Mother's Day was a lot of fun this year - I received a new bicycle and am thoroughly enjoying it!

When I got home from the office yesterday I received some special homemade cards from the girls - and Toddy.

The girls always make sure Toddy is included in the card-giving tradition. But he will likely spend the next week trying to get blue marker off his paw.

And then we attached the new bike rack (to go with the new bike) to the car to set off for the Mountain Division Trail. Since the girls only learned to ride a bike about 2 weeks ago (yeah, it's the first year they've seemed interested in learning), the trail was a little scary for them. And although I learned to ride a bike as a kid, I haven't owned one in over 15 years. Needless to say, the females of the family are not strong riders and the rocky, bumpy trail was a little stressful for us (not feeling in control going down hills with lots of rocks that move your wheels around). We decided to give it another try in a few weeks when we're more confident in our riding abilities.

The girls and I were being silly with a self-portrait on the trail.

Fino has a new bike too (an early Father's Day present) and was teasing me about being excited about my new bike. I thought he had similiar feelings about his bike but just wouldn't admit it.

Later in the afternoon, we set took a short ride to Grandpa's house together to show off our new bikes.

My dad gave me a basket for my bike and commented that he felt it was a bit odd to be buying his adult daughter a bike basket. I assured him it was just what I wanted.

L.'s bike has been around our house for years without anyone riding it until now. We found G.'s bike at Salvation Army for $10 this year and after a tune-up, it's a great bike for her.

Now the family is ready to explore some biking trails this year. If you have a favorite biking trek, let us know.