We made it out on the bikes! Me, my son on his bike and my daughter riding in a child seat on the back of mine! And it was a good time! I don't have a picture because I didn't think of it. Now that I'm blogging I'll be more aware of photo opportunities.
Now, it was not a cheap time. My son and I already had bikes. But he was due for a new helmet, I needed a helmet and my daughter, apparently, has a big head and got a new helmet, too. And I had to buy a seat for her, which I found on Craigslist, cheaper than new but not truly cheap. But the most expenisve item was the rack for our car. I tried buying a less expensive hitch rack for our car - only to discover our car didn't have a hitch! I am not usually so ditzy but I didn't realize that I would need a $300 hitch (or so I was told) - I assumed everything I needed was in the box with the rack.
Instead I spent the $300 on a Thule 3-bike, locking trunk mounted rack. I have a tendency to over-buy, but I figured it was work the $100 difference to be able to lock the rack to the car, and the bikes to the rack. It would be more costly to replace the bikes, if anyone were ever tempeted to help themselves to a ride. We don't live in a high-crime area but why tempt anyone?
As for storage, the bikes are on our balcony. We've had a lot of rain and I've been trying to remember to bring them in when I know it's going to pour (there's another balcony above ours but rain still blows onto ours.) Still looking into storage options. The rack and my daughter's seat are taking up my trunk space.
Biking with the kids is one of those moments where what I was doing matched the picture I imagined of myself and my kids sharing an activity. I find those moments truly satisfying and I'm looking forward to our next ride.