Ski Week in Tahoe

During winter break, we headed to Tahoe for our first real ski trip. Tahoe had a record snowfall this winter and we knew we had to make at least one trip up to see all of it. Mommy also felt it was finally time for me to learn how to ski.

But on our way up, another snowstorm was passing through and they had to close the I-80. That left us scrambling to find a dog-friendly place to stay for the night, and we ended up at a Best Western in Roseville. Not ideal, but the upside was that Brady was finally allowed to sleep in the same bed with us!

We finally made it to our awesome cabin in Kings Beach the next day. It was so big and nice, too bad we lost a night there! There was a bunk bed I got to sleep on top, and also a ping pong table. Lots of fun!

What the cabin normally looks like.

Can you see the front of the cabin?

The cabin was surrounded by plenty of fresh snow. We couldn't even use the fenced backyard since the snow was so high.

Looking over the fence to the backyard. Can't even see the bottom half of the cabin!

Deep powder in the front yard.

Colin licking an icicle.

Video clip of us in the snow:

We also spent an afternoon at a sledding hill that we discovered last year. We tried to build a snowman, but then it started to snow. And Colin's mittens kept falling off his tiny hands, he had enough and wanted to leave. Poor guy wasn't a huge fan of the snow!

For my very first ski lesson we went to Boreal Ski Resort, which is where Mommy learned to ski when she was my age. I took a two hour lesson while Mommy and Daddy waited with Colin. With our luck, there was a power outage at the resort that day, so instead of getting to ride the magic carpet, I had to carry my own skis and walk up the hill! It must not have been too bad because I really enjoyed my lesson and afterward, I wanted to go back and keep skiing. After lunch, Daddy walked back up with me to practice some more. It would have been nice if Mommy and Daddy got to ski too, but somebody had to stay with Colin.

At the end of the day, it ended up seeming like a four day trip just so I could take a two hour ski lesson. It took a lot of effort, but it was all worth it in the end and we accomplished our goal of me learning to ski!

We stopped at Nut Tree for lunch on the way home and shared a kids size(!) banana split.

 

Valentine's Day Crafts

I chose a box of cheap valentines from Target for my classmates this year so sadly, no homemade valentines for Mommy to help me with. At least she got to satisfy her crafting bug with Colin's. They were super easy and fun to make!

Colin had a little Valentine's party at preschool and was excited to show off his projects. He was even more excited to eat all the candy he received.

As for me, I was just happy to find a surprise note in my lunchbox.

First Tooth!

I finally lost my first tooth! I had been waiting impatiently for this to happen, since I'm one of the last kids in my class to lose their first tooth. It finally started to wiggle and then wiggled for two weeks. It got to a point where it was so loose that I was begging Mommy to pull it out. But she wouldn't do it. Finally, I couldn't wait and I pulled it out myself!

Before and after.

We've recently started journal writing in school, and the story of losing my tooth was one of my first entries. Here it is! (spelling has been corrected for this story, grammar has not)

My Tooth is Loose
One day I was doing my homework. I wiggled my tooth. It has been wiggly for a week. So I pulled it a little. And it clicked. Mom! I shouted. My tooth clicked. Did your tooth fall out? she exclaimed. No, I insisted. So I tugged it super hard. I tugged so hard...it fell out! My gums were bleeding super hard. I couldn't stand it. Finally it stopped. It had been a minute. I put the tooth in my tooth bowl that I made. At bedtime I put the tooth in a plastic bag then I put it under my pillow. After my first dream, I woke up. I looked at the time. It was 1:04. Then I laid down. Then I heard a fluttering sound so I sat up. I laid down again. It started again. I was confused. So I got out of my bed. Then I saw the tooth fairy I think. The next morning I looked under my pillow. There was 3 dollars and a note. And here is the note. And I can't wait until my second tooth falls out!

Brady is Four!

Another year, another birthday. Happy birthday to the best dog ever!

SoCal New Year

Here are some other photos from our New Year's trip down to SoCal. We brought Brady along too and he probably had as much fun as we did with the Tans. Where else can he get constant attention, multiple walks a day, and super-fluffy Chewie as a companion?

On New Years Day we went to Huntington Dog Beach and Brady and Chewie had a blast running off leash and socializing with the other dogs there. We're just glad he didn't run away. It was also awesome that we could go to the beach in January!

We visited the Discovery Cube in Santa Ana. With three floors there was so much for kids to do, we barely got through all of the exhibits. Some of the more fun things was an interactive hockey exhibit and an outdoor dinosaur scavenger hunt.

Every time we go to Orange County we end up at Irvine Spectrum. We went on all the same attractions as usual. There was also a Hello Kitty food truck with a ridiculously long line. We didn't eat there, but the food looked really cute.

Of course there was lots of quality cousin time! 

Super-soft Chewie vs. Super-smooth Brady:

I had a lot of fun helping Alex make her movie trailers. Here's one of my favorites!

Disneyland Trip #3

We kicked off 2017 with a trip to Disneyland. It was Alex's birthday and the Tans joined us too. Colin especially had a blast - his first visit was when he was nine months old and didn't remember anything so this trip was especially magical for him. He got so excited every time he saw a character (except for the Storm Troopers!) and loved every ride he went on. The park was still decked out for the holidays and even though it was crowded, we managed to go on every ride we wanted. By 8pm we were satisfied and ready to call it a day!

Technically, it was his second visit. But he got a "1st Visit" badge anyway.

We went on the Buzz Lightyear Astro Blasters ride for the first time and, I will admit, I did not like it. Turns out I'm really sensitive to dark and loud noises, so that limited a lot of the ride options for the rest of the day. I even passed on It's a Small World since somehow I was convinced that there was something scary about it. Mommy took me to see the parade while the rest went on It's a Small World. 

Colin enjoyed it so much that he got to ride it a second time with Mommy. She took a video so I could see that it wasn't so scary inside. I agreed that I will check it out the next time!

At least I didn't miss my favorite rides, the Astro Orbitor and Gadget's Go Coaster in Toontown.

Every night at dinner time we usually go around the table and each tell what our favorite part of the day was. So on the drive home, this is what we each had to say:

Mommy: My favorite part of the day was seeing the look on Colin's face when he first met Pluto and watching the evening parade.

The first thing Colin said when he met Pluto was "Where's Mickey?"

Pluto made a little kissing sound and Colin thought it was the funniest thing ever. He couldn't stop smiling and laughing as we were walking away.

Daddy: My favorite part of the day was riding the Buzz Lightyear ride with Colin and the Teacup ride with Kaitlyn.

Kaitlyn: My favorite part of the day was the boat ride (Jungle Safari) and seeing Eeyore in the parade and in the Winnie the Pooh ride.

Colin: My favorite part of the day was riding the bus (the parking shuttle) and getting Buzz Lightyear.

Finally, thanks to Alex's talented editing skills, we have a short movie highlighting our trip. Enjoy!

December Fun

As usual, December was a very busy time of year, filled with holiday related activities at school, preschool, and on weekends. 

Daddy's Birthday:

We kicked off the month with Daddy's birthday! We went to Sam's Chowder House in Half Moon Bay where I rediscovered clam chowder and steamed mussels. I liked it so much that I said I want to spend every birthday celebration here from now on.

The Nutcracker:

I went to watch my friend Shaifali perform in her dance school's presentation of The Nutcracker. It was a full-length version and she was only in two numbers, but I enjoyed the whole thing. Coincidentally, it was in the same theater where we saw the Kidz Bop concert and we happened to have the exact same assigned seats!

School Celebrations:

On the last day of school before winter break, our class took a field trip to a senior housing facility where we sang for the residents. We performed four songs. It probably took us longer to walk to the residence than our actual performance, but it was a fun experience. At the end of the day we had a class party. 

Colin had a little party at preschool too, where they drank hot chocolate and decorated cookies (which eventually just meant him shoving M&M's into his mouth).

Visits with Santa:

We went to a holiday party hosted by BMC and they were smart enough to put a sleigh next to Santa for those kids afraid to sit on his lap. It worked out really well for Colin!

Colin also had a Christmas party at day care. This time Mommy prepped him beforehand and told him that Santa gives gifts, and if he wanted one he had to sit on Santa's lap and give a nice smile. It worked! In fact, Mommy was told that he was the only one out of all the kids that didn't cry! Funny story: when Santa asked Colin what he wanted for Christmas, he randomly answered "Batman." Coincidentally, he unwrapped his gift and there was a Batman toy!

Zoo Lights:

We took advantage of our membership and headed to the SF Zoo after hours. They had this special event where various parts of the zoo were decorated with Christmas lights and figures. There was also real live reindeer, fake snow, and holiday train ride. It was cold! Colin and I had fun, but Mommy's not sure it would be worth going to again, especially since most of the animals were sleeping. 

Gingerbread House:

This year's theme: Trolls!

San Jose Children's Discovery Museum:
A fun place to visit when it's too cold outside.

Colin explores food coloring and a block of ice.

They made this entire play structure out of packing tape!

Children's Creativity Museum:
After Christmas we had two weeks of winter break. Colin still had a bunch of unused days for backup daycare (a great benefit at Daddy's work) so we took advantage of that. Not that we didn't want to spend quality time with him, but there were some outings that were much easier to go without him (sorry Colin!). So while he was at "special" daycare in the city, Mommy took me to the Children's Creativity Museum. I had been wanting to come back here to create another stop animation movie, and it's the first thing I did when we got there. We spent over an hour creating clay figures and filming our movie. I was very pleased with the result!

We also made a shorter film using paper cutouts.

And I made another music video. This time I chose Cheap Thrills by Shakira. For some reason they never sent us the video though. 

Ice Skating in Union Square:

Colin spent one more day at backup daycare and we went into the city for some holiday festivities. We went ice skating in Union Square, saw the puppies and kittens in the Macy's store window, and met up with Daddy for lunch.

It was a nice way to end the year and that was just the beginning of winter break! We had a whole other week of fun ahead of us.