Blizzard!

 Well, this past week we got our first big rainstorm of the season.   This precipitation was much needed--we have had very little rain to date.    We have always known that rain in the bay area means snow in the mountains.   But now with a cabin up here, we have a first hand view of what big rains mean.   

We tried to head up to the cain on Thursday night.   As we pulled out of the driveway, I said to Jason, we should check the road conditions.   I opened up google maps to find out that Interstate 80 was closed.  We promptly turned around!   By early Friday morning the road was open and we headed up.   Luckily due to the fact that the kids have online school, they were able to Zoom into class from the car.   There are some advantages!

When we arrived, we were amazed by the snow pack.   It had snowed 77" from the storm.  The entire first floor of the cabin was buried, and the driveway (which luckily was plowed) was more like a tunnel!

 

Later on Friday afternoon, we headed out to cross-country.   I was able to pick up some skis for the kids on next door, so I was eager for them to try them out.   They did great, it is amazing how much downhill skills translate to cross country. 

  

We enjoyed downhill skiing on Saturday and Sunday, though it took a day for our little local downhill place to dig out and open all the lifts.

A fun, snowy weekend!   More snow is forecast for this week!

Alaina Turns Eight!

 On Monday, Alaina celebrated her 8th birthday.   Sadly, no birthday parties this year.   Our guilt-ridden pandemic parenting resulted in us adding a new member to our family: Dot the Bunny.

Now, for years, Alaina has been wishing for a pet rabbit.   Pretty much anytime she makes a wish the wish has been for a bunny.  A white bunny. So, we caved.   We bought a bunny hutch from amazon and fenced off a portion of our back yard.   On Monday, I drove to the East Bay to pick up an 8-week old white lop-eared bunny from a Craig's List ad.   

When Alaina came home from school, I designed a short scavenger hunt that ended at the bunny hutch (or Dot's Spot, as it is now called).   Alaina was elated.   

 

This week, we have been working on getting to know the bunny and learning how to take care of it (thank goodness for you tube!).   She is slowly getting used to her spot and our family.   Interestingly, Ethan seems almost as excited (if not more excited than Alaina).   

We also had a nice birthday dinner to celebrate the day.   Alaina chose salisbury steak and mashed potatoes for her birthday meal, and an ice cream cake for dessert.

So, overall a pretty amazing birthday despite quarantine!

Baking Weekend

 Well, we had a tough reentry into work and school.   On Monday, when I headed into work, it was pouring rain.   Just a few blocks from home my car skidded off the road, jumped two curbs and hit  a rock.  Luckily, the road was almost empty (it was 6:15am), so I didn't hit anyone, and I was totally unharmed.   The car however, was not.  :(   This was two days after our dryer broke at the cabin.   We also had several other minor things break this week: one of Alaina's favorite Christmas presents, our grill starter, and our wifi router.   So, no, not a great week.  

I spent the weekend baking, mostly to try to help improve everyone's mood, and provide some stress-induced calorie intake.

Here is what I made:

English muffins

Sourdough Bread and Baguettes (first timer the baguettes, not the best shape, but quite tasty!)

Raisin Bread

Lemon Bars

And Ethan made scones for Alaina's Birthday tomorrow:

So, hopefully we have eaten out of  last week's depression!!

Lets hope for a *less expensive* week ahead.

Merry Christmas and Happy New Year

 We had a nice holiday week despite COVID.   Marilynn and her daughter Sabine came out for the Holidays.   We had a nice Christmas Eve Dinner at our house with a TON of food.   

The pandemic did not stop (or delay) Santa, and the kids woke up to a load of presents under the tree on Christmas morning.   

Later that day, we drove up to the cabin, and my Dad, Marilynn and Sabine joined us for two nights.   

We got about a foot of snow overnight, and on the 26th we split up to enjoy skiing--my dad and I did cross country (his first time in 15 years!) and Jason, Marilynn, Sabine and the kids went downhill.   A good time was had by all.

 

The kid also got a chance to try out their new ice skates that they got for Christmas, on a stretch of frozen lake that some locals had cleared off.  They made good progress practicing most days.

 

Most days, we also downhill or cross-country skied--so we were quite active.   The kids are getting better at downhill skiing, which is great.  I am working on it too-though they have both far surpassed my abilities, and I have no hope of ever catching up.

We also participated in the Serene Lakes Property Owners Association Annual Snowperson contest.   Our entry "Pandemic Purchase" did not win, but we had fun making it anyhow:

Jeremy tentatively joined the family for New Years, and though it was low key (no midnight celebrations for us!), we did enjoy hanging out.  We also got to introduce Jeremy to cross country skiing, which he had never done before.

We certainly felt lucky to be able to get away despite the pandemic.   And, as I told Jason, if you would have asked me 10 years ago, I never would have thought that in California I could cross country ski out my door and ice skate at a nearby lake--two really fond memories from my midwest upbringing that I thought I had left in the midwest.   So happy that I was wrong.  We are sure looking forward to more time at the cabin in 2021, and especially being able to host more friends and family once the pandemic is over!