A children's theater came to town a month or so ago. It was an interesting setup: they ran auditions at the beginning of the week, rehearsed all week and performed on Friday and Saturday. Nadine played one of the Merry Band in a production of Robin Hood (she's the left-most in the back row).

I missed the Easter egg decorating but apparently the kids had fun. We tried Nadine's method of blowing out the eggs first so you don't get that horrible boiled egg smell permeating through the house.

The Easter egg hunt at the park was also a success.

For Spring Break, we went to Seattle to visit Nathan and Monica and some friends we met while living in Kansas.

Monica suggested we visit the Fremont Bridge Troll, a concrete sculpture under a bridge. The troll is gripping a VW Bug in its hand.

Jeremiah and Nathan got along really well. Jeremiah was begging for Nathan to play with him every minute of the day.

Kayla and the kids went up the Space Needle while Madeleine and I strolled around the grounds.

The boys were so happy to play with their friends. Our friends have one boy and four girls, and I think he was glad to have Hyrum come visit.

On the way out of town we stopped by the LDS Temple and had a walk around the grounds.

The boys were glad to be home. A couple of days ago we had the neighbor kids over to play in the sandbox. The weather has finally warmed up and Spring is on its way!

We stayed with some friends in Lynnwood and I went on several bike rides. We did the obligatory spring break visits: Space Needle, Science Center, Pike Place. We also visited some interesting landmarks, including Gasworks Park and the Fremont Bridge Troll. This was Nadine's first trip to a city since she first landed in New York last August, so it was a big deal. Lots of shopping! I got zero homework done, and felt good about it. The kids had a great time playing with friends and visiting Uncle Nathan and Aunt Monica.

One of my tasks while in the big city was to buy a bicycle for my trip to Denmark this July. I have a conference to attend for my MBA program, and the week before the conference I plan to cycle and camp in one of the world's most bicycle-friendly countries. I have a solid road bike, but wanted to get something more appropriate to touring and the possibility of the occasional unpaved road. The airlines, in an attempt to shore up revenues under rising fuel prices, have jacked up the fees to transport bicycles (Northwest charges $150 each way). I worked out the math and came up with three options: buy a bicycle and transport it, rent a bike in Denmark, or get a folding bicycle that would fit in a suitcase (and thus avoid airline fees).

I went with option #3, which at first blush seems a little strange. I wasn't familiar with folding bikes at all and thought they were something of a gimmick. However, renting and shipping were both unappealing because I am basically throwing that money away, when with a folder I have something to keep at the end of the trip. I did my research and found several options that are appropriate for touring and that would still fit in airline-approved luggage.

There are just a handful of companies that build decent folding bikes for touring, in descending order of quality and price: Moulton, Bike Friday, Birdy, and Dahon. Since this is my first folding bike I had no intention of plunking down $3,000 on a Moulton. I opted for a mass-market Dahon MU P8 which cost about $650 with racks and fenders.

My wife laughed when she first saw a photo of the bike, but after checking them out at a Seattle bike shop she agreed it would work well. Despite the 20" wheels, the bike has a great feel. Best of all, it's a simple and straightforward machine that you can take anywhere. I ordered from a shop in New York and should be able to take it on its first spin sometime next week.