Jack Takes on the Mountain

Yippee!!! Jack has officially moved past the bunny hill and Sugar and Spice. During his last lesson, Jack's instructor took him on an "intermediate" run. In my opinion, this particular run is really a mislabeled beginner hill...whatever, at least Jack could feel like he could conquer the "blue runs". Today he wanted to try this slope again to show off his advanced skills (HA!). Well, knowing that he doesn't really know his way around the mountain, I took him down a true intermediate run and told him it was the one he went down in his lesson. Yes, I lied to my child. About half-way down he said, "Wow, this hill is much steeper than it was last time". When he successfully reached the bottom, I broke the news to him that he went down a much harder run. Turns out, this is just the confidence builder he needed. He instantly wanted to try every blue run at Sierra. We spent the rest of the day exploring new terrain for Jack including Lower Main and West Bowl. Next stop...black diamonds ; )

Taking a breather on Escape

Jack and I having a Kodak moment at the top of West Bowl

My boys

Photographer Jack capturing the kid angle. Note: objects in this photo appear larger than actual size.

Jack and Bob riding up from the back side.

Life is good.

Miss Macy

Many people have told me that my kids will grow up quickly. Indeed, it seems they are changing right before my eyes. Just last week, as she sprinted to the bathroom, Macy yelled out "I have to go potty!" I asked her if she needed help. She stopped and plainly answered "Mommy, it comes out by itself, I don't need any help!" Duh.. Yes, it's true, our girl is growing up. Here are a handful of pictures we have taken lately of Little Miss Macy.



On a recent Sunday, Bob took one for the team and hung out at Sierra while Jack and I had fun on the hill. It was a Daddy-daughter bonding day.

Evidently the day started off a little slow.

Things looked up as Macy and Bob went up to the deck to share some left over cake.

Checking out the tee pee in Thunder Gulch

BACK HOME ON SNOWY DAYS...

One of Macy's favorite past times is playing dress up. This is one of her favorite ensembles.

Macy and Humo hanging out by the fire.

Snow Forts at the Cabin

Last week we spent the night up at the cabin to celebrate Grandma Mignon's birthday. While I enjoyed the dinner at Sunnyside and hitting the slopes the following day, the boys would argue making forts were the definite highlight of the weekend. Regardless, fun was had by all!!!

Papa, Bob and Jack enjoying their chilly accommodations

Papa George dropping a little present on Jack

I think he's a pretty cute kid ; )

Sierra Snow Sports

As part of our New Year's Resolution, Bob and I have decided to start dating again! On one recent day off, we headed up to Sierra at Tahoe for some skiing. Although the snow is a bit used and abused at this point, we had GREAT time. For Christmas, Bob bought me new skis so it was a treat to try them out! Ironically, many of our friends were up there too... likewise enjoying a day away from their kids. I am looking forward to another day on the snow very soon.

As you can tell there was not a huge crowd on the slopes. Did I mention, I LOVE my new skis!?!

Bob and the other hand, prefers his rock skis for special occasions like this.

Too bad I didn't get the final "ate shit" shot after he landed

Cheeeeeese!!!

We had a nice lunch at the West Bowl Cantina with our friends. I must say my skiing greatly improved after a beer or two.

Bob needed a lift by the end of the day.

After a day of skiing and a fancy dinner out with the Gimpels, the guilt set in and we decided to pay attention to the little Little's. On Sunday, I spent hours playing My Little Pony and coloring (I know you are all jealous) while Bob took Jack up to Sierra for his first snowboarding lesson. I can definitely say Jack got bit hard by the snowboarding bug and is looking forward to his next lesson. Given the fact that Bob and I are old school skiers, we will be counting on Uncle Ross to accompany Jack in future years.

Jack trying on his gear in the back of the truck. He was smiling like this ALL day.

Learning about those edges.

He did well for his first time out. I definitely recommend Wild Mountain ski school to any of you interested in getting your kids on the slopes.

That smile lasted long after he got home!!!

Another Great Family Trip

Since becoming a parent I have come to understand the distinction between a vacation and a family trip. While both are rewarding and fun... you always feel like you need a vacation after a family trip. Nothing beats listening to kid songs over and over to avoid a major melt down. Truly, Raffi served as our mediator while driving for hours through the Nevada desert. This was the first (and last) time I let Jack pack his own suitcase. Interesting what goes through a 8 year old boy's head when packing the necessities. In the end, I remind myself we won't get to do this forever and this trip will be just another great memory.

First stop San Diego... We stayed at the Hall's house while they were spending time in London. Although it was a bit chilly during our stay we made sure we made it to the beach, Macy's merry-go-round, and Balboa Park. As always we had a fantastic time in San Diego and we will definitely be returning soon.

For the past month Macy had been reminiscing about her last trip to the Carousel at Mission Beach. This was our first stop and she was definitely not disappointed. Jack on the other hand...

He is now to too cool for this, but took one for the team.

We also played tourist and visited San Diego's Old Town. This is another one of those educational and free experiences that both parents and kids enjoy. I thought it was really interesting to learn about San Diego's history, while Jack and Macy enjoyed climbing on everything. It was a win-win situation.

We toured the pueblo museum. This is a replica of their oven. Again, I thought it was interesting and Macy liked that she could climb on it.

The plants are amazing.... Jack really liked this "HUGE piece of asparagus". We dared him to take a bite but he is wising up to us.

The kids loved the covered wagon in the courtyard

And yes, despite it being cold out we headed out to Silver Strand Beach, south of Coronado for some fun in the sand. Nothing screams "Out-of-Towner" than this!!!

Nothing beats burying your child in the sand. Our first thought was to make him look like a mermaid but we took pity and turned him into a fish.

This shot captures the lovely temperature

Me and my baby!

Macy loved the beach too!!!

Bob tried on some new hairdo's... Seaweed Dreads

How about a seaweed mullet???

On day three of San Diego we explored Balboa Park. We went to the science museum, air and space museum, and the railroad museum. This best part is all this sight seeing earned us all a nap when we got back to the house.

Macy getting ready for take off!

Macy and I in the lookout tower

Jack in the NASA exhibit.

Perhaps my favorite outing (which I did not take any pictures of) was the Boat light Parade in the Harbor and touring the neighborhoods and seeing all the Christmas decorations. Jack was shocked that people put up more than one strand of lights on their house. I hope he doesn't expect the same from us next year. While it is not the white holiday season we are used to... San Diego was very festive.

On Christmas Eve, we headed up to see Larry, Marnye, and Ian in Glendale. We had a super visit with Bob's sister and we enjoyed seeing their new home. Jack got to hang out with his teenage cousin and Macy got to visit the Burbank Equestrian Center with Aunt Marnye.

Macy gets acquainted with Carlo

Macy feeds Glados some carrots and cookies. She LOVED the horses.

After saying goodbye to the Langer family we headed North East to Pahrump, Nevada to visit my brother Kevin and his family. I am thankful we were able to see each other for the holidays. Our kids get along smashingly and it was nice to actually have time to visit with the adults. We had a great time and I regretted only staying one night.

Niklas, Jack, Anya, Macy and Ava pause for a picture before opening their presents.

From Pahrump we pressed on through the desert... through valley, past the brothels, and over the ghost towns to grandfather's house. We met up with my Dad for a short Christmas visit.... sorry no pictures : ) and made it safely home. Phew!! I am ready for a VACATION!!!!!

It Looks a Lot Like Christmas

This past weekend we made our pilgrimage up Ice House Road to get a Christmas tree. As always fun was had by all, especially Macy who for the first time is getting into the Christmas spirit. I LOVE this time of year!!

A group shot.. The Mickelson, Leddy, and Little families warming up after finding our trees.

Chris and Bob showing off their machismo.. Who can break their back first pulling a sled full of children?

The truth.. the ladies hang out at the fire pit while everybody else hunts for a tree in the cold. Kim, Lisa, and Danielle stand cozy by the fire.

BACK AT THE HOME FRONT...we decorate our tree!

Our Little Elf gets ready to help out

Maybe helping out isn't the correct wording. Standing right in the middle of the whole operation is more like it. This is one of those times when I realize I am acting like my parents. I kept reminding the kids to settle down.. get out of the boxes because we still have to get the lights on. I remember how much that wait sucked!!!

Finally, we all had our opportunity to weigh down the branches with as many ornaments as possible. Unlike other trees.. ours has no rhyme or reason and is simply filled with sentimental crap. Bob cringes when I put my beloved clothespin nutcracker on the tree. Hey- I made it in first grade and it is bordering on an antique. Furthermore, it is evidence that I have NO artistic talent in my body. BUT I love it anyway!!!

We hope you all are embracing your own family traditions this holiday season and have the opportunity to enjoy time with your loved ones too!!!

GO FISH!!!

We decided after spending days in the house eating and lounging around in our sweats, it was important to get out and blow the stench off ourselves. Speaking of stench, today we had family fun day at Nimbus Fish Hatchery. This is a great place to entertain the children for almost FREE!!! For five cents the kids could feed the fish. I figured they were worth such lavish spending. We spent a good two hours out there and I would highly recommend this excursion to all you other cheapskates out there.

Posing by the fish ladder... I am already an embarrassment to my children : )

Jack and Macy soaking up knowledge in the educational center.

Something is fishy about this picture. Oh, yeah - Macy is actually looking at the camera.

Jack intently feeding the fish

Macy LOVED this and probably would have stayed all day if given the chance. Alas, The Old Spaghetti Factory was calling!

I wonder how many of these cheesy tourist pictures I can take in the coming years? Another must have for the family albums!!!