Celebrating Daddy's Birthday with the Girls First Ski Trip!

Enjoying our very first family ski/snowboard trip!

Our two little snow bunnies ready to hit the slopes

Mama before hitting the slopes on a solo run

We celebrated Daddy's birthday with our very first family ski/snowboard trip! This year the girls were both at ages where we felt comfortable letting them hit the slopes and hit the slopes they did...literally ;)  I think we both burned close to 2000 calories that day helping them down the slopes, picking them up when they fell, recovering lost skis, smoothing over bruised egos AND bodies. I'm glad we decided on starting them off on skis because I could see this being much more difficult had they been on snowboards. The good news is that after a very long morning of falling and picking themselves back up, they finally started getting it by the last couple runs of the day! They didn't want to leave in the end, so we consider that success. 

I know for a fact that the next time we bring them up we will invest in ski or snowboard lessons. I think with a few more trips that these two will become avid little skiers or snowboarders. Unfortunately, for us in California this is one of the warmest winters we've had in years. There really isn't much snow up in the Sierras and it was warm all day long. Of course, I've been reading about record breaking cold temperatures elsewhere around the US, and have to say that we would gladly absorb some of those cold temperatures. We are certainly missing the snow and fresh powder here in the Sierras. Here's hoping that we get a few more storms this season.

About every 10 feet, this happened! They're little troopers though

Fun in the snow: perfect way to celebrate Daddy's birthday

The girls got in a bit of sled fun before heading home

Global Winter Wonderland Part II - Sacramento, CA 2014

Cute little cousins posing by the Sydney Opera House

The vibrant peacock display at Winter Wonderland

Great Wall of China light display

Light displays transformed into stunning landmarks

Colorful Winter Wonderland views

Traversing the Dutch tulip fields

King Tut at Winter Wonderland

More snow fun

The kids loved the dinosaur light displays

Walking through the Tyrannosaurus jaws

Little cousins sharing an evening of fun

Enjoying the carousel and rides

Goodbye Winter Wonderland 2014

First Frost of December

First frost of December 2013

 

Frosty and cold outside, cozy inside

 

Only in the California valley, is it appropriate to get overly excited and take photos of the first frost of the season. Us valley dwelling Californians are so spoiled with temperate weather year-round, that when temperatures fall, and weather reports state that there are chances of snow, we all go crazy. Just this past week, temperatures dipped as low as, 40 degrees during the day, and 25 degrees overnight. All of us finally had good reason to pull out (and dust off) our gloves, hats and scarfs from hiding. While we didn't have snowfall in Citrus Heights, the nearby cities of Roseville and Rocklin did see a little bit. We haven't seen true snow in our city since a very cold streak back in December of 2009. I remember it well. It was Elise's very first December, and the fact that we actually had snow, that stayed on the ground, was cause for serious celebration. As much as I complain about the cold, I have to admit that I am glad that it finally feels like December here. The overly warm weather was outstaying its welcome (at least for me) this year.

 

 

Icy leaves and bark

 

This is what the girls wanted to see. They were
wishing for snow here, but alas, no such luck

The girls stayed warm, as did our resident cat-dog, Link

Alina's First Snow Day - Sierra-at-Tahoe Ski Resort

 

Family snow day - Sierra-at-Tahoe Ski Resort

 

Sledding on daddy's belated birthday trip!

Alina loved the snow, but was so bundled she couldn't
get back up when she sat or lay down heheh

 

All smiles after throwing a snowball at daddy



Building our snowman family / snowball fights!



Proud girls with their first snowman

Sledding in Tahoe for Daddy's Birthday

Driving up to Tahoe on a snowy Sunday morning 

First family trip to the snow

Baby Alina's first snow day - she tried to taste the snowflakes

A snowy winter wonderland

Daddy and Elise playing in the snow

All bundled up

Grandma's snow angel

Forget snowballs; Elise throws heaps of snow haha

Exploring the hill

Happy Elise enjoying the snow

After what has been the warmest and driest winter we've seen in years, we were thrilled to hear that snow had finally arrived in Tahoe last weekend. We took advantage of the snowy weather and decided to celebrate daddy's birthday weekend with a family sledding trip. Elise had been begging us to take her since Christmas, so she could test out her very first sled (a surprise gift from Santa). The last time we took Elise to Tahoe was when she was around 11-months-old. It was during May and there was no snow. We jumped at the opportunity to take the girls last weekend, as it would be the first snow experience for both of them. Elise was ear-to-ear smiles the entire day. Grandpa and grandma also joined in on the fun.

We had to drive all the way up past Kyburz before we even saw any snow. Thankfully, once we got there, we were greeted by plenty of snow; in fact, when we first arrived it was snowing like crazy and very cold. The cold did little to slow us down (especially the warm-blooded twosome of daddy and Elise; those two double as fully-functional heaters) and after about a half hour the snow stopped and the temperature rose.

Elise has been a little daredevil since she was a baby, so she absolutely loved sledding; so much so that she insisted we let her go down the hill by herself (which we didn't). Daddy found a way to semi trick her into thinking she was going by herself, but instead he held the rope and ran with her down the hill. Once she caught on, she kept yelling, "let go of the rope, I want to go by MYSELF", I swear she could have caused an avalanche she was so loud. People were laughing and amused by our two-year-old daredevil. I kept waiting for Elise to get cold, tired, hungry, etc, but she didn't; she wanted to keep sledding and playing. She really is a little trooper. It was a great experience, and one I hope we get to do more than once every year. Eventually, we want to teach the girls how to snowboard, so they can join us on the slopes.

Sledding in Tahoe

Elise (the mini daredevil) sledding on her own

Peering out down the hill

Keeping warm :)

Little snow bunny having fun

Beautiful snow covered trees

Got snow?  Silly cutie after a fun snow day

Winter is in the Air

We awoke yesterday to an icy winter wonderland! Yep, this is about as harsh as the weather gets here in the Sacramento Valley. Although, last year we actually had snow that stayed on the ground in early December! Last year's snow was a first for us, but this icy front has us wondering if it may happen again this December. I'm sure little Elise would enjoy seeing snow outside her window. Of course, we will be taking her up to Tahoe to see real snow very soon!