MLK Weekend

 For MLK weekend, we headed to Tahoe to ski.   We often can't make the long weekends, but this year it worked out.   It was nice to have three days.   Though we tried to arrange for some family friends to come with us, it didn't work out, so Ethan instead brought his friend Ethan.   They had a lot of fun skiing together.

The weather was not super cooperative--we were supposed to get a big storm, but it kind of fizzled out.   It snowed on and off most of the day on Saturday--and was quite windy with poor visibility--not my type of skiing!

In the evening, Alaina made a snow bunny--very cute!

Overnight, the storm turned into more of an ice storm, and most of the lifts were frozen solid on Sunday morning--everyone got a late start.

Jason and I did manage to get to go on a cross country ski in, which was nice.  

Monday was a beautiful day, and all the snow was groomed nicely--so at least there was one "mom-approved" day to ski.

Alaina’s Golden Birthday!

 On Thursday January 11, Alaina turned 11.   Since her birthday is January 11, this also made it her golden birthday.    

We had a nice family dinner with my dad and Jason’s parent who were up from Palm Springs.   Alaina picked pasta bake for her meal.   For her cake she chose a custom ice cream cake from cold stone that included cake batter ice cream, M and Ms, cookie dough and Oreo frosting.   It was quite delicious!

For presents, she got a pitching machine to help her with her softball hitting, and a ring from the Greenberg’s that used to belong to Eileen when she was her age.   Very cool!

This past weekend, she got to celebrate with her friends.  She had four over for a sleepover party.  The girls made their own pizzas, played some "minute to win it games" orchestrated by Jason, enjoyed an ice cream sundae bar and watched a movie before settling down a little after 11pm.

Alaina seemed to have a blast, and it was fun to watch her hang out with her friends--they are growing up but still young!

Christmas

 This year, we headed to the cabin on the 22nd for a week.   My dad was able to join us for the majority of the time, which was great.

We began the trip with a case of strep throat--Alaina had been complaining of a sore throat for a while, but  woke up on the 23 saying her throat felt "puffy"--and indeed her tonsils were quite swollen, so we headed to urgent care.   Indeed she was positive, so we started amoxicillin.  (Several days later she developed hives, and now we know she has an amoxicillin allergy, but I digress...)

This year was VERY different than the last two Christmases--we had basically no snow!  I think there was more snow in June!  We still enjoyed hanging out and the peace and quiet at the cabin.

 

Sugarbowl made some snow so there were a few ski runs open, but it was pretty rough skiing for me, so I didn't ski too much.  Jason and the kids got several days in though.   We tried to cross country ski, but again, not enough snow.  We did visit Northstar and enjoyed the unseasonable warm weather through!

One good thing--the lake was perfect for ice skating!   Nearly the entire lake was frozen over and perfect for skating.   The kids still some how fit into their adjustable skates, so we had a nice time skating, and Ethan even played some hockey.

Also during the week, we had the chance to reconnect with an old Northwestern friend of Jason's, who recently bought a home in serene lakes.   Adam was Jason's pledge dad in his fraternity!   He is now married with three kids ages 15, 14, and 11, and lives in the East Bay.   We spent a fair amount of time hanging out and the kids got along wonderfully!

We headed back on the 30th, as I was on call for New Years Eve and New Years Day.   

While we were gone Santa came, and did not disappoint.   Alaina got a new softball bat and Ethan, much to my chagrin got an electric scooter.   Hopefully he will stay out of the ER!

On New Year's Day, the kids headed to Palm Springs on a plane (alone!) to spend the week with Grandma and Grandpa Greenberg.   They had a great time, with a trip to the Salton Sea (apparently a bust) and the outlet mall, as well as some outside time.   They made it back and forth alone just fine.

So now, back to school and routine!