"Tess! Kate! Come here!" Doug calls to his kids.

"What?" The girls ask, appearing at the top of the stairs.

"Come here! You have to see this!"

The trample down the stairs, sliding in their socked feet when they hit the hardwood.

"Where?" Tess asks.

"The front door. I was going out there to go to the store and I saw something in the driveway."

"What is it?" Kate asks, very curious now.

"I don't know," Doug shrugs, hiding a smile with much difficulty.

The three of them go through the front door and onto the driveway. Standing there on the pavement, camera ready to capture the memory, is Carol and Addison. Two brand new bicycles stand next to them.

"Happy birthday, girls," Carol smiles.

"Surprise!" Addy shouts, throwing up her arms, just as she had practiced.

He's behind them, so he doesn't see their faces. But from their screams, he knows they love their surprise.

"Whoa!" the twins shout, once they've calmed down a bit. "This is so cool!"

"We got you bikes!" Addison says, happily.

"Thank you, Addy! Thank you, Momma! Thank you, Daddy!" Tess says, giving her sister and parents hugs in succession before going to the bike her mom tells her is hers. It's a teal beach cruiser with a white wicker basket and white streamers hanging off the handles. Tess' smile doesn't leave her face as she explores every inch of the new bike.

"This is awesome!" Kate remarks, taking in her bike. She also has a cruiser bike like her twin, though hers is painted red, with all the same accessories. "Thank you."

"You girls a very welcome," Carol says, smiling.

"And what's a new bike without a new helmet?" Doug remarks, bringing out the boxes from the garage.

"You said those were kids at the hospital!" Kate says, remember the trip to the sporting goods store a few weekends prior when her dad had them pick out the helmets.

"I lied," Doug confesses, ripping open the cardboard. Once the army green skate style helmet comes off, he plops it on Kate's head and adjusts it to fit. She had looked through every bike helmet in the store, but latched onto the green one right away; so that was the one they took.

"Best lie ever!" Kate says, lifting the kickstand on her bike and starting down the driveway

"Don't ride it yet, Kate," Doug said, fitting Tess' pink helmet on her head. "I might have to adjust the seat a bit.

"Ugh!" Kate wines. "Hurry! I want to ride it!"

"Hold your horses, kid. I can only go so fast," Doug says, going into the garage and returns with a screwdriver. He fixes the bike seat, testing it out a few times before it is right. "Feel good?" He asks again.

"Yup,"Kate nods, scraping her tow on the ground.

"Alright. Go have fun."

Still not confident riding an actual bike without training wheels, Kate walks it to the end of the driveway before getting on and riding off down their street.

"Stay where we can see you!" Carol calls.

"Okay, Bear, try that," Doug says, holding the bike as his daughter sits. "Too short, let's raise it a bit, okay?"

"Okay, but not too much, I still wanna touch," Tess instructs.

"Okay," her dad smiles. The second try is perfect, and Tess kisses her dad's cheek, thanking him once more before zipping off down the driveway to join her sister.

The parents watch the girls ride around, playing with the other kids on their street,

"I get my bike, too," Addison announces, running into the garage.

Doug and Carol laugh loudly when the toddler rides past them as fast as she can on her little plastic tricycle, ready to join the big kids.