Baby kitchen!

The girls have a new kitchen to play in, thanks to their aunt.

 

Later this afternoon, we'll drop them off for an overnight play date.

 

They start saying "Nonny's" once we tell them where we are going, repeating it endlessly, like a rain dance chant.

Christmas presents

This morning we got the kids all dressed up and took them to church where they (mostly) behaved; afterwards they had lunch (pea soup & ham!) and opened up their presents. The girls recieved gifts of ski hats and mittens, and insisted on wearing them them the whole afternoon, in the sure and certain hope that would convince me to take them to Northstar tomorrow. Unfortunately there is very little snow in Tahoe, and driving up there to ski on the very few trails that are open would be pointless. Plus everyone is a little bit tired after the last few days.

I used some of the leftover cheese from the smorgasbord to make gougeres, and we nibbled on those as a snack.  If you click on the picture you can see the kids wearing their hats, which are their New Favorite Thing.

Smorgasbord with Family

Click on the above for a few pictures. We were so busy that we did not take enough pictures really. The kids were so excited to try on their new outfits, and show off for guests and family. Thank you everyone for coming over.

» A Time for Choosing: Rick Perry for President - Big Government

» A Time for Choosing: Rick Perry for President - Big Government

This makes the case about plain as one can. Perry is not perfect, but he is good, and deserves more consideration than he is currently getting.

My sister's fancy gingerbread house

We still have not put together our gingerbread house.  

The girls are slowly getting better but it has been a rough couple of days...and a lot of laundry loads.

I can tell that they are getting better since they are starting to squabble again over the electronic thermometer.

NYT on Family Ski Trips

A nice article on the family ski trip.

Netflix movie time

How to Get a Deal on Lift Tickets - NYTimes.com

How to Get a Deal on Lift Tickets - NYTimes.com

Some good tips, that even I did not know about.

Setting up the Christmas Tree

The girls helped us set up the Christmas tree today, and lit their Advent candle. We are going to go out and listen to carols next. Click on the photo to see the other pictures.

Making Christmas Cookies

The girls made their first batch of Christmas sugar cookies today, a test run to try their new cookie cutters. Each girl got a separate color of sprinkle, and then when they finished their dinner, they got to chomp the results of their work. Of course, they played lots of holiday music (we have 2.18 Gb!) while making a mess of the kitchen... Click on the picture above to see a few photos

Thanksgiving

we love turkey!

Perfect day for the zoo!

The kids are enjoying the zoo today with their grandpa.

 

It's cold, so they are all bundled up.

Look at our fancy new car seats

We're in our big girl car seats now...no more facing backwards. Plus they come with a cupholder too!

Dim Sum is the best food ever!

We took the kids to a very crowded dim sum restaurant down in the OC where they gobbled up sticky buns and tofu wraps.

And they decided the chopsticks were drum sticks to be banged on the table too...

Good time, and amazing quality. Going to a busy place, even if you have to wait, is worth it since everything will be made fresh when its rolled out on the steam carts.

Click on the picture to see what happened.

Halloween - Kids dressed as sheep

The girls dressed up as their favorite cartoon characters (Shaun the Sheep claymation characters) and went trick or treating last weekend.

Click on the picture to see a slideshow, to play look for the icon upper left after you click through.

We miss you dad

It's been sixteen years since we've lost dad and we miss him. We know he would have loved the kids. This picture is one of the fondest memories I have of my childhood, from 1979 on the day I got my first dog, Brier. I'm on the right, wearing the yellow superman shirt that I demanded every day.

Skiing above the Fjords

Pumpkin Patch Trip

We took the kids to the pumpkin patch today. It's easy to forget how Sacramento was primarily the agricultural hub for the central valley; but when you get just a few miles away from the city hub -- you are in the middle of miles of rich farmland. This farm was less than ten miles from our house, and the downtown core. The kids had a blast, and came home exhausted. Click on the picture to see the slideshow (and then look for the slideshow icon on the upper left for the full screen effect).

Party at Bill's

The kids got to put on their party dresses and shoes, for a trip to Bill & Linda's. They played with their excitable Labradoodle and gnawed on some breadsticks. A good time all around and it was nice catching up with old friends. If you click the picture above you can see the slide show.

At the park...

Click on the picture to see a slide show...

Girls go out to French restaurant

The girls went out a few weeks ago with their aunt, to a French cafe.

Patio repaired - yay!

Our patio was finally reassembled and repaired.  Not as pretty as before, but certainly better than after the rains.

The Independant (a UK newspaper) Guide to Skiing

This is sort of like the NY Times on line ski guide, but European centric of course.

 

http://www.independent.co.uk/travel/skiing/

 

The NYT doesn't put theirs out til December and it seems to me that people start booking travel plans earlier.

 

 

Kids and dog

Dogs at the Library!

The kids spent the night at Nonnys, where they exhausted themselves playing with the dog and running all over her carpeted house.  After we picked them up they fell asleep so fast when we got home.  This morning we made waffles for Mom, and threw them all over the baby room.  Then we went to the library where they were having a service animal day.  People who had guide dogs brought them and let the kids meet them, and talked about how the dogs helped them in daily life.  After that we went to Costco, where the girls enjoyed the usual smorgasbord of samples.  Then they came home and had spaghetti for dinner, which had been bubbling away in the crock-pot all day.  And after that -- time for a bath to clean up all that tomato sauce!

Ski weather for next season

The predictions are for a La Nina weather pattern this year, which may mean that California, Utah, and Colorado get somewhat less snow than usual.  These years tend to be better for the Northern Rockies, as well as Northern New England.  

La Nina and El Nino are names for the patterns of ocean temperature near the equator.  That creates jet streams that carry storms into the mainland, and are somewhat predictable, when those conditions are known.  Most seasons though do not have Nina or Nino present though.

Our (stuffed) pet dauchshund

We are back now

The girls were so happy to see their pets, although the love is somewhat coolly requited on the other side. Cats are not so much into public displays of affection.

Best 99c toy of all time -- big bouncy balls

Matching kid swings, although one is a little suspicious of the Olympic credo of "Higher, Faster, Farther"

And after all that fun, a reward of a cupcake.

Getting the girls back after being away for a week was nice, and we took them to the library as well as their favorite supermarket where they could sample things, from the edible to the not so edible.

Piano

Modern confectionary design

Babies new bookcase

Grandpa was visiting over the long weekend, and assembled a very heavy bookcase for the girls ever expanding book collection. It weights 65 lbs, so is rugged enough for the twins to play on it too.

Both of them liked sitting inside of it after it was assembled, but we'll move it to their room, and fill it up with their books, so this is the last chance for their bookcase jungle gym.

We made a shrimp biryani a few days ago as well. It looks nicer than it tasted -- seafood is tricky for casserole style preparations.

Flooding damaged the road to the cabin

Picture one is the big blind curve on the way to the cabin.

 

Picture two is that little hill (that was always wet due to the spring water) by the game warden's station

 

Here are some YouTubes of the area nearby.

 

The bridge on the way to Lena's vet, which I used to ride my bike over all the time. 

 

The cheese factory, where we used to picnic in front of.

 

This is the area around Lisl's butcher shop

 

Down in Grafton village near the schoolhouse

 

Our property management agents office

 

The road into Grafton

 

Another bridge on the back way into Grafton

 

The access road to our ski area

 

There is an incredible amount of damage in the area.

The new Warren Miller movie has arrived

What a great clip...

Avocados are both food and squishy play dough!

Not only do I like to eat avocados, I like to smear them all over my clothes, face, table etc...

New pajamas!

Now that the girls are getting bigger, it was time for new jumpsuit style pajamas. The one on the left has little swinging monkeys, and ht one of the right has dancing piggies. Sort of like their personalities...

They had a nice sleepover trip at Nonny's and enjoyed themselves. Their parents had some sleep, which has been a bit in short supply since they came down with a cold last week. The antibiotic regimen is almost over, and they are getting a little better.

A very low price on ski goggles

It's pretty hard to find ski goggles for under $30, but if you shop out of season, and can tolerate some unusual colors, they are available.

 

Here are some some for $22.

 

The site has some less ugly ones, if you spend a little more.

Carmel-by-the-Sea

We took the girls to Carmel-by-the-Sea to the very same beach we got engaged on. They loved splashing in the ocean and smashing the sand in between their hands. One of them even took a bite of the sand, on general principles of eating everything within sight. Click on the above for a slide show

Monterey Bay Aquarium Trip

We had a great visit to the Monterey Bay Aquarium, and caught up with family friends and god-kids. Although the girls were too young for everything, they still loved it. It's a great place for young people to visit. Click on the above for a slide show.

Godkids

Cake pops

Our departmental picnic was last week, and as part of the event, they sold cake pops. Think of a petit-four on a stick.

The kids loved them, and gnawed on the sticks afterwards like our old hound used to when given a bone.