I don't even know where to start. Our sweet Billie girl got very sick very suddenly. Thursday morning Tom had to rush her to the vet. It was hard to determine what exactly was wrong, but she couldn't breathe well. We took care of her at home for the next two days, but she didn't improve. She didn't eat, she didn't drink and she didn't act anything like herself. She was so weak and sad; not the tough old broad who raised a litter of kittens under a porch in Montana before she was two years old. She was barely holding on and we couldn't stand to see her that way. Tom made the terribly tough decision to have her put to sleep on Saturday. Tom and I got to be with her until the very end. It was absolutely heartbreaking, but it was the right thing to do.
Here's some pictures of our sweet girl.
This is after we moved to Sunnyvale but before Leo was born.
Here's Tom making newborn Leo ride Billie.
Both cats keeping Leo company on our bed.
She was pretty tolerant with the kids.
Here's Leo sharing a picture of our cats in first grade.
And Serafina wrote about Billie last year for a kindergarten project.
There will never be another cat like Billie. She looked like a kitten her whole life; she was tough as nails and fiercely independent, but also extremely loving and sweet.
Unfortunately, all our cat drama happened on Nana's birthday. She was very understanding and compassionate about our situation and we celebrated on Sunday with a delicious brunch.
I'm not quite sure what to say about the last five days. Every year, we head to Tahoe for ski week. We usually have our housemates up with us, and the last couple years Aunt Maggie and Grandma Carrie join us as well. This year we were on our own. Because we've had some issues with traffic and chain control on Friday nights this season, we decided to get up early on Saturday to drive up there.
We arrived with time for the skiers to head out at Alpine Meadows. Unfortunately the weather wasn't great so the kids only did a handful of runs before coming into the lodge.
On Sunday, the kids wanted to go to Sugarbowl, which was the spot where they learned to ski and we spent lots of time there in the past.
It's a beautiful place with easy parking and a laid back vibe that I really like.
Here's Serafina all ready to go out for a day of skiing.
Before going outside, Tom gave the kids a pep talk about drinking plenty of water and not whining.
Quick picture.
It was a bit rough out there and they came in soaking wet and Serafina had ice in her hair.
Ski lodge selfie.
After lunch, the kids weren't interested in facing the weather again so Tom went back out alone and we got down to some serious coloring.
The weather got more severe so Monday we hunkered down and stayed home. We stayed in pajamas, played Monopoly and ate lots of snacks.
After lunch, we decided to head outside for at least a little bit.
They made snow angels in our driveway.
Leo tried his best to find spots to use the saucer.
Snow selfie.
Tom decided we should try to walk in the woods behind the house and see if there was a hill to use the saucers. Everyone kept sinking in to our waists.
No good spots to slide around, but we still had fun.
That night, the storm picked up even more. The winds were strong and loud and at 7:30 we lost power.
Candle light selfie.
We ended up all trying to sleep in one king bed so no one got cold or scared. The kids did okay but the adults didn't sleep very well.
Tuesday we woke up and waited for the plow to come do our driveway. He didn't show up and Tom was eager to get out of the house so that meant shoveling...lots and lots of shoveling.
It took about a hour but we made it out. The road to Squaw Valley ski resort was white out conditions. Pretty but very stressful even just as a passenger. Tom is a great driver in the snow. I'm not a fan of being behind the wheel in the snow, so he does almost all the driving when there is weather.
I made it to a yoga class in Squaw Village and the skiers headed out to ski. Only one lift was open and by the time my yoga class was over, the remaining lift closed too.
Instead of skiing, the kids made a snowman with Tom.
It was snowy enough in the village that they could ski to the car. This cut down on the whining about having to carry their gear.
After a failed ski day, we headed downtown for shopping and dinner. My favorite store was closed, but our favorite restaurant was open. At the end of our meal, the restaurant went completely dark. In fact, almost the entire town of Truckee lost power. Thankfully, all that was left to do was pay the check. I was very worried that the power would be out at our house too. And that the plow hadn't been by, but when we got there the driveway was cleared and the lights were on. I was so relieved.
Wednesday was clear and beautiful at our house. Tom took the kids back to Sugarbowl but the weather wasn't quite as nice there. They still got a long day of skiing in and I spent time cleaning the house and shoveling the stairs so our housemates could get in the house today.
Here's a picture of our street I took yesterday.
The drive home was rough. It took a long time to get down the mountain. We ate dinner late and got home really late. Overall, it was a challenging trip. It looks like after a storm this coming weekend, the mountains will experience a dry spell. I hope that means the rest of our visits will be easier. I need it to be easier.
The third graders in Leo's class were all assigned different Native American tribes and asked to create a visual project to accompany a report they would do on the tribe. Leo's tribe was the Hupa and he decided he wanted to do a diorama of a sweathouse. After some research, he made a plan and got to work.
Here he is with the glue gun.
Painting a mountain background.
The finished product. This was a lot of work and Leo was dedicated to his vision. We went through a lot of glue gun sticks, but he's happy with the result.
Happy Valentine's Day! Both kids celebrated with their classes after lunch so I was bouncing between the rooms trying to help. I helped set up and clean up in Serafina's room. I didn't get a good picture of her. Her class decorated heart cookies but I wasn't there for that part.
Here's her monster bag on the back of her chair and all the kids stuck the Valentines in it.
I was in Leo's room to help pass out snacks. Also a terrible picture of him. Sigh. Photography wasn't my top priority today and it shows.
Here they are after school, sorting through the loot and making a mess of my table.
We headed up to Tahoe Friday night and it took us a long time to get there. All of us got less sleep than we should have but we made the best of the weekend. Can you believe how much snow is outside our house?
Tom is tall. The snow mound outside our front door is taller.
Sunday Tom took three kids to the mountain since our housemates tend to be a little slower in the morning and their oldest kid, Carlo, was ready and eager to go.
Serafina has won the San Jose Sharks reading medal twicenow. In December, her class read the most pages across all the school programs and that earned the class a visit from team mascot Sharkie.
He made the kids laugh.
And he posed for a group picture.
But since Serafina brought her medal, I had to ask Sharkie for a quick picture and he didn't disappoint.
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