Alyssa is 18 Months

Alyssa turned 18 months old this month and constantly leaves me wondering where the time goes. Inevitably, we are now in our last phases of a baby. Bottles, cribs and diapers will soon be a thing of the past. At times it makes me very sad, but also very excited to finally be shedding all these items. We will be moving into a new phase where the kids will be super fun and much easier to tote around! (not that they aren't right now)

Alyssa is definitely holding her own in this crazy household. Constantly trying to keep up with her brother and sister and their friends. Following the big kids around, barely able to keep pace. She is my only child who has proven to be quite the climber at an early age. Climbing steps, play structures, tables and chairs and plummeting down slides, mostly without missing a beat. She has had her fair share of falls with the resulting bumps and bruises. Only a few have taken my breathe away.

Eating sand at Lake Tahoe

She is such a fun little baby. Always on the go and absolutely loves to be outside. Adventurous to the core, this one. Running, riding bikes, exploring, digging in the dirt and sand. Preferably eating the dirt and sand, I should add. She loves the beach and especially the water. Oh my god, what a fish she is. Just the sight of a pool or ocean and she is squealing and waving her arms in excitement. I have been doing mommy and me swimming lessons with her at La Petite Baleen since she was 14 months old. She took to swimming so quickly. I will be amazed to see how she progresses in the next couple of years. On our recent trip to Lake Tahoe, she just had to get her feet in the lake and ended up taking a header straight in, clothes and all. She wasn't too happy with the shock of ice cold water and refused to go in again. She was much happier in the 90 degree hot tub at the house we stayed at.

Chillin in the hot tub in Lake Tahoe

One thing is for sure, this little girl is going to keep me on my toes. She has a lovable sweetness and a devilish side too. She definitely has a feisty spirit in her and I am almost thankful she is not really talking yet.

I am looking forward to watching her grown into an amazing little girl!

Enjoying a ride in the stroller in Santa Cruz

Groovin with the iPod

Mommy and me at Santa Cruz

Lake Tahoe, Part One

At the beginning of August, we took a trip up to Lake Tahoe with our good friends. We rented a 3br/2ba condo in Incline Village and spent 5 glorious days there. The weather was a perfect 75-80 degrees the whole time we were there. The goal of our trip was to do a whole lot of nothing...even with 4 children.

Wednesday morning, we departed in the van with all four children. Equipped with snacks and dvd's, we set off at 9am. Smooth sailing right through to Auburn, where we stopped at In&Out Burger to pick up lunch. We took lunch to a nearby playground and sat on the grass under a tree to eat. The kids had a chance to run around and stretch their legs before we got back in the car for the rest of the drive. They did great and Alyssa slept almost the entire second half of the trip. The men were arriving on Thursday night after work.

We arrived at our condo around 3pm. It was a really nice complex and our condo (which seemed more like a townhouse) was really nice. Much nicer than we anticipated. Three bedrooms and two bathrooms with plenty of room for the kids to play. There was a small grass area in front of our unit and a swimming pool right across the parking lot.

Our first day was spent at the lake, which the kids quickly realized how cold it was. The girls didn't seem bothered too much as they were floating around, running and jumping in. Jimmy didn't get in much past his knees and Alyssa put her little toes in and headed right back to the sand.

 

 Much of our trip was spent at the pool in our complex. After our experience at the lake, the kids decided they would much rather swim in the pool at our complex. Which was fine by us because they charge $12 per adult per day at the beaches in Incline Village. They were nice beaches, but that was a little much. So each morning after breakfast, all the little people scrambled around excitedly putting on their swimsuits and grabbing their gear.

Jimmy and Alyssa taking a break.

While Alyssa slept in the afternoons after lunch, the kids would relax. One afternoon Jimmy and I went on a little adventure walk around the complex. He was fascinated walking down the paths and through the trees. Finding pine cones, spotting dogs, picking up sticks and seeing squirrels. It was awesome spending some one on one time with him too.

Our evenings were spent relaxing, making dinner, watching movies, talking and reading. Once the kids were all in bed we had some time to play games like Cranium and Scattergories.

On two of the late afternoons, we packed up everyone in the car and went down to Kings Beach for some time on the playground at at the lake. Of course all 3 older kids ended up in the lake!

On our last evening, we went to Kings Beach again (no kids allowed in the lake this time!) for some time at the playground and dinner at Jason's. This is such a great restaurant. Seriously, the best clam chowder ever! Doug and I have been going to Jason's since before we were married and the food is always good. We had a great dinner! The kids enjoyed it (and were all behaved!) and so did we.

We went for a little stroll after dinner to soak in our last little bit of Lake Tahoe.

Trying for a nice group photo!

Our last morning was spent packing and getting ready to hit the road. Five days was definitely not long enough. It was a wonderful trip and we are looking forward to a winter version this season!

BFF's!

We captured the best group photo on our way out!

Behind

I find the same question popping up daily...where does the time go? How are we halfway through September already? How is Alyssa almost 18 months old?

I really enjoy writing on this blog and I know there are some friends and family that really enjoy reading it, but I am seriously behind. So much of what I want to write about seems like old news. August went by in a blur with two major vacations packed into one month. I still need to post about those. They are coming, I swear. I figured after Labor Day weekend I would be all caught up with life post-vacation and I seem to be just getting busier.

Anyway, stay tuned. I am trying to get back on the ball. But when I have afternoons like today and Alyssa has refused to nap at all when I need to pack for Tahoe, bake for family night at school, have things ready for my wonderful babysitter tonight and go out to dinner with friends. Maybe I will find some time to actually eat lunch and do my hair. Of course, I did just manage 10 minutes to write this post!

A Surfer For Life

There is one thing in my life that I can say I have been deeply and truly passionate about...surfing. I have been body boarding and surfing on and off for 17 years. It never gets old, never gets boring and it has a way of cleansing the mind, body and soul. I once read a quote somewhere that said, "if everybody in the whole world surfed, there would be no war." The ocean waves offer its riders a thrill, an excitement like no other. I am an avid snowboarder and a roller coaster connoisseur...neither of these activities even come close to the sensation I get from riding a wave. Surfing is the hardest thing I have ever learned how to do, but once you conquer it, you never look back.

When Doug and I bought our house in 2004, which is 5 minutes from the main beach I always surfed at, I decided it was time to take up surfing again. Doug had never surfed before and was up for learning. He was quickly sucked in and we began surfing together every moment we could. We were also both very much on the same page about raising our future children to learn to surf. We are lovers of everything that has to do with water, therefore swimming is extremely important for our kids to learn and surfing is just a given.

In Maui, 2 years ago, we decided it was time to expose Paige & Jimmy to the wonderful world of surfing and the ocean. Paige was 2-1/2 and Jimmy was 18 months. Paige has always been fearless in the water and I knew she would take to it immediately. Jimmy is much more cautious, but I wanted to take him anyway. Maui was the perfect place to introduce them to the waves and surfing, the water is warm and the waves were small. I knew they would need to be a little older to expose them to the frigid water temperature and larger waves at home.

Paige playing in the shore break. Every time a wave took her out, she came right back for more. Look at the smile!

Jimmy having fun, but not quite as brave as big sister.

Pushing Paige into some small shore break at the house we stayed at. She loved it and could not get enough.

We tried some bigger waves too...still loving it!

This was an awesome ride! You can't see his face but he is crying the whole ride. He was not very happy about this experience.

We found a great beach called Kalama Beach Park, close to where we were staying. It had small waves to take the kids on. We rented a 10' soft top surf board. As soon as Doug walked over with it, Paige was jumping up and down with excitement. Doug and I took turns taking it out on our own to get acquainted with the board and the waves. Then it was Paige's turn! Our first wave, I had her lay down the whole time because I wanted to get a feel for going tandem. By the second wave, we were set. I popped up to my feet and when I had my balance, I leaned down and grabbed the back of her life jacket and pulled her to her feet!

Here we go!

Loving the smile on her face.

Paige taking a ride with daddy.

Here I am coming in with Jimmy. He did not want to be on the board. As soon as we paddled out, he kept saying "down".

We took the kids every morning to the beach to body board and we went 3 days in a row to surf. It was so awesome. It was my first time back in the water in a very long time too. Unfortunately, we didn't take any pictures of each other surfing. Seventeen years of surfing and I have maybe 3 pictures of myself in action or with my board. It is hard to find someone with the patience to sit and wait for you to catch a good ride!

Maui - There was fun little shore break at the house we were staying at.

Paige lived in the water just as much as I did. I sometimes truly see a mini-me in her. She always wants to be a part of whatever we are doing.

Maui - Stand up paddling is so amazing. So peaceful. And my little 2-1/2 year old daughter sat quietly at my feet enjoying the ride.

Fast forward 2 years, Paige is now 4-1/2 and Jimmy is 3-1/2. They have been in swimming lessons for a year and a half. Both of them are comfortable in the water and can actually swim. Jimmy is still cautious, but is becoming more and more confident with each exposure to the water.

A couple weekends ago, I had the itch to surf. I checked the report and found out the conditions were incoming high tide, 1ft.-2ft. Doug says, "you should take Paige with you." I begin to think this is a really good idea. The conditions are perfect to introduce her. After a little more thought, I decide to take Jimmy too. I am very lucky that my kids are very good around the water and very obedient, therefore I am comfortable taking both of them on my own. We own a 9ft. soft top surf board...so Doug gets it down for me and puts it on the car. I load up the gear and the kids and we head over to the surf shop to rent 2 small wetsuits. We left the house at 1pm. By the time we rented the suits, got the beach, unloaded the car and got all 3 of our wetsuits on, it was 2pm as we were heading to the water. It takes long enough to get myself in and out of a wetsuit...now I have to do 2 more!

Into the waves we went, body board in hand. They barely flinched at the cold water. Pushed Paige into a few shore break waves...she is loving it! Jimmy's first wave, he wipes out and tumbles under. Comes up, shocked at the cold and b-lines straight for the shore. It took me an hour to get him back in and comfortable again. By the end of our day, he was back on the board.

My little surfer babies. I love this shot.

 

Paige having a blast!

My mini-me.

I tried taking Paige tandem on the surfboard. It was hard. She is a lot taller and heavier than she was in Maui. We have a shorter surfboard and I am out of shape. I tried very hard to get us into a wave and I couldn't do it. She started to get a little scared, so we came in and stuck to the body boarding. My main goal was to expose them to the cold water, the power of our waves and begin teaching them to be cautious in the ocean. Always be aware of the people around you and never take your eyes off the ocean. Teaching them surfing etiquette will come later.

We had such a great time, that we packed up the whole family the next morning and did it all over again. Doug and I had a chance to take turns surfing, while one stayed back with the kids. It was great! Alyssa had a great time shoveling sand into her mouth or wandering around with her snack trap.

Alyssa loves the beach and water. I think she is my future pro-surfer. ;-)

  
The kids had a blast that weekend and keep asking when we can go again. They don't understand that the conditions have to be just right. Our beach can get big and strong. The shore break can be knarly and unsafe for the kids. Fortunately summer is usually pretty mellow, so there will be more opportunities to take them. I am excited to see the passion growing in them. It will be a great day when all 5 of us can be surfing together!

It was also nice having Doug at the beach that day with the telephoto lens on my camera. I have been out of the water for a long time and it was not my best wave, but he was patient enough to catch me in action!

YEAH BABY!!

Paige's Quote of the Day

We were enjoying a nice day at Cull Canyon today. Out of the blue, during our picnic lunch, Paige turns to me and says, "mommy, I have decided that I don't want to marry Jimmy anymore."
I say, "Oh? Have you chosen someone new?"
Paige: "Yes, I want to marry Shayla." (that is her best friend)
I say: "Ok. Daddy and I would love to be joined as a family with the W's!

Such innocence at this age. I love it.