Thanksgiving 2015: Lake Tahoe

In what is perhaps becoming our family tradition, we traveled again this year on Thanksgiving.  After hearing that the Lake Tahoe area received about a foot of snow in a recent snow storm, we decided to rent a house and spend four days playing in the fluffy white stuff that we never get to see here in the Bay Area.  It was SO MUCH FUN!

We drove up really early on Thursday morning and got to the rental house by 11.  We immediately changed into snow clothes and played in the yard for a few hours.  After that, Chris headed to the grocery store to buy some provisions for a small Thanksgiving dinner.  Because of a mistake in book keeping on my part, we were surprised to find a farm fresh box of produce on our doorstep at 5 am when we were getting ready to leave our house.  This was actually a blessing because I had a box of fresh veggies to cook along with our small turkey.  It was a simple but great dinner and our bellies and hearts were full.

On Friday we did not leave the house. It snowed lightly all day and all we did was alternate between playing outside and playing inside.  The rental house had a great snow hill immediately out back and it also abutted woods that were great for exploring.  We hiked up the hill, both the most and least steepest ways, and came sliding back down in sleds.  The dogs ran free and we enjoyed having these beautify quite woods all to ourselves.

   

On Saturday we stayed home for the morning and then drove to a local ski hill so the boys could take their first ski lessons.  I can't believe how nervous I was for them.  I did not know how they would react to the strange boots, the slippery snow, or being left with an instructor for a few hours.  The ski hill has a very well recommended ski school that gives these little kids a lot of independence and the kids took everything in stride.  They thought each step of the process was fun and did not blink when the instructor took them over to the bunny hill without us.

We were able to spy on them from a distance and in the beginning they hardly stayed on their feet.  I could see them trying to move their legs and gain some forward momentum but they would either stay in place or fall down!  I really did not give the boys enough credit.  Instead of finding everything frustrating and wanting to go home, they just learned how to do everything correctly.  In the span of an hour they were moving their legs the right way, getting to the magic carpet all by themselves, and progressing up the steeper parts of the bunny hill.  Eventually Chris and I were able to stand at the bottom of the small hill and watch them come down again and again.  They were beaming, I was beaming, it was wonderful!  At the end they get a report card of sorts and what the instructor said pretty much summed up what we witnessed.  Brody caught on pretty early and got the hang of things pretty easily.  He had no real fear of the speed,  did not like being unable to get up himself and once the skills started to be repetitive, he kind of coasted to the end of the lesson.  Brady really surprised me.  He went from not really being able to do anything to steadily improving with each run.  He smiled the entire time, never complained, had a incredibly positive attitude, and tried his hardest the whole time. I am so glad they had so much fun!

On Sunday we packed up and headed home on the early side to beat the traffic.  As we descended back down to sea level, the temperature rose into the 60's and it was as if we imagined our winter adventures.  All of a sudden all the extra clothes and boots seemed kind of suffocating.  It is so weird how one minute you can be in a winter wonderland and the next you are in sunny perfect weather.  For the rest of the afternoon, the kids played in the backyard in short sleeves bemoaning the loss of their snow hill.   This was probably one of our most relaxed, fun, and easy trips.  I can't wait to do it again!

Halloween 2015

This year we managed to pick one costume and stick with it - huge progress from last year when the boys changed their minds in the 11th hour!  Brody knew he wanted to be the Flash.  Rather funnily, he never called himself 'The Flash" but instead referred to himself as Barry Allen- the Flash's regular human name (can you tell I have no vocabulary for Super Heroes.  I better get studying).  We have a kids Flash book and Brody loves it.  He knows almost all the words and really enjoys the story.  He also likes when I call him "Flash" when he is running really fast so this costume was a natural fit.  Brady chose to be "Chase" from Paw Patrol.  Both Brady and Brody are Paw Patrol fans!  Brady referred to himself as "Chase is ON the case" the full tag line used in the cartoon, much to the confusion of anyone who asked who he was.  It is so funny what kids hear and retain and then decide to reuse in certain situations.

We squeezed in a quick trip to a pumpkin patch one Sunday on our way back from Monterey two weeks before Halloween.  Chris and I always retell the story of our first trip to a pumpkin path with the boys where after a rather speedy trip to the pumpkin path followed by a double diaper disaster, we managed to leave our pumpkins on the side of the road in Half Moon Bay.  This year we came home with pumpkins but not without having to constantly tell the boys they needed to pick out smaller pumpkins because we (uncharacteristically) had almost no cash on us and the pumpkin patch was cash only.  Luckily Brady is like his mom and he likes small cute things so we only had to reel Brody back from picking out the most ginormous pumpkin on the lot.  Hank was with us too so he got to visit his first pumpkin patch.  He took full advantage of all the fun and was the only one who really wanted his picture taken!

We left our pumpkins uncarved until we got back from Disney.  Then we realized that we only had a few days until Halloween so we better get carving!  We ended up carving our pumpkins as it got dark one evening out on the patio (real life).  Brady really wanted a witch and Brody wanted a Ninja turtle face (beyond our capability this year) but settled for a scary face that Chris drew.  

When it came time to wear their costumes and trick or treat, the boys were totally into it.  They loved dressing up and asking for candy.  They also loved eating chocolate (this was the first time they participated in the candy aspect of the holiday).  We trick or treated with friends in our neighborhood and had a great time.  By the end of the night it was hard to pull the kids away from doorbells.  When we got home, we let the kids pick some chocolate to eat and they went to bed happy.  Magically, the candy was gone the next morning.  What was left was their costumes that they still like to put on and play dress up with.  Halloween was a huge success and tons of fun with these big boys!

Disneyland- Round 2 (October 2015)

When an opportunity for Chris to tour SpaceX in SoCal arose, we decided to couple it with a trip to Disneyland.  I have to come right out and say it, the trip was A.W.E.S.O.M.E.  We had so much fun!  Last year when we went for the boys' third birthday, the trip was fun but it was also a lot of work.  We spent a lot of time painting everything in a good light and trying to assure the boys that rides and shows were not going to be scary.  It was fun in the way new experiences are, but it was not an easy-going-good time.  This time EVERYTHING was fun and exciting (except indoor rides, they are still off limits!).  Around every corner and in every sight line there was something amazing to experience.  The boys had memories from last year to build on and being almost a year older gave them a new maturity to deal with new situations.


On the first morning we got up early and walked over to downtown disney to eat in the Storytellers Cafe.  The boys remembered the cafe from last year and were looking forward to seeing Chip and Dale.  When we got there, they were about to do a group dance (the hokey pokey) and Brody jumped right into the center of the circle and busted out his moved.  Everyone was cheering and clapping for him.  It was quite cute.  We then walked over to Disneyland, grabbed some maps, and headed to the Astro Orbiter.  That is by far the boys favorite ride!   For a few hours, we *seemed* to have the place to ourselves (it's all about where you choose to look!).  The little kid rides had almost no lines and we were able to ride things more than once.   We had so much fun going on that ride over and over again until the crowds started to grow. We took them on the Buzz Lightyear ride where you get to "shoot" at the bad guys.  The boys did not really like being in the dark they freaked out every time we suggested going on the ride again.  We called the bad guys "moon monsters" and even though they said they did not like it, they talk about this ride constantly.  They have conversations with each other about the moon monsters, they ask us about the moon monsters, they explain the ride to other people (who have no idea what they are talking about because we made up the name "moon monsters").  It has become this huge thing which is so contrary to the level of excitement that they actually showed for the ride itself and has been all they have talked about since we have been home (go figure). We also rode Autotopia and the Finding Nemo ride.  This solidified the fact that although the kids were enjoying the rides, they wanted nothing to do with inside or dark rides.  We kept to those rules for the rest of the trip!

 After Tomorrowland, we headed over to Toontown and then to Storyland.  In Toontown the boys got to ride a rollercoater that was short but sweet!  Brody loved it so much he road it twice!  In Storyland the highlight was the Tea Cups.  Chris and the boys like to try and make me throw up!  They got close this time.

After a full morning of fun, we headed for lunch, ended it with some ice cream and went to the hotel for a nap.  

Friday night was the night of Chris's space tour so the boys and I were on our own.  I smartly brought our BoB stroller knowing that I was going to be on my own at night in a very crowded place.  Because of a couple of Disney scheduling things that I had no control over, California Adventure was incredibly busy and all the magic we experienced that morning with surprising small crowds was lost once the sun went down.  It was so busy that it was hard to walk around, eat, and ride rides as a party of three.  We made the best of it and lasted until 9ish pm, but I was happy to call it a night and head back to the hotel room for bed.  Just as we got to our room we heard the fireworks and when we opened our door, we were able to view a great show!  It was a perfect way to end a fun day.

Saturday we planned to party hardy all day for as long as we could and see what the day became (meaning, no naps).  We again had breakfast with Chip and Dale.  I loved that at breakfast when Chip (or was it Dale) gave the boys a simultaneous hug, they told him "You're the meat!" as if he should know what that means.  I always call the middle person in our hugs the "meat" and they called Dale the meat!  We started the day back in Disneyland and headed straight for Dumbo.  We road several rides and then headed over to California Adventure.

In California adventure, we said hi to some characters, and then spent some time in Radiator Springs and Bugs Life.  Both areas are really well done and it is probably our favorite places to hang out.  Bugs life had a water feature which was key because it was pretty hot out.  We let the boys get 100% drenched and then headed over to the ropes course and climbing area. Then we got some lunch and resurrected the bubble guns.  I swear nothing brings people more joy than being showered with bubbles by cute boys.  It brings happiness to all!

At this point we decided to wait online for one of the most talked about rides, Radiator Springs Racer.  It is really the only line that we stood on for any significant time and the ride was worth it.  It was so well done!  We liked it so much we went on it again the next morning.  As the sun was going down we headed over to the pier and road on many amusement park rides, some over and over again.  We packed in a ton of activities and made it until about 7:30.  Then we decided to grab some food and head home.  We were all asleep by 9 after a full and very fun day!

The next morning we woke up, packed and decided that a few more hours in the park were worthwhile. We chose to play in California adventure.  In addition to the radiator springs rides, we rode the rides on the pier over and over again until we had our fill.  The skies were cloudy, the park was lightly crowded and it was so much fun just to pick and choose what we wanted to do.  When we officially walked out of the park one last time, I knew we had the absolute best time possible.  The boys were the perfect age and size to be able to experience so many new and fun things.  I am so glad we made the trip, it was magical!