Uncle Peter and Aunt Kim

We were so thrilled to have my brother, Peter, and his sweet wife, Kim, come for a visit.  Peter visited Os and me when we lived in Davis ten years ago, so it was especially nice to have him here again.  Kim had never been to California so she had a lot of sights to see.


We had a fun time wandering the streets of San Francisco and ended their stay with a pilgrimage to Tartine Bakery.  Kim is pregnant with their first child and we (I!) are anxiously awaiting the arrival of baby this July.

 

 

Skiing - Northstar 2012

This was our first family trip to ski in Tahoe and we had great time at Northstar with a house full of friends.  The snow has been horrible all year, but I always love being near the snow.


The kids on the gondola with hat hair and hot chocolate lips.

The boys were in ski school and, so far, BiggiE seems pretty content on the "magic carpet".  His big skiing exploit (which we have already heard retold numerous times) was him taking a very sharp right hand turn (I'm pretty sure accidently) and skiing right onto the middle of the "magic carpet" and heading back UP the slope.  That must have been a funny sight to see.

Moose is on lifts now and enjoying green runs.  It is so much fun to ski with him.  He doesn't seem very inclined to make turns, but at least he can when he needs to...

Here's our snow bunny.  Don't worry, Jelly Bean, your turn will come soon enough.

Here she is proving her readiness to ski...

We were up at Northstar with our Davis grad school friends.  Here Erin is being Mother Goose to Jelly Bean, Emory and Mitra.

"Make Your Own Sushi" night was a huge success, though our friend Ryan really suffered after the wasabi eating contest.

Sledding!  I love Eliza's expression.

Here comes BiggiE.

Moose got a nice twisty ride.

All the crazy kids - ages 1-11

 

Dillon Beach - 2012

Our friend, Jake, is a master at making trades.  This January he traded a couple cases of wine for a house at the coast.  A mi me gusta.
 
Here are the boys represented (BiggiE, Caleb, Moose and Wes).  The are being entertained off camera.

The other two moms, Deana and Nina, inspire me to be the kind of mom I want to be.  One thing I love about them is that they are so much fun.  We played family hide-and-seek in the dark and we set up a scavenger for the kids that ended with the doorbell ringing and the delivery of a huge chocolate cake with the instructions to only eat with hands.  At first the kids seem to not quite believe they were allowed to use their hands, but they soon got over their hesitation.  Oh, and they're in the bathing suits so they could hop in the hot tub.  What a life!

 

BiggiE and Jelly Bean are taking the chance for handfuls of cake very seriously.



I love the beach of northern California in the winter.  If you time it right you can get some beautiful sunny days.  Maybe it feels so great because the coast up here is often so foggy and freezing in the summer and you never know what to expect. 

 

The great sand race of 2011.  I think Os is letting Moose stay close...

I am hilariously behind in this blog so here is an onslaught of everything I haven't posted in the last year.  I just found out a way in Picasa to upload an entire post of pictures to Blogger, so all the pictures are set up and as I write in the info I will post.

The first one is Dillon Beach which was January 2012.  Yikes!

Happy Birthday, Jelly Bean!

Guess who is four-years-old today?

We love you, Jelly Bean!!

Jelly Bean's 4th Birthday Party

Jelly Bean loves animals and she really loves penguins.  So while I half expected her to request a princess birthday party or a Minnie Mouse party, I wasn't too surprised when she asked for penguin party.

Here she is with her sweet friends:  Lily, Sarah and Breck
 

I found these cute plates and they helped inspire the cake.  Plus, you can't have a penguin party without snowflakes and ice crystals (even if they're really sugar).
 

I saw this cute idea and really wanted to do it, but I saved it until the very last in case I ran out of time.  It was super easy to make these penguins and I can think of a number of fun wintery occasions when they could appear.
 

The cake.  I love playing with fondant.  It is my five-year-old self who still wants to do playdoh all day.  After Moose's party I discovered how easy it is to use fondant for characters.  Plus, you can make them way ahead of time (thereoreically, not that I've managed to) and then place them on the cake.
 

Jelly Bean loved her little guys and the giant pink FOUR.
 

 

We played several simple games.  I loved this one.  The kids had to be parent penguins and see who could waddle across the room with their baby penguin between their legs the fastest.
 

 

Jelly Bean had a blast at her party as you can see.  This is her anticipation of the "Catch the Fish" relay.
 

Not too easy when you can't use your flippers...


Most of the birthday crew.  I thinking they're making plans for how to win the next relay (or just trying to get the sticky Swedish Fish out of their teeth!)

 

Did I mention she loves penguins?

We love you, Jelly Bean!

Soccer -- Go Lightening!

Moose had a great soccer season this year on the Lightening.  We really enjoyed the coaches because not only were the supportive, they really taught the boys skills.  BiggiE had to sit this season out due to his rebroken arm but he was the most devoted water carrier for Moose.

Moose was one of the older kids on the team and it really gave him a chance to shine with his leadership and playing ability.

At the end of the year party the head coach said of Moose: "I was so surprised this player could speak Spanish and he did a great job playing goalie and forward."

Moose made a lot of great stops in goal and at the other end of the field he had some good shots on goal.  Os doesn't get to come to very many of the games since his work schedule is so crazy this time of year and it was such a treat that he got to be there when Moose scored his one goal of the season.

Moose clearing the ball.

Go Moose!  (The tunnel of fans.)

Great season, Lightening!