We’re making progress on our remodel — getting ready for the big demo day on Saturday. Before that, a day of working with the electrical system in the house, replace the load center so we’ll have room for all the lovely new breakers we’ll need for our kitchen. Most of the trim and crown molding are down, as well as a few other things. And so we have a rare opportunity to offer the kids: you can kick, mark, drill, beat, hammer, and abuse the walls and cabinets to your hearts’ content.

The Boy is especially taking us up on the offer. I give him a smaller drill with no bit and he runs around the kitchen, scuffing up the already scuffed cabinets and walls, explaining what he’s doing the whole time.

But there’s competition now, because now he’s mastered his bike — mastered in as much as a four-year-old can. Yesterday he did nine kilometers with the family in just over an hour; today he was waiting for someone to go to the quiet side street across from our house and watch him ride.

He wants so badly to join L and her friends in the neighborhood, but he just can’t keep up. And they really don’t make it easy for him all the time. K frets about this because E feels left out, but it’s part of growing up, I think.

Today begins my summer break, and a busy summer break it promises to be. With a kitchen remodel, a boy eager to ride more, and a girl just plain eager — busy indeed.