Some more days of late

The days are passing as quickly as they ever have and we're as busy as we've ever been, but this family manages to capture some pretty beautiful moments in all the hustle. Pictured here are some moments from our day trip to Tahoe and up the gondola at Heavenly... a lovely day. Also pictured here is Elena's 'surprise' for us last week. After about 10 minutes of quiet, I called for Elena who proudly marched us into our room, where she had made our very large bed. She did a remarkable job, but even if she hadn't, what a kid!

Tri Ry

Ryan did his first triathalon this morning in Rancho Seco, swimming 500 yards, biking eight miles and running two. He finished in 1:03 and we just couldn't be more impressed or proud of him. It was emotional watching him give it his all with us on the sidelines yelling as loudly as we know how. I think he feels a pretty big sense of accomplishment and we plan to celebrate accordingly with dinner out tonight. Way to go, love!

Night at the Roxbury

Bruiser or Boozer?

Washed out

These kids seem to need baths every 6 1/2 hours and Michael would be just fine with that. He loves the time. Elena has a love-hate relationship with cleansing. She looks forward to it sometimes, but often gripes before diving in. She almost always ends up having a grand ol' time. Though Elena is now showering herself the majority of the time these days, she still enjoys a bath with her brother. They both laugh when Michael splashes and she's been teaching him to 'color' on the sides of the tub with bath crayons. Bathtime can get a little tedious some days, but honestly I think some of the best memories come from them.

Junior K, OK?

Oh, the first day of Junior Kindergarten was an emotional one, as it seemed much like the first day of Kindergarten would be. Elena started the Jr. K program at Blue Oak today and she was a little nervous, excited and when the day was over, ecstatic. I think she knows she's on to something. Mrs. Carr, her teacher, is a gem and we have high hopes for Elena's experience this year. Mrs. Carr started the school year with a mailed special letter/poem and 'magic confetti' designed to reinforce a good night sleep before her first day (it didn't work) and the parent's packet today contained tea and a poem so we parents could 'relax from the emotion of the day.'

I dig this chick.
























Elena deemed the day a total success with two new friends, Buddy and Sierra, and she's eager to return tomorrow to learn and see her newly identified peeps. Oh and yes, I was teary, but after mistakenly telling Elena that I feared I would be, I hid it during the half hour drop off. She wasn't at all happy about the idea of me being sad and I never should've mentioned it. So today, there were quiet and bittersweet tears because my beautiful baby girl is on her way. Oh, how proud we are of our Junior Kindergarten Star.

Times, they are a changin'

There seem to be a lot of Michael in these posts lately and to be clear, Elena is more joy than ever with her beautiful words, crazy questions and 'big girl' ways. Michael tends to change more from day to day and we capture a lot of it on film as we did with Elena at this age. And she tends to shy away from the camera, wanting to be on the other side of it taking pictures of her brother and us. She remains a constant joy. In fact, the next post will be solely dedicated to my sweet girl as she starts her first day of school on Wednesday. I predict this to be one of the most bittersweet days of my life and as excited as I am for her, I am overcome with a case of the 'weepies' should I spend any time at all thinking about it. She has a new Tinkerbell backpack, new outfit and lots of questions about her teacher. What a day it will be... She also starts soccer tomorrow after me reassuring her that she won't 'get crabs' (Yes, you read correctly. Awhile back Elena said she didn't want to do soccer because she didn't want to get the crabs. HUH?!!? She was innocently referring to the crab walk they did in her toddler soccer. She hated that practice and didn't want them to get her. A good laugh was had in private).

She's growing up so quickly... I'm obsessed with the little person she's becoming.

Michael almost never crawls anymore. He's a walker and still clutches his hammer every day. Now and then he replaces it with a wooden spoon, but the hammer reigns supreme. His vocabulary is expanding too, adding 'shoe' to his repertoire. He enjoys exploring and throwing, cuddling, eating and talking. He is the definition of pure love.