Momentous Milestone

A couple of weekends ago we went for a picnic in Richmond Park and at the last minute decided to take the boys' bikes with us.  It was a lovely sunny day and we enjoyed being out and about all together.  What made it a day to remember is that it was the day Danny succeeded at riding his bike all by himself for the first time!

Biker boys

Nick waiting for us to catch up

Stopping for a break

Another break at the crocodile tree

Finally a nice picnic spot next to the stream

Learning to ride a bike is one of those milestones, like learning to walk, starting school and losing teeth, that makes you realise that your kids are growing up way too fast.  About a month ago, we took Daniel's training wheels off, because he insisted that he didn't need them any more.  The first few times he was very wobbly, but that day in Richmond Park, he was like a pro and got it right almost immediately. Not sure who was more excited and proud, him or us, or Nicholas for that matter.  Here's the story told in pictures!

It started off like this


Soon progressing to this

Begging Dad to let go


Getting braver and braver

There was no stopping him by the end

A determined boy

A proud boy

Following his big brother

Even when a bit risky




And a video clip

This is when Nicholas reached the same milestone.  Now he can ride with no hands.  He is fast and risky.  After a terrible crash in February we eventually realised that we needed to get the boys helmets.  Next we need a bike rack and a fourth bike.  I envisage lots of fun biking adventures together as a family!

Monkeys

Now that the weather has turned (she says hopefully) the picnic season has begun.  Last Friday after school we headed to The Common for some outdoor fun with a few boys from Nicholas' class.  Impromptu picnics are always the best! 

Summer - Picnics

No summer is complete without a few picnics.  One of our memorable picnics was in Richmond Park at the Penn Ponds where we were joined by two of Nicholas' school friends, Peter and Robert, as well as Robert's older sister who instigated a lot of action games.  The sun shone and it rained then the sun came out again.  I always love seeing the children exploring and playing games in nature.  They collected sticks and stones, did some singing and dancing in the rain, turned fallen trees into pirate ships, went searching for swamp monsters, got lost in the bracken and catches and races turned into an intricate game of cops and robbers (funny that the Donhead boys wanted to be the cops).  Danny happily tagged along and did what the older children did!

 

One hot day after tennis we were lured to the fountains in Bishops Park with Siana and Amaya.  The kids had great fun playing in the water and in the new adventure playground.  These places are awesome, the only problem is that everyone else thinks so too. Lucky for us we were ready to head home before the hordes arrived!

One of the nice things about living where we do is that we have so many nice outdoor spaces right on our doorstep.  One day we packed sarmies and went for a walk on Putney Heath to see what we could find.  We came home with a small meadow!

Another sunny day presented another opportunity for a picnic, this time in Cannizaro Park with Rory and his brothers, just before school started again.  There are some very special trees in this great park in Wimbledon - we really ought to go there more often.  And there were ice cream treats for everyone!