeo.

As always, click on the movie frame to enlarge it.

Snow!

We had out first real snow fall of the year overnight. A few inches of really wet, heavy snow fell in our neighborhood. Within a half hour of waking up, Sammy had her snowsuit on and was looking to go sledding. After cleaning out the driveway, we went to the local hill.

Click inside the frame to display a short movie….

Inside their snow fort right before a snowball fight

Our Christmas

Christmas 2014 from Robert Kerner on Vimeo.

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Christmas Pageant

Samantha had a starring role in this evening's Christmas Pageant. Here she is during dress rehearsal earlier in the day.

And in the big event at 4:30 pm. She had the role of Mary.

You can click on a photo to see a larger version.

Sammy did a great job, as did the entire cast and orchestra. The kids are tucking into bed now, anxious to see what Santa brings during the night.

Merry Christmas.

Summer Wrap-Up

It was a busy summer, particularly the last month. We drove up to Boston for a long weekend the Friday before Labor Day. We wanted to do something 'educational' for the kids, and the Boston Museum of Science and the Childrens Museum seemed like a good idea.

The kids at the Museum of Science

And at the Childrens Museum

A visit to Boston Common to see the giant swan boats, which were closed for the day.

Mugging for the camera in the hotel room.

The return to school (First Grade) was uneventful. The kids are getting along well in their new classrooms. This afternoon, we took a hike through the local arboretum.

As you can see, fall has arrived on Long Island.