Animal Farm

Biker Chicks (and one Biker Dude)

Mike got me a beach cruiser bike for Christmas (pink of course!) so we could start going on family bike rides. I was very excited because it's exactly the kind I wanted: no gears to mess with, and a seat that is somewhat comfortable. I love it and it is so easy to ride, especially because I haven't ridden a bike in probably 10 years! We got a bike seat for Carina, and we took our very first ride on the Rodota (sp?) Trail from our house out to Sebastopol. It's about 3 and a half miles out there, and we stopped at a little coffee shop for drinks and a snack before heading back home. Carina was not too thrilled about putting her helmet on, but once we got going she LOVED it! I could hear her saying, "Wheee!" and pointing to the birds and dogs she saw along the trail. It was great doing something fun together as a family, and we can't wait to go again once we have another sunny weekend! (These pictures were taken at the end of our first ride back in January-I'm behind on my blogging)

Daddy & his little biking buddy

Tea Party Anyone?

We got Carina this table and chairs set a couple of weeks ago. Isn't it cute? She LOVES it! She has been climbing in and out of the chairs since we put them together, and she'll sit and read books and eat her snacks. We got it from IKEA (they have tons of fun kids stuff!) and here is a quick version of our discussion over buying it:
Me: Carina would love this! And she'll be able to use it for a while too, probably until she's five.
Mike: Really? It's kind of small.
Kelley (a friend of ours): Look! There is a little girl over there, I'll ask her to sit in it so you can get an idea of the size. (Kelley asks the mom of this little girl nearby if we can use her as a model, which she says is fine)
Me: Thank you! That table is the perfect size for you! How old are you?
Little Girl: I'm five.
Me (to Mike) Ha! I told you so!
Mike: Ok, so we need a table and a chair.
Me: You mean 2 chairs.
Mike: Why do we need 2 chairs? We have one child.
Me & Kelley: What?! You don't buy a table and ONE chair-what if she wants to have a tea party with a friend?
Mike: She doesn't really have any friends now.
Me: She does too! And when they come over they won't have any place to sit! We are buying TWO chairs.
Mike: Ok, we're buying 2 chairs.

So since we have had the table, Carina has had 2 little friends over and they have thoroughly enjoyed dining at it! It feels good to be right :o)

Our Trip to Tahoe

Our annual family ski trip was over the Martin Luther King Jr. holiday weekend. The cabin Mike's mom and Dave rented was AMAZING...we all agreed it was the best one yet! I was pretty worried when we walked in and saw all of the stairs. Multi-level floors and toddlers do not mix, but I was incredibly relieved when I saw there were baby gates for us to use! Disasters averted!
It's funny how our trip has changed over the years. We used to get up super early and rush to be the first ones on the slopes. This year, we took our time in the morning and didn't end up getting to Alpine until 10 a.m. Gloria said she would hang out with Carina in the lodge, so I was able to ski all day with Mike, Dave, and Keiko. Although the snow levels were low, the weather was beautiful and we had a blast!
Mike and I took Carina sledding in front of the cabin. She seemed to have a lot of fun, and looked so cute in her snow suit and boots! She was very curious about the snow, and liked holding it in her hand and then throwing it. It's really fun to watch her experience things for the first time.
We can't wait until she is old enough to go to ski school...although we will probably be the parents who are up on the lift looking down at all the little kids in the classes, and there will be our daughter heading over to a black diamond run! Seriously, the child has no fear...who will keep up with her?
Overall we had a fabulous time and can't wait to go back next year. Thank you Dave and Gloria for another fun vacation!