Spring Fun

Eventful Spring

This Spring has been really busy.  We had a baby, Ruby Isabelle, in April. Number three is a serious jump up in child rearing.  All of our schedules are in chaos, but it is fun...most of the time.  I have included some pictures from our Spring.  Soccer with Joaquin; Joaquin moving on from preschool; trying beef bourguignon and garlic potatoes; trip up to Tahoe to run the DeCelle Memorial Relay; and hanging with family.  

Mom and Ruby.

Dad napping with Ruby.

The Sharks kicking it.

Last time in preschool. 

Feeding Ruby.

Beef Bourguignon.

Garlic potatoes.

ELena at Tahoe equestrian center. 

Joaquin's dream.

Knocking back a cold one. 

Samuel Langhorn Clemens

Steve and Paul finish leg 7, 10.5 miles.

Huh?

At the swing in Tahoe/Donner. 

Sand Castle

Playing in the stream.

Before the run Emerald Bay.

Support crew.

Ludwigs and Mayers.  

Thoughts

This is a post for all the parents that feel under appreciated or unappreciated.  Last night as I was getting ready to tell Joaquin his nightly story (this one was about a sailboat that found treasure; defeated pirates; acquired a three-legged cheetah mascot;  and was sucked up in a water spout and landed in Hawaii-intrigued yet?) he said, "This is the life."  I said, "Yep, a full belly and a safe house."  Then he said, "And great parents."  Man, that there will do you some good.  Although his parent sample size is limited and "great" might be an over statement, it sure does make one want to be a "great" parent.  

One other thing that I recently emailed the family about was Elena who was looking for some Ovaltine the other morning.  Shauna asked her if she would rather have the "church" cocoa.  Elena promptly responded, "No, that's poisonous."  She is only three and already able to frame her arguments so they are tough to counter.

At Alta sledding and skiing.  

Cheers.

A Few Good Days

Here are a few pictures of our kids from the past couple of weeks.  

 Elena sleeping...ahhh I think it is more restful for us.  

 Joaquin after a sweet birthday party.  He was stoked about his paint job.  

 Another bday party at Summit Park with sledding.  

 Joaquin heading up the hill for another go. 

 Joaquin and crazy hair at church.  

 Friends over for Elena's bday party.

 Happy Birthday Elena!!

Joaquin showing us his basketball skills.  He shot his shirt right into the toilet one night while getting ready for a bath.  

Christmas in CA

I have to say that Christmas this year was one of the best I have experienced.  A lot of it had to do with me getting my Christmas shopping done early (Thanks Sandra and Amazon).  However, the more I think about Christmases on Sunday, the more I like the idea, and this seems to be what made Christmas this year so much more memorable.

As a kid I hated Christmas on Sundays because it postponed my time with my toys and candy, but waking up and going to church on Sunday and having time to reflect on Christ and the love our heavenly family has for us put me in the right frame of mind to enjoy the rest of the important day.  

We flew out on Dec. 19th and Shauna's parents picked us up at the Oakland airport, which is pretty far from Cupertino and required a round trip of a couple of hours.  Generally, we fly into San Jose, but the airfare is significantly more expensive for flight into San Jose so they humored us.  

We had a great time and the weather was nice and we were able to get outside everyday for a run, a trip to the park, or a road trip.  Our kids had a blast with their cousins and the four of them were basically inseparable while they were anywhere near each other.  

We made a trip down to Santa Cruz and visited the sea lions, butterflies, and the ocean.  Joaquin loves any kind of water and went out into the bone-chilling water with his bucket to get some water for his sand castle.  On his way back in he was hit by a large wave (large by a 5-year old's standard) and he went swimming with the fishes for a few seconds.  He took it like a man, and he and I went up to beach to change clothes.  Before long he was back at the beach, but staying clear of the water...for once.  

We had a great time and enjoyed the trip and the love and hospitality of Sandra, John, Dan, and Sarah.  Thanks guys.  Below are a few pictures of our Christmas vacation.  

Enjoying the Trampoline at Dan and Sarah's.  

"You're not Santa.  You smell like beef...and cheese."  (Quote from Elf) But Joaquin is not quite sure about this Santa.  

Driving the Pink Cadillac. 

Checking out the loot "Santa" brought.  

Has to be a dolly.  

Grandpa and Grandma enjoying the show.  

At the pier in Santa Cruz.  Saw otters, sea lions, and a lot of bird crap.  

Monarch butterflies overwintering in Santa Cruz. Hard to see but use you imagination.  Did you know that three generations of monarchs are born and die during one migration period?  Must be tough work.   

Best cousins checking the butterflies.  

Ahhh, the beach at Natural Bridges Beach State Park, Santa Cruz.  

The adults making sure they don't have any fun.  

Sun setting at Santa Cruz.  

Joaquin doesn't quite have his sea legs under him yet, but that has never stopped him before.  

In dry clothes, but still a like frosty.  

Did not know they had penguins this far north. 

 Gramps and JJ headed for the car.  

Gems

The title of this post does not refer to my wife or the kids, but refers to posts I find sometimes while engaging in the activity which, I understand, is know as "blog stalking.'' Blog stalking seems to refer to the practice of looking and following people's blogs who you have never met and would consider sitting in your car on their street watching them to see what interesting things they are up to...if you didn't have a life.  But since most of us are well-adjusted rational human beings and consider it too much trouble to open our own garage doors or actually get up and change the channel on the TV, I am about 50% sure I will never engage in said car-on-street stalking activity.

This blog entry http://idaholyoaks.blogspot.com/search?updated-max=2011-09-05T08%3A36%3A00-07%3A00&max-results=7 is from the blog of a professor at BYU Idaho who is concerned about the backlash against science and scientists in politics.  He has some authority to speak to this because he himself is a scientist.  Science, like most everything else in life, is imperfect but this does not mean its findings and results should not be considered and employed.  Unfortunately, even science that is basically unquestioned is ignored by good numbers of people-i.e., Utahns along the Wasatch front who refuse to do anything about our air pollution problem collectively or individually.  Anyway enjoy this post...or just skip it.  

I just hope he does not stalk me for posting a link to his blog.  

The Campout

 We went camping up Albion Basin over Labor Day Weekend. What a mess! We planned on camping with friends and family but Elena came down with Rosiola (hand foot and mouth disease) which scared everyone away. We offered to keep her home but they still didn't want to camp. Our brave nephew, Gabe, joined us and we had a great time. This picture is our tin foil dinner.

                              It was delicious: ham, turkey, potates, zucchini, carrots and corn.

 Our nephew accidently spilled water on Paul at dinner. Too bad he didn't pack another pair of shorts or pants.

 It was impossible to keep shoes on this kid.

 We forgot hangers for smores so Gabe made us some roasting sticks.

                                                                             Boys love fire!!

 It was freezing that night, the kids joined us on our air matress because they were freezing.

 Elena fell in the fire and I quickly grabbed her out but not before burning her hair, her left cheek and thumb. Poor kid! Her hair was most badly burned, I guess we will be cutting a short bob again.

 This rock was Elena's baby, she even rocked it and sang rock-a-bye baby.

                                             The boys protected Elena's "babies" from Paul.

                                          We hiked up Cecret Lake and it was beautiful (and crowded).

                                                    Tired and hungry after our hike.

                                                    Beautiful view on our way home.