Yesterday I went mountain biking for my first time ever. It is, by all outward appearances, deceptively simple. It's just riding a bike, right? Right. Riiiggghhhttttt. Perhaps if one is not towing a thirty plus pound human behind one's bike in a rickshaw built for roads over tree roots and boulders and massive lumps of earth surrounded by four foot moats of hellish sand. A small measure of cardiovascular endurance would also have come in handy. At least Tiarra found ways to amuse herself, most of which were at my expense. "Oh dear," she would lament from time to time, "Didi is in front of us again." Then she would sigh loudly and make a big show of using her brakes.

The kids did remarkably well. My Phee-Phee is supernatural. How else could I explain the cliffs she flew over, completely unseated during the soaring potion yet pedaling strong when the tires hit the rocky earth? (Also, from time to time her head spins. That's the real clincher.)And Ya-Ya? She was nowhere to be seen, off racing into the sunset with her dear friend Tee. Oscar survived too. She was by far the most encouraging person, saying things like "Slow DOWN Mommy!" completely amazed by what seemed like throttling speed to her but in reality was, well, in a word, pitiful.

Also, I am reading the BEST BOOK I HAVE EVER READ IN MY LIFE! It's this one, and I highly recomend it.