It's like riding a bike...

Chris and Jayden getting ready to ride!

It was such a nice Friday evening, that we decided to take our first ever bike ride as a family a few minutes ago! I purchased one of those seats that you put on the back of your bike for a child to ride in last week from a lady at work, and I've been dying to let Jayden try it out! Chris already had a bike, and I had bought one from Aunt Betty a few months back. Uncle Mark and Aunt Denise have been kind enough to let us store the bike in their shed until we needed it. Chris went an picked it up today, and he attached the seat to his bike. We got Jayden's helmet on him, got him all strapped in, and we were off! I was beyond excited...when I was young, this is what I always pictured that I would do with my family when I grew up! I was a little concerned that I would have difficulty riding because I haven't even sat on a bike since I was sixteen years old, but Chris said not to worry....he said that's why they say "It's like riding a bike....you never forget how."

So excited for his first bike ride!

Well....WRONG!!! You should have seen it! Chris and Jayden were off...riding about 100 miles an hour on his very nice, newer model bike. I didn't even make it out of the driveway without having to throw my feet down to the ground about four times to keep from scraping my nose across the pavement! My bike is what I like to call a "vintage model," and it creaked and shook at every timid move that I made. I couldn't remember that the breaks were in the handles, so I would go barreling across peoples yards and just barely missed about twenty curbs. I was so afraid that I was going to fall, that my arms, shoulders, and neck were completely tense. I would look up and see my loving husband a quarter mile ahead of me looking back smiling and hear Jayden yelling, "Mommy....Where are you? Are you coming?" I finally caught up, and things started to go a little smoother. We decided to venture away from our neighborhood and go a few streets over....

Awwww...just how I always pictured my life would be!

Now I consider our neighborhood really nice, and I feel so fortunate that we are able to live in the house that we live in, on the street that we live on, and in the area that we do. Needless to say, there are many other areas a lot nicer than ours. We decided to go to one of those areas...

Struggling on my vintage bicycle!

As we rode our bicycles further South, we started to notice something. The cars gradually got nicer, the yards were greener, the flowers bloomed a little brighter, and the houses got much, much bigger. And then we reached it....the epitome of wealth in Norman...Smoking Oak Road. This is a street so wonderful, they have spirally trees in front of the houses...lion statues that guard the front door to their homes, and beautiful shutters painted pretty colors. The street is tree lined with very old, beautiful trees, and the landscaping is abundant. The air smells richer on Smoking Oak Road.

What more can I say...

Houses actually have shutters and well landscaped lawns!

Lions guard their front doors!

Look at the pretty spirally trees!

Chris and Jayden riding on Smoking Oak.

And then it was time to ride back towards home. Gradually, as we moved towards home, the cars got older, the yards got browner, the flowers were wilted, and the houses got much, much smaller.

The cars got older and rustier...not something that would be seen on "the Oak!"

The grass is mainly weeds and dirt.

The way to our house...

And then we reached our house. Our cars are average, our grass is nice and green, we do have a few pretty flowers, and our house is small. But you see, none of this matters. This is our house, and we love it. We don't need a big, beautiful house on Smoking Oak Road with a luxury car, the lushest of landscaping, and beautiful shutters painted pretty colors. And I am totally fine with my vintage bicycle. I don't need some fancy-shmancy model. I would wobble and shake on a new bike as much as I do on my current one. All we need is God and each other and the love that we all share. A million houses on Smoking Oak Road couldn't replace that!

One happy boy after his bike ride!