Another Tahoe weekend

I hope you people like pictures of my kids in the snow because there are going to be a lot of them this season. We headed back to Tahoe for the weekend but this time our lease mates were there too. Their kids are close in age to our kids.  In fact, their younger son was born the day after Serafina.  The kids did splendidly together; they played very well with minimal tears.  Unfortunately, our schedules don't seem to sync up again until April, so we won't be hanging out there with them again for a while.  The upside is that allows for each family to have guests at the house without it being too crowded.

Saturday was my turn to hit the mountain.  I haven't been on a snowboard in twelve years and I had butterflies in my stomach from the mere thought of boarding again.  Since it had been so long, I needed a lesson, but not a group lesson with a bunch of 13 year old boys.  My husband was kind enough to pay for a private lesson.  Here I am with my instructor Roger.

He was extremely nice, but I still was miserable for the first 20 minutes or so.  I spent that time thinking what a terrible mistake this all is and wondering if I could get a decent price for my gear on craigslist.  But I persevered and I started to enjoy it more.  In fact, I actually got the hang of it pretty fast and was doing better at the end of my lesson than I ever did all those years ago.  Don't get me wrong, I'm still a beginner and have the bruises to prove it, but I was able to get down the bunny slope a few times without falling.

While I was having a lesson, Leo was in ski school.  They don't give them vests at this school, but rather covers for their helmets.  He was in the red group; he's the one in the blue pants.

There aren't many pictures of him during his school because Tom had his hands full with this snow bunny.

My lesson ended shortly before his school, so I saw him working with the instructor.

But he was clearly tired and a little fall caused him to cry.  The instructor scooped him up and gave him a comforting hug.  Pretty sweet, if you ask me.  I came over to rescue him after this picture and he was happy to see me.  Overall, I think this ski school was a better experience.

On Sunday morning, while the adults figured out a plan, Leo and Carlo worked on clearing the deck of snow.  They didn't do a very good job but they had fun.

"Really, mom?"

Serafina and I played in our "back yard".

Leo's first snow angel.

The other family and Tom and Leo headed out to ski while Serafina and I hung back to clean up and pack up.  Every fiber in my body was sore from shredding it up on my snowboard the day before, but I managed to get Serafina on my back and we took a little walk down to the lake.  

So pretty.

Elisa turns one

Elisa turned one last week and today we celebrated her birthday at the park. She is the youngest of three girls so I made her three little birds in a nest.

The pattern said to sew the birds into the nest, but that didn't seem like very much fun, so I decided to sew on some velcro and make them removable.

Here's Leo's hand giving a little perspective of their size.

Here she is opening the gift.

After some playing and lunch, we gathered to sing happy birthday and eat cupcakes.

A happy birthday girl despite that goofy birthday hat her mom clipped to her head.

The kids were excited to eat cupcakes.

Once Serafina ate all the frosting off the top, she handed off the cake part and wanted another one.  She wasn't granted that wish.

We were at "Ant Park" with the unusual teeter-totter, but since there was no dad there to help, Leo and Katie did not experience a whole lot of movement.  

Remembering Mary Ellen

Serafina and I headed to Seal Beach this weekend to gather with family and friends to remember my aunt Mary Ellen and distribute her ashes. The boys stayed home and did just fine without us.

Though it was hard to be at the house Mary Ellen lived in for over 30 years without her there, it was a positive experience.  I got to spend time with my aunts and uncles who I don't get to see nearly enough.  We look through oodles of old pictures since Mary Ellen saved tons of snapshots from all the eras of her life.  There were lots of pictures of my cousins and myself as babies and little kids, but my favorites were the pictures from my mom's childhood and hippie days.

Here are (from left to right): my mom, my uncle Gene, my aunt Sheila, my uncle Mike, my uncle Tim and my uncle David.  It's hard to see the six of them lined up with the obvious missing sisters: Mary Ellen and Martha.

The person in charge of taking a picture of myself with my cousins didn't actually get a shot of us.  Kind of amazing since his mom is an excellent photographer.  I assume I'll be emailed a copy of the picture at some point.

Here's my cousin Dillon playing with Serafina.

He's mastered the impressive skill of balancing a cocktail and entertaining a toddler at the same time.

Gathering and reminiscing as the sun begins to set.

Brothers and sisters enjoying one another's company.

Serafina putting on an interpretive dance performance for aunt Avis and others.

Sheila balanced both Serafina and baby Elizabeth.  Such a cute baby, but what an old fashion name (ha!).

Serafina toasting with her new friend Kalani.

Snow!

What's a winter ski house without snow?

 A fun place to hang out as a family.

But it really is better with snow, and last night, we got some!

After packing up our stuff and prepping the house for the next visitors, we bundled the kids and let them go outside to see the snow.

Here's Leo throwing his first snowball.

Serafina wasn't quite sure what to make of it.

Though we are in the general Tahoe area, our house is on Donner Lake - named for the famous Donner Party.  The pioneers' camp was just down the road from where we are staying and it is now the Donner Memorial State Park.  Those that know me well, know I have a interest in the macabre, so this was an obvious destination for today.  In addition to a little museum, the park has a lovely nature walk.

Here we are starting out.  

A memorial plaque where the pioneers' camped and waited for rescue.

Beautiful little creek and beautiful husband and kids.

Tasting snow.

Serafina's turn.

It was a perfect way to end our first trip.  The drive home was smooth and we look forward to our next visit in two weeks.

My favorite ski video

This was only his second run during ski school. I crack up every time I watch it.

Skiing with dad

We tried something a little different today and it worked better for us. Instead of spending all day at an overpriced ski "village", we went to a smaller spot where Leo could ski for free and Tom could buy a special ticket that allowed him to work with Leo on the bunny slopes.

 Serafina and I dropped the boys off in the morning, and then headed to the store and back home to make some lunch. We packed up the food and headed back to meet up with the skiers. By the time we got there, the boys were already taking their break. Tom was happy with how Leo was doing and Leo was having fun. We ate our lunch in the lodge and the boys went out for more skiing. Unfortunately, the wind was really picking up and it was bitterly cold. I had Serafina bundled up and in the carrier on my chest so I could wear my jacket on my own back. She just buried her head into my chest when that icy wind blew on her. She isn't much of a cold fan. She wanted to get down at one point to be in the snow, so I got her down (not an easy task), but after the first gust, she wanted back in.

 I didn't get too many pictures because they only ended up doing one post-lunch run. Plus, it was too cold for me to stand out there and take pictures.

Tom helping Leo into his skis.

Making their way to the magic carpet*.

Riding up on the magic carpet

At the end of the run, Leo turned into a puddle of tears.  I was close enough to come over and walk him back to the lodge.  He was just tired and cold, but not soured to the experience at all.  Tom thinks Leo could use a few more ski school visits, but at this better location (Sugar Bowl, in case anyone is interested).

*The magic carpet is a moving walkway that takes new skiers up to the top of a bunny slope.  They stay standing up and doesn't require the type of coordination a chair lift requires.

First ski of the season

Last night, we loaded my car until it was about to burst and headed to Tahoe.  Our plan was to have the kids fall asleep in the car shortly after we left at 8pm, but Serafina had a different idea.  She didn't fall asleep until almost 11, and that was after some serious objections to her situation.  Though the kids woke up when we arrived, they settled in and slept fine after that.  It was my first time seeing the house and I'm very happy with the place Tom and our fellow leaser picked.  It's spacious yet cozy and will be perfect for our winter retreat.  I just have to hope Serafina gets on board with the sleeping in the car plan. 

This morning we headed to one of the few ski resorts making snow.  The half-day ski school didn't start until 12:30, so Tom hit the slopes and the kids and I went on a scenic drive.  We stopped on the shore of the lake to take in the beauty. 

The kids were having so much fun throwing rocks into the water, it was hard to convince Leo to leave but I assured him he would have plenty of fun at ski school.
Here he is all geared up.

Here's Serafina when she realized she wouldn't be able to ski too.

She cheered up when she discovered the snow.

We weren't that happy with the experience because they kept Leo waiting a full hour before coming outside so the other kids could get fitted for skis and boots.  We rented Leo's gear for the season at a place near our house.  We were waiting so long without seeing him, I ended up going downstairs and demanding the instructor find my child.  She suggested he was outside in the kid area and I just didn't see him.  Um, lady, I think I'd recognize my own child.  When I went back outside, Leo had just arrived and his lesson was getting under way.  He's in the mint green helmet listening to the instructor.

Trying out one ski just to see how it feels.

Heading down.

Very serious about skiing.

The kid area had a lot of little bodies going to and fro, and the instructors couldn't give the kids a ton of attention.  He seemed like a little peanut out there but he was giving it his best.  I watched him most of the time, but took a walk to help Serafina fall asleep in the carrier on my back since the school was during nap time.  

  I have some funny videos of him skiing and having to be picked up by the handle on his school vest, but the internet connection at the house isn't great, so I'll share them when we are back to our real lives.  

In the meantime, here's a quick video I got to load.  This is towards the end of his lesson when he was doing less comical falling.  

We plan to head to a different ski spot tomorrow.  Tom wants to take the instruction into his own hands, so we'll see how that goes.  Leo enjoyed it, but asked me about going ice skating too.