A morning quite lovely in its typicalness

Yeah, nothing special about this picture at first glance, right? But it gives an awful lot of clues about what a typical morning looks like around here: And typical is pretty darn nice, if you ask me. No one's sick (yessss!), everyone is happy, and we're about to sample the chocolate-chip-bacon pancake mix* that I got TubaDad for Christmas. Mmmmm. Have a great New Year's Eve. And speaking of, does anyone have any good kid-friendly ideas for how to ring in the New Year? *Thanks for the idea Jamie!

Well, a couple of us puked, and then we left Tahoe rather abruptly

Ugh. No pretty pictures today, but we're home safe and sound, which counts for something! TubaDad and Ree got a nasty stomach bug last night and no one got any sleep. They were feeling better (although exhausted) by this morning, and we figured we had a really short window of time to get home before anyone else came down with this. The thought of getting it while en route was kind of horrifying to contemplate. So those of us who were still standing raced around like crazy this morning packing and cleaning, put chains on the van and popped the Bronco into 4-wheel drive (it was still snowing), then crossed our fingers and raced home. Well we all made it, so now we're just taking it easy and hoping and praying we've seen the last of this. I guess we'll know by tomorrow. Wish our Tahoe trip had a better ending, but at least the first three days were awesome. PS: Ree surprised us all (and herself) by suddenly keeping her nighttime puII-ups dry on this trip. The first morning was so cute -- when it was time to get dressed and we realized she was dry, she raised the puII-up triumphantly in the air and slowly rotated in a circle, making sure everyone saw. She looked just like a mini prizefighter, holding her championship belt aloft. She was so pumped!

Over the hills of snow

Big day for the little peeps. Actually, big day for everyone. The fun started last night with a late-night walk in the snow. We were originally planning to drive around the lake and show the girls all the Christmas lights, but then BobBob and Wela tried to sneak off on a walk, so we crashed their party. Probably put a little damper on their smooching and handholding, but the girls sure enjoyed it. Heh. It was lightly snowing, and beautiful. We did a little more skiing and sledding today. This hill in front of the cabin just rocks. Ro got even braver and was trying to go as fast as possible and Ree preferred sledding to skiing. Hey TubaDad, are you getting tired of pulling little 40-pounders up the hill yet? Did you know that if your sister crashes her head into your lip, an icicle does wonders for the swelling? You can imagine the squeals of delight when TubaDad pointed out that the roof of the cabin was practically a breeding ground for icicles: An igloo was attempted, but BobBob was just not happy with the quality. I believe he used the words "structurally unsound" or something like that. Those NASA engineers are just picky I tell you! The girls said they wanted to get icecream this afternoon (and no one in our family has ever said no to icecream, nevermind that it's 20-something degrees) so we piled in the car and headed for the nearest parlor. After two or three minutes, it was suspiciously quiet and we looked back to see two stiff little bundled up bodies, asleep in their mittens: After they woke up, we found some icecream and a cool mountain gondola ride (it was a little foggy in there, so just imagine the amazing view, ok?): It has really started snowing heavily tonight, so much so that we're a little worried we're going to get snowed in and won't be able to leave tomorrow. We'll see. We've got plenty of Cheerios and milk, so no one's in danger of starving or anything, but there is no chocolate in the cabin, which is pretty bad if you ask me. In the meantime, it sure is purdy! The girls were singing "Over the hills of snow!" (I think it's from Frosty the Snowman?) as we drove around, and they've been trying to catch snowflakes on their tongues all evening. Sweet! They're playing vintage 70s games right now, and I'm cursing the dial up connection and trying to blog. It doesn't really matter if it takes a while, we don't have any tv, I've finished my book, and it doesn't look like we're going for any walks tonight. I guess if this post shows up, then it worked.

Watch out world, the twinados are on skis!

TubaDad and I poked around this morning and found a funky little place that sold bearskin rugs and t-shirts and had kid-sized ski equipment to rent. So we got the girls all measured up, signed the rental agreement (it was so cute, Ro and Ree actually wrote their names on the signature lines—I bet my dad is going to have that little paper framed), and walked out of there with four tiny little boots and four stubby little skis. The only thing that slightly disappointed the girls was that they didn't have any hot pink skis. Hm, maybe next time, little snow bunnies. Anyhow, we decided to skip the ski resort and use our steep, unplowed street for this first foray. Hey it was good enough for my little brother and I (and all the neighborhood kiddos) back in the 70s, plus we figured if things really went wrong we were only a few steps from the nice, warm cabin and the restorative clothes dryer and wine in the fridge. Heh. We grabbed the purse camera (we brought the nice camera up, but are finding that we just don't have enough hands to use it) and got a quick family snap before the lesson (just in case): Looking good, everyone's still smiling: Oops, had to make a few short detours to climb some tall snowy things. Ok, maybe more than a few. We finally had to send my dad into the woods after them when Ree disappeared from view and Ro started yelling "I'm stuck, I'm stuck!" Hmmm. These boots are made for skiing—the girls are ready to roll!! Ro took to it instantly, this was the next picture I took after the boots shot, and she was already grinning and refusing any help. Side note: Ro is usually the first one to grasp anything athletic, she's fearless and so dang strong when it comes to trying any kind of sportsy thing. And Ree is bold, funny, and fearless when it comes to singing, dancing, or performing in front of an audience. It's fun to watch the different things they excel at and how they always help each other. We had a fancy tow-rope system in place for the uphill ride (we used my dad's antique metal ski poles): TubaDad calls this the "athletic stance" and I think Ro is doing it proud: Ree got her courage up by holding the pole as she went down the first few times: Ooo, is that a teeny little smile starting?: Ro discovered pretty quickly that she went faster if she crouched down a little: Afterwards, they dove into the snow again and rolled around some more. Guess they weren't cold enough yet? (Man, I sure was): I was talking (as usual) and heard an outraged "Reeeeeee, get offa me!" Ha!: The triumphant skiers, after we stripped them down and tossed their icy clothing in the dryer. (My mom had the great idea to use their cotton jammies as long underwear, so we didn't have to make a midnight run to Walmart to buy new supplies.): Well it's time for some dinner, and maybe, just maybe, oh I hope I hope the folks can get the fire going. The girls are just hanging out and playing with Harley dog, and TubaDad is napping again (he's still not fully recovered after the accident): We got some awesome video of the sledding yesterday and the skiing today, but I don't think I've got a prayer of posting it on this dial-up connection. So look for that once we're back home. Tomorrow, we're thinking of trying to build a snow igloo and a snow family, and maybe (if we don't all just decide to curl up by the warm fire and nap instead) we'll try out a snowmobile rental. Cheers!

Huge snowdrifts and green shag carpeting

TubaDad and I are tired (oh so tired) after all the Christmas merriment, but the girls were dying to see some real snow, so we sucked it up and drove to Tahoe. We didn't pack until this morning, but we did think ahead enough to rope my parents into the plan (yes we have flashes of brilliance even when we are dog tired). The girls were so excited that they climbed into the van and strapped themselves in while TubaDad and I were still running around filling the suitcases. We kept telling them we weren't leaving for at least an hour, but they didn't care, just sat there giggling and yelling for us to hurry. Crazy little chickens. The old family cabin looks exactly the same as it has for the last four decades. Same awesome snow, same cute a-frame roof, same green shag carpeting, same orange corduroy couches. Love this place. Ro and Ree feel the same. We've already gone sledding, soaked two sets of clothing, figured out that we need better mittens for the girls and (ahem) larger snow pants for me, and gotten buried in the snow. Tomorrow my dad says he's going to teach the girls to ski. He taught me when I was four, but the twinados... yikes... wish him luck! Hope you're all having a wonderful holiday break and that you're getting way more rest than we are. Heh.

Ahhh, the Christmas program. Yeah, my mom cried.

The excitement was palpable, eight tiny reindeer (times 3) were ready to fly (musically speaking, of course): First glimpse of mama and daddy in the audience: Wheeeee, this just calls for a sisterly hug! Ro's hat was slipping down and she could barely see, so I tried to pantomime that she should push the hat up. She saw me and yelled out in the middle of the program "Mama, what were you doing?!" Yeesh. Asleep on the hay: Adorable little reindeer: Proud grandparents (my mom definitely cried during the show, and we're not sure about BobBob...): Oooo, bells. The festive factor instantly goes up if you add bells: Shake it baby, shake it. Ree was in her element, rocking out and doing all the moves (some choreographed, some her own). Ro was a little nervous, but did a great job and was happy to see her family and have a sister's hand to hold every once in a while: Done performing, and ready to "decorate" (I use that term loosely) some gingerbread men: Huh, me? No, I wasn't eating anything... Mom, I've told you before that decorating is very serious business. I'm concentrating here and don't have time for a picture. The masterpieces: Oh yeah, this was fun: Shoot, almost forgot to include the video: Merry Christmas everyone!