MLK weekend away

The snow in Tahoe is nonexistent.  Sadly.  I don't think they've gotten any snowfall at all since we went before Christmas.  But MLK weekend came, and Ry had 2 days off school, so we decided to make the most of it anyway.  Because hey, who doesn't mind a weekend in Tahoe -- snow or no snow -- right?  We went up Friday after school, my parents went up as well, and our dear friend Cristen and her new boy friend (not yet a boyfriend according to her) came along as well.  We definitely made the most of a snow-less weekend away.

Saturday, my parents were once again the best, and watched the kiddos while us 4 other adults hit the slopes anyway.  We were actually surprised by how much man made snow there was, so we got a great ski day in despite the lack of powder.

sunrise over the lake -- still gorgeous, even without snow

ski day at the tip top of Squaw 

who invited the yoga/snowboarding master?  Oh yea, we did.  That's Cristen.  

The next day, Nanny & Dzia Dzia took a hike, and we took the kids in hunt of some snow for a few sledding runs.  We found a little bit, that was mostly ice, but 4 adults, 2 kids, 2 sleds, and one snowball maker can make it fun anywhere.

Ry and Cristen, at the top of the luge run -- Eddy was at the bottom to catch him 

Brandon giving Kaitlyn a push 

ice dancing with K

more shenanigans back at the cabin...

dog pile on Cristen

playing Timberrrrrrrr with Dzia Dzia

a nice quiet moment between the Bayer cubs

wheelbarrow walking on the deck

Cristen and Brandon

 We said farewell to these two, as they had to head home a day earlier than us to return to work.

And then we headed to our favorite nature walk at South Lake -- normally covered in snow at this point in the year, but dry as a bone this time for us to walk to the lake and enjoy the scenery.

love this view 

after lunch and nap time, we took another nature walk out the cabin door that afternoon, just to enjoy the fresh mountain air one more time.

this girl and her pink and her tutus.  it's all her choice I tell ya.  

On the last day of our trip, we managed to hit the slopes one last time.  This time, it was for Ryan.  Eddy and Ry got a lift ticket, we rented some skis for the little man, and we hit the bunny slopes.  First I went up with him with my boots on and sorta walked him down the run.  Then Eddy got him going a bit faster on skis.  Kaitlyn was SUCH a trooper, and just played in the snow at the bottom of the hill for the entire day.

waiting for the boys to come down the hill on skis 

heading up the Magic Carpet in the beginning 

a quick pit stop, while Eddy skied a run by himself to make the lift ticket worth our money 

 Ry fell a lot on those skis, but Eddy said he was nothing but laughs every single time.  After a quick lunch stop, Ryan wanted to head back out, and at this point he was riding up the real chair lift with Eddy and skiing the entire run down almost all by himself.   They skied about 5 more runs after lunch before it was quitting time.  So proud of this little man!

heading back out after lunch -- Kaitlyn SO badly wanted to join them!

killing time at the lodge 

the Bayer Boys -- happy skiers 

New Year's Day

I think we started a new tradition this year.  A hike on New Year's Day.  We hiked at Briones Regional Park this year -- beautiful, green hills, the kids were super adventurers and hiked more than 3 1/2 miles on their little legs.   It was a great start to 2015.  Plus, we made it home in time to watch the Rose Bowl game.  What more does one need on day 1?  

Nanny and Kaitlyn

blurry, but running with daddy

silly faces

nice faces

tired little legs at the end, got a free ride

Happy New Year!!

a city day

The one thing that I had wanted to do with the kids this holiday, but we hadn't gotten a chance to do yet, was get into San Francisco to see the decorations.  On Friday, we ventured in with Andrea, Dana, Alexandra, and Lucas.  4 kids, 4 adults, no strollers.  Bring it on San Francisco!

BART always makes the trip more fun

a quick stop at Uniqlo -- the kids didn't want to leave

we made it to Union Square

watching the ice skaters

still a few animals still waiting to be adopted at Macy's

window decorations 

waiting for lunch at the top of Macy's.  the kids were amazed at how little the people seemed!

old friends and a new year

The Readels, Westcoats, and Bayer kiddos have been exchanging books at Christmas since they were all born.  It's a tradition that us mamas love, and we manage to keep alive each year.  And now that the kids they like to do more than sit and drool, we usually make a morning of it.  This year we met at a park, froze our little buns off but the kids didn't care, then exchanged book and even ventured out to lunch.  3 moms, 6 kids, age 6 and under.  It was one for the record books.  

Zoe and Kaitlyn exchanging goodbye hugs

the older group -- Ryan, Hadley, and Macy 

Later in the week we rang in 2015 with an Eggstravaganza at Megan's house -- they hosted an awesome breakfast for dinner, and the adults drank gin (doesn't that go well with breakfast food?) while the kiddos played, colored, danced to Taylor Swift, and at one point Ryan and Macy were alone in Macy's room with the lights off and they were playing a flashlight game.  Only a few more years they will be able to get away with that I think. :)  It was a fabulous end to a good year, and a great way to start a new one.  Thanks for hosting Westcoats!!

Megs even made a sign -- eggstrvaganza 2015

a sign of a good party -- a lei around your waist, glasses on upside down, and a straight face.  Way to go Kaitlyn!

Christmas recap

The last two weeks have been a blur.  Did Christmas already come and go so quickly?  Ryan heads back to school tomorrow after what has been a great two weeks of vacation for him.  And we barely even left town.  So here's a quick recap of what our Holidays looked like….

Christmas Eve, we hosted dinner here.  It was Eddy's immediate family, and my parents, and it was chaos.  So I didn't get many pics unfortunately.  But here's the idea:

sporting her new purple princess dress, and dragging around the present she knew was for her from Nonni & Nonno

the kids table, with my kids being oh-so-cooperative

my parents, being more than cooperative at the adults table 

the beginning of the Lego onslaught -- this one from Nonni & Nonno 

(Side note: I'm hoping to work on furnishing and decorating the front living room and dining room as my New Year's resolution -- these photos make it look so stark white!)

After the massive gift exchange amongst the Bayers (mostly the kids), we did our Christmas Eve traditions of reading and leaving some cookies for Santa, and got the kids in bed.  My parents stayed the night, and we woke up to more and more presents from Santa!

our tree -- note the "pink present" for K

stocking puppet sticks

Ry's gift for us from school (wrapped in a Rudolph bag) -- hand made ornaments, love them!

in lieu of the recent rains -- the kids got umbrellas and rain boots 

Kaitlyn had about 6 costume changes this morning -- the girl is LOVING all things girly, and required to wear a tutu at this moment in time

more Legos -- Coast Guard Lego Boat from Santa

Aside from Legos, Ryan got a few books, games, some new clothes (including pants -- to replace all of his with holes in the knees), and a new package of markers to replace the ones that he has used all the ink in already.
Kaitlyn's requested "Pink Present" turned out to be a pink scooter, and she got some great games (lace up game, fairy dress up set, puzzles), some markers of her very own, books, and other fun little odds and ends.
Kaitlyn, bless her little heart, would have been content with only one present.  She opened one, and found it hard to move on.  Ryan on the other hand, had a very hard time slowing down to wait for everyone else.  But all in all, this year was better than last, more patience and enjoyment from all involved.

Bike riding Diva

 We finished presents, had a delicious breakfast, and then forced the kiddos away from their loot to take a family walk.  It was a beautiful day!  Ryan threw a few fits about having to leave his Legos -- for about the next 3 days.  

Merry Christmas!!

 We drove to Eddy's cousin Autumn's house for Christmas dinner -- to spend the remainder of the day with Eddy's extended family.  It was great fun this year.  The 6 kids did a pretty good job of playing together, and at one point, quite a few of us grownups were able to sit down for awhile and play a number of rounds of Balderdash.  Super fun!  Looking forward to more game nights ahead!!

Ryan, Alexandra, and Kensie

three little monkeys (amazed that Autumn actually got them to do this!)

Over the next few days, the kids just played and played, while Eddy and I got to relax, read, exercise a bit, and overall just hang out.  A wonderful Christmas was had by all.  

the finished Police Station

now working on the Coast Guard boat 

probably Kaitlyn's favorite gift -- her dog Fluffy, it walks on the leash, barks, sits, and lets out friendly low grrrrr sounds when you ignore it.  Who needs a real dog now?  

...and we'll probably start working on potty training soon, as she demanded to put Fluffy on the potty and then watch her to make sure she was "going potty".  I think this girl is ready for undies!