Alyssa learns to ride on two wheels!

A couple of weeks ago we took off Alyssa's training wheels and she has been practicing fairly often with getting a feel for balancing on the bike. She would walk the bike up the gentle hill and coast down with her feet just barely off the ground. Yesterday, Alyssa felt more confident and got her feet up on the pedals and then started pedaling. Today, she is cruising all over the place and really enjoying it! Way to go!

Another activity Alyssa enjoys and is quite good at is jump roping. She likes to do this inside the house on rainy days and always asks us to count how many times she goes. She can really get it up there. I think the record is somewhere over 60 jumps! Much better than the few I can do before it is tangled around my ankles. It's great exercise though and fun!

A few days ago when we were all outside, Grandma Ann called and talked with us. Lauren was very happy to share with grandma the mischief she has been up to. Lauren loves to talk on the phone and always insists on saying hi, even if it is a recorded call or telemarketer! Here she is telling grandma all about her bike. We look forward to her visit over the girls birthdays!

One rather nice evening, Harry built a little fire in the outside fire pit and the girls blew bubbles, roasted marshmallows, while Harry and I enjoyed the warmth radiating from the fire. These are the homemade bubbles from an earlier post. They work great--in fact they seem to improve the longer they sit.

For a little festivity, I turned on the lights on the pergola, something we usually do in the summer when we eat outside. Alyssa really enjoys being out on the deck, especially when the weather is warmer.

No bites on the applications sent out yet. We aren't even sure if they are all being receieved with so much done online. It would be nice if you had a response, such as, we received your application for the following position and will review it. Not one company has replied yet. Alyssa still hasn't wondered why daddy is at home but I know she and Lauren are enjoying the extra time with him.

Here is a link to a webcam viewing an Eagle's nest with her chicks in the wild. The chicks are not very old and the mother is tenderly caring for them. I believe the link is live feed. http://www.wvec.com/cams/eagle.html