Anna Jean the Bicycle Queen

The time has come for Anna Jean to learn to ride her bike without training wheels.  So after days and days of practicing balance and control and speed, last night she figured it out!

  

Anna's "Learning to Ride A Bike" Faces...

HAPPY:

SERIOUS:

????

Tim pushed and guided and coached her up and down our street all evening.  He must have run miles!

And when I wasn't working the camera, I helped, too.

And then, just like a baby bird spreading its wings and flying for the first time... it worked!

Our little girl was off on her own.

Oops!  We need to learn to brake.

Things We Learned While Teaching Anna Jean To Ride A Bike:

1. Anna's legs apparently do not move unless she is talking.  She talks and talks and talks her way up and down the street.
2. Girls are very interested in the little sparkly strings that come out of their handlebars.  Girls will stop bike-riding lessons to pick-up sparkly strings that have fallen into the street.
3. When Anna gets scared, she veers her bike to the side.  Over and over, we had to tell her that when you get scared, you have to just keep looking ahead and going in the right direction.  THAT is going to be a sermon illustration someday.

So after successfully graduating three students, this mom and dad are retiring from our school of teaching little ones to ride without training wheels.  Whew.  Just in time.  At ages 40 and 41 our legs are getting TIRED!