Mountain Biking

The gray clouds above were spitting rain intermittently all morning, but we had that itch to get out of the house and into the mountains regardless of the weather. We bundled up, just Beck and I for some quality time together, I packed the bike and we drove up the canyon nearest our home.

We could have stayed forever. We biked and explored. We stomped through puddles. We took pictures of every radiant orange and red leaved tree that we passed. As the day was winding down the rain started pouring on us, but Beck still refused to leave. I popped the hatchback of the car and sat beneath it, dangling my feet beside the muffler, letting the trunk above shield me while Beck rode through the mud in the parking lot, wet with rain and happy as a clam. I watched with a smile and begged God to bottle this memory up for me because I knew I would long to revisit it one day.

I am not always perfect at patiently handling how slow going everything is with kids. I watch lone runners and bikers pass us on the trails and hints of jealousy rise up inside of me. But so long as I am giving it my all to focus on the boys, on what is most important to me, the slow going easily turns into my benefit. I can take my time enjoying the wild surrounding me while those little legs take their time getting up hills and wandering off the path to explore. While not always easy, I do believe it is a gift to be able to show them what we love and to have them by our side appreciating the best things in life. Annnnnd I am also grateful for loving grandparents so that sometimes we can go by ourselves and at our usual pace... ;)

And listen, whoever invented balance bikes is a genius I tell you. We got this balance bike for Beck in May. Those first few weeks were tedious and filled with unsurety. I would walk the neighborhood bent over, holding onto his handle bars to help him balance while he walked with the bike. But miraculously, after a couple of weeks, he really got the hang of it! By the end of the Summer the kid was practically a professional! I am so impressed watching him on that bike.

As you are reading this we are either on a plane en route to or landed in Florida! We are spending the next eight days here, most of which will be spent at DisneyWorld. We are firm believers in the off season as to avoid big crowds, so November should be perfect. We are stoked!

If you're interested you can follow along with us on my instagram and watch my instagram stories to see more of our week in Florida! (username: croftadventures)



xoxo