My 2nd GRR meet

I had my 2nd Golden Rule Rally meet with another Ninja250 club member today. I met with Chris (s0meguy) in Athens and rode to Hard Labor Creek State Park together. The scenery on the way there was good/interesting. This is probably the first time that I looked at the small towns in Georgia that closely. I guess I wasn't paying much attention to roadside scenery while driving. Riding is indeed a much better way to explore.



There is an old grave on the way that is very special. I'll have to go there sometime and take a picture of it.

Bike ride with the whole family

Ann and I took all three kids out for a bike ride today. It is amazing that so much prep are involved, I've to get the bike carrier, two bikes, three bike seats, and FIVE helmets on the minivan before we go. Ann has David in the front and Vivian in the back while I take Alyssa with me.

David was very happy about the ride this time, possibly because he can see Alyssa the whole time. Apparently the ride was too comfy for him, he fell asleep on the way. The baby bike seat has a good design that David has some place to put his head...

Bike ride with David

We got a bike seat and helmet for David and I took him out for a spin today. He was happy at low speed and kind of nervous when we go downhill.

Fuel filter for my motorcycle

I installed a fuel filter for my motorcycle today. It is a pretty straight forward process with some unexpected difficulties. The fitting was really tight and extremely difficult to get the fuel hose off/on. I accidentally broke the filter when I tried to push the fuel hose back on. So I had to go back to the store again and get a new filter. Fortunately it only costs $2.

A date with Vivian

Recently I have a funny feeling about going out with one of the girls alone. Being the first-born and all, I unconsciously see Alyssa as a "successor" to me. Every time I take out out I feel like doing a field training. In contrast, Vivian is this silly little girl (kind of like Ann), I feel more like dating with a lovely girl when I go out with her.

I took Vivian out this evening to buy a stroller for her baby doll. Having told Ann about this feeling yesterday, Ann dressed Vivian up real nicely and we had a great time out.

Tomato harvest

We had the first batch of grape tomato today (the whole two of them). Alyssa and Vivian both had one and enjoyed it a lot, we also had a couple of really good pictures too. There are some more on the vines, hope we will be able to get them before other animals do.

A bike ride for my birthday

We went to the Sandy Creek Nature Center for a bike ride as part of my birthday celebration. Vivian rides in the bike seat on my bike and Alyssa rides her own bike. We had a great time and the speed/distance Alyssa can go really surprised us.

The precious little chicks blankets and the super power of ice cream

Vivian has two "little chicks" blankets from Ann's parents since she was a little baby. These two blankets are probably the things that she treasures the most. When I woke up this morning Vivian and Alyssa brought me a whole bunch of their toys as my "birthday presents". When I asked Vivian if I can have one of her blankets, she took my request very seriously and thought long and hard about it. Finally she replied "Dad, I love you very very much but I cannot give you my little chick blanket". It was very interesting to see her facial expression.

The funny thing is that when we had some ice cream for celebration in the afternoon (after we all forgot about this), Vivian suddenly said "Dada, you are very nice to me and I can share one of my little chick blankets with you now". Ahh, you can never underestimate the power of ice cream

David said "No-No!"

David, like all other kids that I know, learn to say "no" well before "yes". However, his use of "no" is very interesting. At first, he shakes his head and say no to say that he had enough to eat or to tell us that's the toy he doesn't want. Now that he is very mobile and has the ability to go anywhere/grab any thing he wants, he learned a whole new way of using "no".

At first when he grabs a toy that he shouldn't have, either us of his sisters will tell him to put it down. Now he learned to pick up a toy that he shouldn't have, such as his sisters hair bands, say "No-No" (don't know if it's to himself or to the toy) and then put it down. The most funny thing is that he looks very serious for the whole time when he is doing this.

A ride to Woody Gap

As a part of the vacation for myself, I rode to Woody Gap today. The twisty road between Dahlonega and Suches is very fun to ride.