Adventure Boy and his dirt bike

AB enjoys riding his dirt bike. He is an amazing kid and I'm going to brag on him a little. At the age of 2 1/2 he was riding his bicycle without training wheels. By the time he was 3, he wanted a dirt bike. "No", I said "too dangerous". "Yes", daddy said "that's my boy".

For his 4th birthday, we got him a dirt bike. He was so proud of that thing. He almost ran into some cars and some people when he first got on, but that's besides the point. He soon learned that riding a dirt bike was different than riding a bicycle.

He rode his first dirt bike for a short while. Simply because if you remember me telling you, some more-on stole it from our shop. We saved some money and bought him another one.

He rides this bike like there's no tomorrow. He wants to ride it all the time. When it's a sweltering 120 degrees outside. When it's freezing cold. When it's snowing. Even when it's raining.

He wants to race dirt bikes. "No", I said "too dangerous". "Yes", daddy said "that's my boy".

He bugged and bugged and bugged some more to go riding after it had rained. He knew the ground would be soft and wet and he just had to ride in it. What kid doesn't like to walk, run or ride in water puddles?

So yesterday evening, when it had finally stopped raining, after much bugging, Hubster went outside with AB so that he could ride through the puddles. He claimed it was to learn how to ride in wet dirt, but these pictures proved otherwise.
He's quite content to ride through these puddles. Just look at his face.

"It really is fun mom"

Asleep at the Wheel

I was mowing the front 4 acres of our land. While I was finishing up, the boys were riding their dirt bikes. Hubster made them a small track in the front of the house and that's where the boys ride their dirt bikes.

Well, while I was mowing across the track, I noticed that UB's head was bobbing. I continued to look and his head would jerk back up. This happened for a while. I even stopped the mower on the side of the track and looked at him as he rode by me. His eyes were looking a little droopy.

When I realized that he was probably falling asleep on his dirt bike, I panicked. At this time, he was riding on the track towards the road. I had all these bad visions go through my head at the time. Thoughts of him dropping his bike with him on it, or of him riding straight onto the street and a car zooming at that particular moment and hitting him, or of him riding straight onto the barbed wire fence and hurting himself.

I couldn't just run, since I was close to the house, and the mower was probably not fast enough, so I just prayed that he would make it back around the track safely. I got off the mower and ran to wait for him by the side of the track. He stopped when I told him to and I asked him if he was tired. He said yes. I asked him if he was falling asleep, he said yes. He didn't hesitate to get off the bike and waited for me to give him a ride to the house on the mower.

New meaning to falling asleep at the wheel, or should I say handle bars.

Is it time to ride my dirt bike? Is it time to ride my dirt bike?

When you homeschool, you spend hours and hours and hours and, well you get the picture, with your kids. They are with you ALL the time. You have to find time to yourself. Whatever time that is, you take it.

I lock myself in the bathroom for my quiet moments, but usually that ends up with the boys hanging outside the door waiting for me to come out. And as soon as I am out, they start talking non-stop again. Not that they stopped when I was locked in the bathroom, I just turn on the exhaust fan and pretend I'm alone on a remote island.

Reality hits as soon as I open the door. I learn to sometimes tune them out. Especially when they are fighting or are asking the million time question. I sometimes forget what they asked because most of the times it's something petty like, "mom, is it time to clean the toilets?". My boys are strange that way. They enjoy cleaning the toilets. I've come to realize that it's because it involves water, but hey, whatever works.

They fight over who will clean the guest bathroom. I usually have to break up a fight over that one. I know that I should appreciate them wanting to, no, begging to clean the toilets, but you just don't understand. When they clean the toilets, because it involves water and all kids enjoy water, there is usually a bigger mess to clean up. For me.

So that is why I tune them out when they ask if they can clean the toilets. Adventure Boy is the worst about asking. He will ask every 15 seconds. That goes for everything. I usually just turn on my invisible mute button on him and continue on what I'm doing.

Hubster doesn't know how to do that. So on Saturday when he told Adventure Boy that he could ride his dirt bike after lunch, AB took it seriously the minute lunch was over.

"Dad, you said after lunch I could ride my bike, can we do it now?" was the question asked 50 times before Hubster said, "I realize it's after lunch, but it is going to be after lunch until lunch time tomorrow, so go play right now".

Hubster is building a drag racer. He is having a blast taking everything out of a car and making it into a really fast car. More to post on another day.

He doesn't know how to 'tune out' Adventure Boy's repetitive questions yet. He's not as good as me. Hee Hee.

After the millionth time (that's probably how you'd feel if you've got a 6 yr old asking the same question all afternoon) of asking Hubster the question right into his ear as he was working on the car, Hubster got distracted. He accidentally poked a hole in his gas tank from being startled when AB spoke.

Now, in Hubster's defense, he works long hours and travels a lot, so when he has some time to work on his hobby, he tries to do it. He also spends time with the boys and they had already ridden their dirt bikes BEFORE lunch for quite a while.

Needless to say, Hubster was not happy.

But the day was not lost. After lunch had finally arrived before dinner , AB and UB were able to ride their dirt bikes before it got too dark.

Meanwhile, Hubster has started to look in his catalogs for a new fuel cell.

This........

Is why I ~ gulp ~
stay inside ~gulp~

when they ride. ~Bite fingernails~

Brothers racing

Here is what the boys got for Christmas. At first, we thought that Underwear Boy was going to need training wheels because his feet don't touch the bottom without having to tiptoe. But he proved me wrong. Now, he has daddy start it for him, he sits on it and says "launch me daddy".

Adventure Boy is a natural. He got his first dirt bike for his 4th birthday and someone stole it last year. What low life steals from a child?

I stay inside because it just makes me nervous to ride. AB is now doing tricks. Like standing on his seat, doing the spider man, and other stuff. UB is trying to do it, but knows not to.

They had some friends over last week and the friends got to ride these dirt bikes. The friends live on the other side of town in an area with lots of trees. We don't have any trees. These friends went home that day and told their parents that they needed to sell their house and move closer to our house in an area without trees so that they could buy some dirt bikes.

The simple logic of kids.