new photos

I uploaded some new photos to the galleries this evening.

trains...

Well, last night I actually finished a train module, complete with
paint, trees & bushes. Woohoo! Katya helped with the decorating and I
think it came out good.I'm sure we'll add more stuff to it over time,
but the section is pretty complete and looks good! :) Pics are up in the
galleries.

My, how katya is growing up

Tonight we played some board games for a change, We introduced her to
"Sorry". She is finally reading well enough to play those games that
require some reading. :)

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Katya is officially a "biker chick"

She had her third ride today home from school. She is loving it when I
pick her up. Once the weather warms up, I may drop her off at school
once in a while too. She made a really keen observation Tuesday when we
were on our way home from school. She realized that she can see a whole
lot more on the bike than in a car. That is one of the things that I
enjoy about riding too.

Katya's first motorcycle ride

Well, it got up to 50 today so I took Katya on her first ever motorcycle
ride. She had loads of fun and did really well too. I can see it now..
Rain and Katya will be fighting over who gets to ride with me on some of
the runs. I never got to ride on the back of my dad's motorcycle because
mom made him park it when I was born. This is another way for me & Katya
to do something together.

Our little biker chick

Yesterday I took the bike out for the first time in like 6 weeks. I was
going through some serious withdrawal with all the lousy weather we've
been having. Katya always loves to ride on the bike when I pull it into
the shed (the whole 20 feet or so that it takes to do that) ever since
she was big enough to climb up the bike and get on. Well, yesterday
before I headed out we decided to try and see if she was big enough to
ride again. I have said from day one that when she was big enough to get
on by herself and her feet hit the pegs securely that I would buy her a
helmet. Well, yesterday was that day. Not only did she get on the bike,
but she stepped up on the left peg, grabbed on the backrest and swung
her leg over the seat and sat down. Yup, our little girl is big enough
to ride with me now. I ordered her a helmet that she liked on Ebay last
night.

Now, before someone goes and gets all upset over this decision, let me
say this. It is our decision to make and safety is number one on my
list. Her helmet is not only DOT approved, but also Snell (2005 rating)
approved and full face. We'll start with short runs around the
neighborhood at low speed to get her used to riding with me. I will be
spelling out all the rules as to what she needs to wear, how she needs
to get on & off, and how to properly sit while riding with me. I have
saddlebags which will keep her feet out of the rear wheel and a backrest
to keep her from sliding off the back. She will also be required to hold
onto me the entire time. If can't feel her there'll be a problem. I also
plan on getting her the equipment to attach the headset to her helmet so
that she can use the intercom to talk to me if she needs to.