Oma Comes for a Visit

Oma found a good deal on a ticket from Salt Lake to Sacramento a few months ago, so she decided to come and escape the cold for a week with us.  We went on walks, shopping, working in the garden, and yummy dinners.  We always love it when she comes.

Here are some pictures from her time with us.

 

Hike to Skunk Hollow

A few weeks ago we all had the day off of work and school.  Lily went with some friends to Disney on Ice, so the rest of the family decided to go exploring for the afternoon.  We packed a picnic and headed up to a trail called Skunk Hollow.  Dad has run on it many times and said there were some picnic tables on the trail.  He was right.  We hiked for about 2 miles and then ate lunch in a beautiful meadow then turned around and hiked back to our car.  The hills are especially green and beautiful this time of year because we have gotten some much needed rain.  Here are some pictures from our hike.

Lily turns 6

Lily turned six this week!  We have all been recovering from the flu.  Each of us took our turn being sick and we are all still feeling the effects of it.  Lily was still a little bit sick on the day of her birthday.  Mom still made a yummy cake even though no one had much of an appetite to eat it.  We had a fun day celebrating our sweet Lily.  She is turning into such a great kid.  She is always wanting to help.  She loves to help mom bake in the kitchen or help Dad take out the trash.  She is loving Kindergarten and has grown up so much this past year.  We love her so much!

Pinewood Derby

Now that Alex is in scouts, he had his first Pinewood Derby race.  He and Dad worked hard together on his car and it turned out really nice.  He had a fun time racing his car against his friends cars.

Building his car.


The night of the race.

Christmas 2014

Uncle Mark and Aunt EJ drove up to our house on Christmas Eve and stayed the night.  We had a nice time reading the bible story and eating treats.  Christmas morning we enjoyed opening presents and eating egg casserole with sweet rolls.  Here are some pictures from the day.

Mistletoe Hunting

As per tradition, Mom took the kids hunting for Mistletoe on Christmas Eve.  We found some of course and enjoyed a beautiful hike along the lake as well.  We even saw a Blue Heron sitting on a rock watching us.

Mom's Trip to Utah

Dad was super nice to Mom and let her take a trip to Utah for a week to see family. It helped her not be nearly so homesick for her family over the holidays.

She has always wanted to take the Amtrack train over the Sierras to Utah so she decided it was now or never.

Mom's experience on the train was less than ideal (to put it nicely).  She will never ride the Amtrack train again and doesn't recommend it to anyone.  Mom will only ride trains not owned by the American government in the future.  The train itself was really fun, but the environment was not good.

 Mom had fun in Utah shopping with her family, playing with nieces and nephews, making gingerbread men, and going for hikes. She flew home after a week and had a much nicer experience.  Here are some of her favorite pictures from her trip.