School work, friends and new glasses

I helped in Leo's classroom today and took down the Valentine's display to make room for St. Patrick's Day.  This was Leo's answer to the question: do you like getting hugs or kisses from you family?

 In case you can't read the answer, it says "I like getting kisses more than hugs from my family because they are adorable."

Speaking of adorable, it was easy to spot Leo's self-portrait on the wall because he's the only one with glasses.

 It was the end of the term, so the kids were out of school early.  We went to the park with our friends.

Serafina and Sonja on the tire swing.

 Joined by Leo and Sidney.

 Leo's new glasses arrived.

Gold swimmer

Leo was tested today and got moved up to Gold level at swim school.  That's the last stage of the program.  He was really proud of himself.  

Happy Birthday, Nana!

 We didn't get to be with Nana on her birthday but the kids got to FaceTime with her this evening.

I tried to take a moment to relax on the couch this afternoon, but you can see how well that worked out.  Silly me.  

Serafina lost another tooth this morning.  Exciting stuff!

Sunny and Sunny

We are still having unseasonable warm weather and no rain.  The pool is freezing cold but the kids couldn't resist getting in at least a little.  

 In the afternoon, we headed to an indoor play place to celebrate Sonja's birthday.  Sonja, or Sunny as she's is called by family and friends, turned five and will probably be in Serafina's kindergarten class next year.

 Her mom made these cute beach bear cupcakes.

Ski Week 2015

We came home last night after a long visit to the ski house.  Shew!  I'm glad to be home though I'm having to work my way through a mountain of laundry.  

We drove up on Friday night and Grandma Carrie and Aunt Maggie were already there.  Our housemates Stephen, Carlo and Nico arrived shortly after us.  We all headed to the ski spot on Saturday.  Leo was excited to ski with his friends and family.  

 Then we had a conversation about eye color and I took this picture to show him what his eyes look like.  Pretty eyes and major eyebrows.

 Maggie, Leo, Tom and Carlo head out.

 Serafina was ready to go.

Grandma Carrie was excited to take her.

 After two fun days of skiing, Maggie and Carrie had to head back home.  Maggie is in college in Orange County and Carrie is still in Denver.

 On Monday, the dads and kids went back for more skiing and I hit a trail at the base of the mountain for a solo hike.

 It was peaceful, beautiful and challenging.

I got up to this lovely vista but I couldn't see Donner Lake, so I pushed on.

 And boom!  I got my big payoff.

I was pretty proud of myself so naturally I took a selfie.  

I went back to the mountain to meet up with everyone.  The big lodge was closed after the weekend since there isn't very much snow.  The other lodge has primarily outdoor seating, which was fine because it was really warm out.  I was wearing just a tank top while I sat outside.  

Here's Serafina and Nico having a post-skiing snack.

 Relaxing after a long ski day.

 And on Tuesday there was...you guessed it, more skiing.
Tom gathered his kids to give them some praise about their skiing skills.

 And then things got goofy.

Since most of the crowds headed home Monday, we went to our favorite restaurant Tuesday night.  

Yesterday we woke up and had an easy morning.  No skiing so no rushing around to get out of the house and to the mountain.  

Instead we visited the "big lake", Lake Tahoe.  

 The kids walked along the rocks while Tom and I took the easy paved path.

 Tom looks contemplative gazing out at the lake.

 This is the mouth of the Truckee River where it leads to the lake.  Notice anything?  Like an almost complete lack of water?  If someone doesn't believe the drought is serious, show him this picture.  Today I gave my friend a hard time for a leaky sprinkler.

 There was still some river flowing.

 And there is nothing more fun than throwing things into a river.

Tom and Stephen took videos of the kids skiing.  If there is anything good, I'll post it soon.