Sledding on MLK Day

The youth hosted a family sledding day up at Tahoe Meadows on MLK day.  It was a beautiful day.  It was warm, too warm for coats, and by the end everyone had shed hats, scarves, coats, etc.  The hill was somewhat dangerous. Some brilliant nitwit dug a huge pit in the middle of a run that caused multiple injuries, until one of the more responsible YW took matters into her own hands and filled it in.  There was also a fairly large jump, that looked pretty jarring to me, but was popular with the boys.

Lucy and Ellie:

 Clara ready for action:

 Lucy didn't do much sledding, because I think like me, she doesn't find it terribly fun.  It is kind of painful.  But here is one of her runs:

 Some of Anders wild rides:

 Tucker sat out for awhile.  He was not happy after his drop into the pit:

 Clara and Anders took a breather to enjoy cookies and hot chocolate:

 Tucker finally recovered from his injuries and had at the jump:

 You will notice Laurel hard at work filling in the pit:

 Clara spent most of her time playing.  Soffia and Clara made some hot cocoa art:

 And then Clara, Soffia, and Kaisley built a snow fort:

It was a very fun way to spend a day out of school, and the not so cold weather was nice and gentle after a week in Hawaii.

Meanwhile, Back at the Ranch...

Our trip would not have been possible if it weren't for my Dad.  He flew out and watched the kids and suffered through a broken furnace, and claims to have enjoyed the whole experience.  The kids had a wonderful time, were well fed and loved and taken care of.  It made our trip all that much better knowing they were in good hands.  Thank you Dad.  Love you lots.

Pop-pop!:

Life of Pi:

He partied with them:

Actually got Clara to clean:

Root beer floats:

Costco trip:

Children's museum:

U-Swirl, which is now out of business (!?!?):

Took Clara to Gymnastics:

Trying to cope with no heat:

Pulled a tooth:

Yummy meals:

Shoveled snow:

This was actually the day before we left.  Tucker's country fair.  He represented Australia:

Thanks again Dad!  We owe you!!!!!!

Hawaii Part 6: Waipio

On Friday Mom and I went for a walk on the nature trail that runs through town while Rob was at classes.  When he got back we ran over to Gallery of Great things in the hopes of finding some great work of art.  Alas, it didn't happen.  After we drove over to the Waipio lookout, stopped in a couple of galleries in Honokaa and then drove through Ahualoa.  Beautiful.  That night we ate dinner at Merriman's which was sadly disappointing.  Mom and I must have ordered the wrong thing, but it was too little bang for our big bucks.

 On Saturday morning after eating crepes at the Farmers Market we got on our hiking shoes and headed up into the pastures behind the house to Waipio.  It was a beautiful clear day, a rare thing.  Once when Rob was in high school a herd of angry cows chased him down and so he has a healthy fear of the herds.  We encountered one and I'll admit, it was kind of spooky.  Mom and Dad thought we were silly, but when a bunch of cows starts trotting your way, it's scary!  Anyway, it was a beautiful hike.  This was the first time I had ever done this hike!  Hopefully not the last.  The views were amazing.  The only downside is for the first time the entire week I forgot sunblock.  Farmer burn.  Yuck!

 After the hike Rob and I went down and parked at Spencer and walked down to Maumae for a final beach adventure.  Rob got in and played in the waves for awhile.  I sat and roasted.

We drove back up to Waimea and had one last dinner at Pau, said our goodbyes and then drove down to the airport.  We had a lovely sunset on our drive. 

It was such a fantastic week.  Loved every single second and can't wait until we go back!!!