One wheel is all it takes
I used to have a unicycle, long ago, maybe when I was 14 or 15. I can remember lots of trying and not too much progress being made for a while; though it was enough to keep me trying. I did learn to ride it and I was proud of the fact that I could do this thing (I knew no one else who could ride a unicycle).
Now, it’s many years later, and I requested a unicycle for my birthday this year. Andrea may not have known whether I was serious, but she took me at my word and gave me one! It sits and waits for me to ride it , and I practice when I can. So far, my top distance is about 20 feet, and usually I go about 5 before falling. But I have to say, it’s a thrill to ride it and I will keep at it. It’s a thrill to learn something new in a setting where the boys are learning, too. They are out riding their bikes as I practice on the unicycle, and they are excited by it. They shout, “go again, Dad!” and I try again. I fell off today and scratched my finger, and it was Evan who ran in to get a bandaid. 
Here’s me riding today. I got pretty far…
Bike ride at Salem Lake!
We took the boys to Salem Lake on Sunday, with Evan riding his own bike and Grayson riding the tag-along behind Daddy. This was a SEVEN mile trail!
We rode with our friends, Stephanie and Taylor. Taylor was riding her bike, like Evan. We all felt so good to be able to make it all the way around the lake!
Turtles are welcome here!
The boys were outside playing this morning, before it got really hot. Andrea looked out the window and saw them near this box turtle. They hadn’t seen it yet.
Then Evan drew this very cool picture of himself and several turtles in our yard:
Biking as a family
We went biking together as a family today. Was it really the first time? It was the first time we were all riding our own bikes for the duration of the trip.
Washing the car!
Yes, we really did it!
New Library
The planning process begins, with architects and library planners on campus for two days. Here’s who they are:
Primary Architects: www.gwathmey-siegel.com
NC Architects: www.jenkinspeer.com
Library Programming Consultants: www.madcinc.com
It’s very exciting. Library staff have created a wiki page to discuss the project with faculty and get input from them.
Nine Planets
Evan was inspired by a poster of the plants, to draw this picture. He worked and worked on this weekend.
The Last Lecture
Eragon (Inheritance, Book 1)
ChefMD’s Big Book of Culinary Medicine: A Food Lover’s Road Map to Losing Weight, Preventing Disease, and Getting Really Healthy
Messenger of Truth: A Maisie Dobbs Novel (Maisie Dobbs Novels)
Doctor Dolittle’s Circus
The Dalemark Quartet (4-IN-1)
Distracted: The Erosion of Attention and the Coming Dark Age
View the news- US global dominance 'set to wane'
- Fierce gun battle rocks Mogadishu
- Iraqis protest against troop deal
- Burma comic jailed for 45 years
- 'Elite troops' needed in DR Congo
- Russian MPs back presidency bill
- Top US justice official collapses
- First test for interplanetary net
- French Socialists in run-off vote
- Found: Body of Copernicus, man who revealed the solar system