life goes on

Well, our big trips and weekends away are done for now.  We've kind of rolled back into a regular routine.  And it feels good.  Especially NOT having to pack up this entire family for another weekend away.
Here are a few of the goings on around these parts…

1. Ryan started swim lessons last week at the local pool.  Unlike the last time he did lessons, and unlike the last 4 years of taking him swimming, he had about 5 minutes of shyness and then some other kid that was supposed to be in his class was crying so loudly that Ryan decided he was fine and he jumped right in and started to participate.  His teacher Chris has been great.  And I'm not sure what clicked in that little boy's head of mine, but all of a sudden he is purposely dunking himself in the water, swimming!  And he comes up smiling.  Every.Single.Time.
Okay, so maybe it has a little bit to do with the Lego set we promised him, if he didn't whine about swim lessons and if he started swimming with his face in the water by the end.  Whatever, a little bribery never hurt anyone.  Ryan is liking it so much that we're planning on doing the next session once this two weeks is up.  Three cheers for summer swimming!!

2. Eddy got a new car.  Well, not so new.  It's a family jewel really.  It's been in his family since the car was made.  A good ol' Thunderbird (I forget the year, but it's old, trust me).  Until now it was on his parents farm land up in Santa Rosa, and in the shop.  But now it's at our house.  And Eddy really likes it.  I won't lie, he's kinda cute driving it.  Check out this beauty...

check out that teal interior!

3. We had some minor work done on the house last week --  had a new door installed to replace one that needed to be replaced.  And the guy who showed up to do the work, was driving this….

the kids thought it was hilarious that this truck was so huge

 4. Kaitlyn has been enjoying the pool just as much as her big brother.  In fact, she has NO qualms about getting her face wet.  She's the one that scares me.  She'll go underwater and it doesn't phase her at all.  All eyes on deck when this girl is in the pool!

kissing the frog at Las Trampas

 5. I worked this past weekend, so Eddy won super dad status and took both of our kids plus our niece Alexandra to the Oakland Zoo -- by himself.  On a weekend.  He said it wasn't too hard, he just put them in charge of each other.  They had a blast.  And he wasn't too tired, so I think he's earned this job from now on…super zoo dad.

two in Tahoe

Two.  Fabulous Two.  Little miss Kaitlyn is everything that is two.  Wants to be as independent as can be one minute, then wants to be picked up and carried the next.  Wants to do it by herself one minute, then needs help the next.  And she is figuring out oh so quickly how to communicate all of this day by day.  Her tantrums have grown, quadrupled really.  She can throw out a "Noooooooooo" so fast you don't even know what hit ya.  But then, quickly, she is back to smiling and cute and melting your heart all over again.  Thankfully, she is a genuinely happy child.  She loves to make us laugh.  And she is definitely the child that will try to convince our other child to do the things they both know they are not supposed to do….I can already see it.  "C'mon Ryan, watch this".  We just can't wait for what is to come….

Happy Birthday Kailtyn!!

There was a huge thunderstorm the afternoon of K's birthday, and we all loved watching the rain and hail come down in buckets and listening to the huge claps of thunder.  She woke up from her nap a bit scared from all the noise, but once it all stopped she and Ry were quick to run out onto the deck and splash in those huge puddles.  And yes, she wore a tutu and cupcake shirt all day on her birthday, because that's what you do when you're TWO!

and along with a thunderstorm, came the coolest rainbow

the thing that wasn't so cool about celebrating her birthday in Tahoe, was the whole baking at altitude problem.  As in, you just shouldn't do it and expect anything lovely.  Because yes, in that photo you see above, that was her birthday cake.  It was supposed to be cute, with purple and white swirls (the green M&M's were my addition, I take full blame for how atrocious those look as they are supposed to be in the shape of a "2").  It didn't rise, it stuck to the pan, and it crumbled WAY too easily.  Ah well, good thing she didn't care and won't remember!  We all still enjoyed it anyway.

"All these presents are for me!?!"

Family photo FAIL.  SO hard to get all 4 of us to cooperate for one pic. :)  

summer fun

We spent last week at the cabin.  And we did all of our usual summer fun activities up there -- swimming, biking, hiking, napping.  But it was also a bit of a special week, as little miss Kay Gray celebrated her 2nd birthday up there.  What a lucky girl!  All in all, a fabulous and relaxing summer week in the most beautiful place ever.  Here is a bit of our goings on…

car is packed, we are ready to hit the road!

 First activity upon arrival….hit the lake.  My mom and Ryan are two of the biggest swim fanatics I know, and that cold water doesn't stop them, ever.  So in they both went that first afternoon there.  

and this little lady loved the water, but LOVED the sand and the shovels even more

We took our favorite bike ride, near South Lake along the bike path that goes through the Nature Area and Camp Richardson.  

We stopped to look for some beavers.  Didn't find them, but had fun looking

Ryan wanted to climb the biggest tree ever.  Who can blame him?  

 And as is the tradition, we stopped to enjoy some of the biggest and tastiest ice cream at the Camp Richardson Ice Cream Parlor.  Perfect for a hot summer bike ride.  

he chose rainbow sherbet…I think he was happy with his choice

 We managed to go swimming pretty much every day we were there.  The lake level was definitely low, and the water was definitely warmer than usual given the drought and mild winters we've had, which made for some fun (and tolerable) swim sessions!  We also had thunderstorms almost every afternoon -- kind of unusual for the summer, but super fun for us.  And thankfully the weather never hit at a time that got in the way of our activities! But it made for some cool background colors in these photos.  

the boy who still doesn't love to get his face wet, accidentally got his face wet -- and survived to smile about it.  Shocking, I know.  

cute fashionista

 My parents were kind enough to offer to watch the kids one day, so Eddy and I could take a killer hike up to the top of Mt Tallac.  It was a 10 mile hike, with 3,000 ft elevation gain, and the top of that peak is at 9,735 ft.  Awesome views!  And man were we beat by the end!

the highest peak in the middle is where we're going

the view along the trail, looking back at Fallen Leaf Lake and Lake Tahoe

hiking up, up, up

almost there!

We made it!  View of Lake Tahoe from the top

We took the kids to play miniature golf…Ryan did great, even got a hole in one!  Kaitlyn couldn't focus for more than 5 seconds on anything.  But she had a great time running on the course, climbing things she probably wasn't supposed to climb.  Good fun for everyone.  

the hole in one kid!

love this face!

a few more beach pics 

These two were pretty good buds on this trip.  They shared some good laughs, and enjoyed making "mad face" or "surprise face" at each other across the table during meals.  And they loved watching a show together on our bed as a treat.  Too cute!

We drove over to Incline Village with one day, across the lake, to have a beach day with my good friend Kim from high school and her 3 kids.  It was perfect for the kids to play with others, while the parents got a chance to catch up!

5 kids in a boat -- ages 5 down to 9 months old.  Who is steering that thing?   

Such a fun week in the mountains!  Why can't we do this all the time? Thanks Nanny & Dzia Dzia for helping with our kiddos this week.  A great place for great memories.  

almost two

Hard to believe 2 years have passed.  Yet in so many ways it's seemed like it's been longer than that.  Baby Kaitlyn has changed our lives, shaped our world for the better, and we love every minute.  This girl is talking up a storm, letting us know her opinion on pretty much everything.  She has just very recently figured out how to climb out of her crib (not super excited about this milestone), which means things are a changing for us.  We are moving out of the baby phase, and into full on toddler-dom.  And Kaitlyn faces it with a smile, full steam ahead.  She definitely has her tantrum moments, yet, for now anyway, we can quickly divert her into giggles.  And she gives the best hugs, pretty much any time we request one.  She still loves to dance, and sing, and jump, and run, and wiggle with the best of 'em.  

We love you baby K!  

Happy almost birthday!!!

adorable outfit compliments of one Katie Williams -- thanks friend!

this is what happens when big brother gets his hands on cute outfit.  A new member of the Lion King ensemble perhaps?  

the Strider, part 2

As every 2nd child knows….toys get passed down.  Luckily for Kaitlyn, she just doesn't seem to mind, yet.  Especially when it's a cool toy, like the Strider bike.  We took it out for a little spin the other day, and it was the first time Kaitlyn seemed to enjoy pushing it, or really walking while sitting on top of it.  I see good things happening this summer.

promise she was having fun, despite the expression on her face

 And of course, Ryan still loves to ride it when we let him (although he is MUCH to big for it), and when I wasn't looking he decided this would be a good idea….if I hadn't caught him in the act, I'm not sure quite what his plan was here, but it doesn't look good.

playground fun