the Best Day ever

We've been promising Odessa a bike since . . . . well, a long time. Now that she regularly sees the kids at mom's group in the gym riding their bikes and trikes, she has really gotten interested in one. I started looking online and pretty soon Odessa was telling me every 5 minutes "Mom, I want a blue and purple bike with a Thomas the Tank Engine helmet". Don't ask me where she got the Thomas helmet idea. One of her best buds Aiden is into Thomas in a HUGE way, so that could have been the source of inspiration.
We found a really, really nice Specialized bike on Craigslist but it was little more than a new, (albeit cheaper brand) at the store. Plus it was pink- not blue and purple! After a lot of back and forth, Odessa finally decided she would be ok with the pink one (she got to ride one at mom's group and loved it). The Craiglist seller agreed to lower the price and so it was within $5 of the other bike.

We went to the store and they actually had a Thomas helmet! It was $25!! Holy crow- I had no idea that you paid half as much for a HELMET as you did the BIKE!! Sheesh. We were dismayed to say the least. Plus there was no talking her into the nondescript helmets that were only slightly cheaper.Yes Nic, she still wears "Josh pajamas"

Yesterday we drove to Tacoma where the bike was. Since I was all the way down there (40 minute drive), I decided to make the day of it and check out the mall or something. The Craigslist seller suggested the Zoo and Aquarium and gave me directions. I wasn't prepared for a full day of adventure, but took the plunge anyway. I had to rent a double stroller and buy lunch, but the girls had SO MUCH FUN and so did I!!! It was the best day we've had in a long, long time. The animals were all out and playing, we could see almost everything. I didn't have my camera, but stole some pics off the web. The underwater animals like the polar bears, walrus and beluga whale were SO INCREDIBLE. The bears were playing with each other, I could have sat there forever and watched them.
The girls LOVED the Aquarium. We also got to watch an animal show where some of the zoo animals did tricks and they brought them on stage and told us about them. The icing on the cake was the FREE carousel. It was one of the nicest carousels we've been on and the girls rode it 4 times. They loved it so much. It was almost worth the admission by itself.
When Dad got home, he adjusted Odessa's new bike and they went for a ride in the park. She probably would have had to say that yesterday was one of the best days ever! Carousel, animals, bike riding. What a fabulous life.

Getting started5 seconds later she careened into the grass and fell over- Dad getting her straightened outand she never looked back