Mountain Bikes and popcorn

Mom had a lot of work to do today for getting her 300 level Modern
American History class finished up, so Dad took Logan out to a mountain
bike race. At first Logan was a bit skiddish and was both mesmerized by
all the mountain bikes, yet still very wary. Once they were off at the
start of the race, Logan yelped his normal 'Bye Bye' and then proceeded
to say 'truck', which meant he wanted to get back in the car and go
somewhere else. I managed to coax him into going up the race course a
ways so that we could watch the bikes jump from a few of the little
hills. Just as Logan couldn't take any more waiting around, out popped
the bike riders in a blur. Logan once again was entranced and got a big
kick out of it. Once they were gone, we slowly walked back to the
start/finish line, all the while Logan suddenly enjoying going down and
up the hills much like the bikes did. After another series of riders
passed by (on their second lap), we got back in our Toyota 4Runner and
headed on out. There's only so much a 22 month old can take of speedy
bike riders.
Off to the bi-weekly Sunday Todd Mall Market we went, primarily in the
hopes that we'd find Momma a secret birthday present, but also because
Logan enjoys seeing all the people walking along the pedestrian outdoor
mall. Now that it is winter, it is so much more pleasant to be
outdoors. Of course the daytime winter temperatures are still in the
70s - 80s (up to 27 degrees Celsius for Aussies) so far. No luck in the
markets, we walked over to the Yeperenye shopping center and got some
bread, bananas, and secret birthday morning doughnuts.
Back at home, Logan went down for a nap. Afterwards we had a low-key
lazy afternoon comprised of exploring around the yard. While out front,
one of Daddy's friends from the mountain bike club happened to ride by
on his bike, along with his dog Charley, who was running ahead. They
stopped to chat, and Logan petted Charley while Dad asked Simon about
his adventure/camping store (called the 'Lone Dingo').
Back in the house, Mom wanted some popcorn to help her get work done, so
Dad and Logan brought out the popper. Logan at first loved making
popcorn with the machine, but upon creating a second batch, he suddenly
became scared of it and kept a 5 foot distance while it popped. A third
small batch brought him back up closer, but he wouldn't have anything to
do with pushing the on/off switch anymore.
Bedtime and Logan went down pretty easily, possibly knowing that he'd be
getting up for a fun day with Mom and Dad on Momma's birthday.