The Parker's 10-Miler

I have to preface this post by saying that I started out as a huge party pooper, but was having a blast by the end of the day. My sweet hubby is such an adventurer. He is constantly looking for new things to do or try to "shake things up a bit". So a few days ago when I pointed out that Rockwall has a Farmers Market every Saturday, Kevin immediately replied that we should go. That sounded great to me. I love fresh produce and supporting our local farmers.

In the next breath Kevin added that we should ride our bikes to the Farmers Market with the kids. Ok, I am thinking this might work but I need more details. So I pulled up MapQuest and learned that it would be a total of 10 miles round-trip. We recently purchased a few bike trailers to be able to enjoy biking as a family. However, our furthest trip with the kids in tow was probably close to 2 miles. This little outing would defiantly test our endurance. I was honestly more concerned about the kids making it through the day than I was about pulling them. As it turns out, I was worrying about the wrong things. The kids did great!

The morning of our big ride, the weather was perfect. It was about 85 degrees and slightly overcast. Actually, thinking that it might rain, I threw in my rain jacket just in case. We put Ava in the single buggy because it reclines back the furthest and was her best bet for a nap. Kaden and Lauren were strapped into the Chariot. Within the first 5 mins. Lauren started complaining that Kaden was "touching her". Here we go I thought to myself. So Lauren came out of the bike buggy and into the seat directly behind my seat. I pulled Ava as well in the trailer. It was fun to have Lauren so close to me while riding, although she was very distracting. She thought it was hilarious to either pull up my shirt, or put her hands down my pants. Kevin pulled Kaden. We took the back roads to avoid traffic, which added a little bit of time onto our ride.

Pulling into Rockwall and locking up our bikes.

Mom and Dad are still smiling

Rockwall Farmer's Market

Plump, juicy, and delicious blackberries

Purple Fingers

Purple Mouths

Kaden and Lauren with the Bee Charmer

Kaden's Honeycomb

Yes, she did finally fall asleep. What a sweet baby.

We had a great time at the market, and before we knew it, it was time to hop back on the bikes and head home. When asked about their favorite part of the trip, each family member had something different to say:

Lauren: "Petting the puppies. Can I have a puppy?"

Kaden: "Eating honeycomb with the bee lady."

Marnie: "Sitting on the grass and eating blackberries."

Kevin: "Riding through the paved trails through Harry Meyer's Park."

Top Ten Pearls of Wisdom Learned from our Adventure:
1. Ava will sleep if she is tired enough
2. Sometimes it is just easier to separate the kids
3. For being flat, Texas sure has a lot of hills
4. Our bike seats are too hard, and our seat seats are too soft
5. Honeycomb tastes good
6. When calculating time, be sure to figure in several potty breaks
7. Don’t let Kade divvy out the blackberries
8. Lauren will pet every puppy in sight (asking first of course)
9. Thank goodness for 7-11 public restrooms
10. Maybe next time we’ll bring the car along?