Yesterday was my 37th birthday. I wanted to do something fun with my boys and create memories together. I had read about a new Mountain Bike park in Park City that was created specifically for mountain bicyclists to practice on. (Like a skate park.) As long as our family is trying different activities, I really wanted to try this out with them! Besides mountain biking has always been something that has intrigued me since I was in college and started biking.
Trailside Park opened in May of 2011 and there weren’t many people here on this Labor Day. It was a gorgeous day. Dave was our pit crew and Jacob’s playmate on the giant playground nearby.
The first thing we saw was a “pump track”. Hills designed for the mountain biker to learn how to get forward momentum without having to use pedals. We each tried this and were a little shaky, but we got better as we continued. James, Samuel and Benjamin got tired of this and went back to where dad and Jacob were. Anthony and I were pumped about this new adventure and we biked up the hill to see what other things there were to tackle.
Anthony really wanted to have a friend birthday party this year since last year he only had a family party. LaReita planned a fun bike ride from our home to the Spanish Fork North Park down a newly paved bike path that practically runs from our street right down to the park. Yes it is “down” as in “down-hill”. One party-goer (Bethany) did have a minor bike accident but was able to continue on and get to the park. We all told our bike crashes to make her feel better. (Hopefully it did.)
And after the cake (brownies) LaReita went with a few boys to see where the bike path ended. On a bumpy dirt part, Samuel crashed right in front of LaReita’s tire. LaReita couldn’t stop fast enough to keep from rolling over Samuel. So she ditched her bike, and twisted her ankle. There was some pretty good swelling, and will be for quite a few more days. It was quite the adventure! (Before she left the house, she kept having the prompting to find her bike backpack that had a camelbak of water, and her emergency oils. She couldn’t find it, but at least grabbed a small first aid kit, which certainly did come in handy. Another lesson learned in following promptings! And wearing bike helmets!)
The kids played for about 30 minutes once they got to the park.
Bethany and Benjamin
The party did have its ups and downs:
Cesar, Sam & AnthonyCesar, Sam & Anthony
Then Dad arrived with the Pizza, Pop and Puffs (Cheetos)!
Kooper, James, Anthony, BenjaminJacob, Kooper, Anthony, James, Bethany, Benjamin, Sam
And more bike riding:
Sam tried nearly all the "big boy bikes".Benjamin on a "big boy bike".
More fun:
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Getting ready to bike home.Jacob had his cake, but ate it too!
Winding up and heading home: David had to bike home because of LaReita’s swollen ankle. (She took the van back.) First time Dave has biked up a hill since last summer. He came home and said, “I’m going to go die now,” and crashed on the downstairs couch for 2 hours. Carlos, Cesar and Kooper stayed at our house for another hour or so to play with the new toys. One of our kids asked, “Where’s dad?” Kooper said, “Oh, don’t bother him right now. He’s busy dying.” Oh the funny things kids say!
Anthony putting a Bionicle on his chocolate cakeI added some 'special' ingredient in this cake to make it more healthy, and nobody noticed! (Probably because of all the frosting)
We celebrated Anthony’s birthday on Saturday since his official birthday fell on Sunday this year. (He wasn’t too happy about that.)
He has been begging to play at the Park School playground as they have recently refurbished their playground and are now all the envy of the elementary schools in our district. So I decided that this would be a good place (and free!) for his birthday party. It was a beautiful day, and was filled with A LOT of boys.
Birthday Bash friendsPark Elementary School playgroundAnthony really excited to get Ferio and Skirmix (Bionicles)Anthony got a new 'truck' for his skateboardNew shoes!Samuel swinging at the pinataShoe-less Sam even in 50 degree weatherpicnic birthday party. Anthony, Cesar, Daniel G., Sam
