Hi all,Merry Christmas and Happy New Year! Hope you've all been able to enjoy time together to celebrate the birth of our Savior and also time with family and loved ones. We count ourselves as truly fortunate to be able to enjoy company in a warm house with good food and happy children!
Santa was good to us this year, Carson even remarking it was "like a dream" and Maggie continually crowing about her "lucky tooth", which came out on Christmas Eve! I wonder if the Tooth Fairy and Santa ran into each other..."strangers in the night...doo doo bi doo bi doo"...
Highlights were Carson's Nintendo 3DS and Maggie's Ride on Pony, Butterscotch. 
After presents, we went out for a walk in Rancho San Antonio park, it was a beautiful day, and pretty much has been for the past 6 weeks or so! The lack of rain has begun to cause concern around here due to 1) lack of snow for skiing and 2) drought. But we still have time to get some storms so hopefully we'll catch up...
Then I made some seared foie gras as an appetizer and Annett made a delicous roast beef and popovers for dinner! MMMM!
The day after Christmas we packed up and headed for the Sierra, where we rented a ski house for a week. We had almost everyone in the family join us: Bob and Elisabeth, Julie and Shan, Mary Beth, Melissa, Chris, and Kylah. The house had a nice big dining room table we could all sit around, so that was the main highlight!
We did actually manage a couple half-days of skiing at nearby Heavenly Valley, although almost all the snow was man-made and eerily like East Coast skiing! But at least the weather and views were beautiful, and lines scarce!
The cousins had a great time playing together.
Due to the lack of snow for skiing, we took the opportunity to do some hiking, both near our ski house and also in the Desolation Wilderness near Emerald Bay. 
Also, right out the door of the house and up the street about a quarter mile, there was a very pleasant fire road and trail heading up the hill toward Freel Peak (10,800 ft) and Star Lake. One afternoon I decided to see if I could make it to the lake and back in 3 hours. I think the distance was about 6 miles each way, but the sun set quickly and the snow covered the trail so I had to give up before finding the lake.
The views of Lake Tahoe in the evening light were beautiful!
And then I got to come home to a delicious Paella that Annett prepared for New Year's Eve!
Gingerbread houses were built.
Annett's birthday was Jan 6th so we celebrated with an Oma-made cake.
And finally, one of the biggest gifts for me (and hopefully the kids) was that the playhouse is (finally) finished! The weather continues to be absolutely gorgeous here, warm and sunny (but no rain or snow in the Sierra) and perfect for running around outside during the afternoons. We had friends over last week and the kids spent hours running around the back yard and enjoying the playhouse, which was decorated with Christmas lights and quite comfortable!
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| And Opa helped a ton with the rope bridge and hanging the tire swing! |
Hope everyone's had a good start to 2012!
