A Tahoe Christmas

We had a very non-traditional Christmas this year.  We didn't cook the big Christmas Eve dinner, but went with the Gabbarts for a fancy dinner at Lake Tahoe.  While we were waiting for our table, we walked out to the beach and noticed that the lake was as smooth as glass.  

We thought that it would be a great time to go kayaking if it wasn't so cold. And then we decided that because of the temperature inversion it wasn't really that cold, so we hatched a plan for a Christmas Day kayak.  The high temperature was predicted to be around 50 degrees, so we left our swimsuits at home and bundled up in fleece and gortex and paddled right in. It turns out that Lake Tahoe in December is not a lot colder than Lake Tahoe in August, at least along the edges.  

I was nervous and bundled up in my spray skirt and life vest, but everyone else was a little more casual.

We had a lovely Christmas Day picnic on the beach.  Sadly, because we didn't cook Christmas Eve dinner we didn't have any leftovers for lunch, so it turned out to be pretty much like breakfast..Christmas bread.

And we made it back safe and sound, with only wet feet.  The lake was just beautiful.  It makes you think that spring is just around the corner. Except for the snow piled up along the dock.

I think this might be a good new tradition.

Thanksgiving in Sayulita

Once again Calvin enticed me away to Sayulita for Thanksgiving.  It is a sacrifice to give up cooking and eating turkey, but I'll do it for Calvin.  Peter and Roque didn't have Thanksgiving plans so we got them to come with us to keep us company. The weather was just perfect this year, not a drop of rain with warm days and cool nights. We challenged the surf with a variety of boards.

  

 In an amazing feat of photography, Peter caught a picture of the two and a half seconds that I was upright on the stand up paddleboard. I'm the black speck somewhere in the middle.

 Calvin, Peter and Roque went spear fishing.  Calvin was the only one not sea sick and shows off his catch.

 The next day, with a little help from an anti nausea patch we all enjoyed an all day tour on the Alley Cat, where we saw lots of whales.

And a free swimming eel.

 And Peter showed off his diving skills.

This was my favorite view, floating on the air mattress in the pool at the house.

 Or just hanging out.

We have a lot of pictures of Peter and Roque, but this is a favorite.  Newlyweds are fun.

On our last night we took a walk down the beach for a sunset shot and on our way back got to seek a hatch of turtles making their way to the sea.

And then had a lovely dinner on the beach.

And as a final nod to Thanksgiving, here are the ants enjoying a beetle feast.  It took them nearly a full day to finish off the beetle.  Very efficient workers.

Finding the perfect tree 2013

Once again we enjoyed our family tradition of going to chop the perfect tree.  Over the years our tree chopping party has expanded and contracted.  What used to take all day we now can knock out in a few hours, but it is still fun.  This year Peter and Roque joined Fay and Vance and Calvin and I.  With the exception of Roque, we are all veterans of the hunt and our trees were chopped and loaded in record time. It was a beautiful time to be in the forest.  Just enough snow to add a touch of winter to the scene.

There was not much competition for who got the last chop. Calvin felled the tree this year.

The Gabbarts are chopped and loaded.

Peter and Roque really are more interesting than the rest of us, so they got more pictures.

Here they are with their first family Christmas tree.

And kisses for a job well done

And the group picture for 2013

We just keep getting better every year!

Autumn Harvest

We have occasionally seen deer in our yard over the last few years.  They are attracted by the fruit trees, but they browse on the roses on the way to the apples.  This year they moved in and made themselves at home.  They ate everything in the garden!  Usually at this time of year I am making batches of tomato sauce, tomato soup and dried tomatoes, but this year we only got the few tomatoes that were so deep inside the wire support cages the deer couldn't get to them.  I really don't my sharing, but the deer were over the top piggy this year, roses, grapes, tomatoes, carrots... you name it they ate it.  What they didn't eat were the potatoes because they were hidden under ground.  So here is our fall harvest of potatoes. We had a lot of really good looking potatoes.

We also had some lumpy potatoes

One in particular that looked amazingly like a fish

We also had a glorious golden fall in the orchard

The leaves were so pretty we thought we might look good in them too.

And within hours of these pictures all the leaves fell off the trees.  As Clare would say "Winter's coming."

Calvin's Birthday

We celebrated Calvin's birthday a little while ago. He had been in San Francisco for the ASA conference.  This is 5 days of anesthesia refresher courses.  It makes for long days, but I think he enjoys them.  I opted not to go with him this year, mostly because I have been gone so much recently.  I just wanted to stay home for a little while.  But I did meet up with him in Sonoma after the conference.  We didn't have a big agenda, we just relaxed for a couple of days.  On Wednesday we celebrated his birthday by going to the beach for the day. We planned on going to Bodega Bay, but along the road we saw a turn off to Dillon beach.  Calvin was sure that he had been to Dillon beach as a child, so we went there instead.  Once we got there he didn't remember it at all, but it was a great location.  The weather was perfect. We had a picnic lunch on the beach. The water was too cold for swimming, but it was great for a walk along the beach.

Happy Birthday Honey!

Alice on her blessing day

The last weekend in September we got to have a partial family gathering for Alice's blessing.  We had all arrived by Saturday and because the weather was spectacular we had a fun beach day.  Butch, Peter and Rosie did a little surfing in the morning while the rest of us admired their skill from the beach.  Rosie and Peter had wet suits, but Butch braved the water without one! After surfing we went to another beach and joined Tim, Ann and Jesse Wright for a picnic lunch on the beach. 

After a great afternoon we met up at Rosie and Jay's house for dinner and archery.  The archery contest is getting more elaborate.  Let us just say that Jay was the winner and some of us, or at least one of us, ended up with negative scores.

Sunday morning we met at the church where Alice had a sweet, but short blessing, and after church we had session of picture taking to commemorate the event on the beautiful Santa Barbara chapel grounds.

Calvin and I didn't have our big camera, but we got right in the action with our phone cameras.  Here are a few of the highlights.

I'm sure there are better pictures of Rosie and Jay, but this was all about Alice.

Here are three generations of Roehr, Smith and Wright women.

And lucky Alice has both of her grandmothers around to love her.

Mother and daughter

Father and daughter

Alice's cute little feet

Peter and Roque looking adorable in a lovely setting.

After pictures we all met again at Rosie and Jays' home for a terrific lunch and more archery.  And then before the Colorado bunch left we had another brief time on the beach. I didn't have my camera, but in my mind's eye I remember them gathered together on the beach for a picture.  It was one of those moments you remember for a long time.  What a great family I have.

Garrett Smith Bordelon ... and a little bit of Clare

Garrett Smith Bordelon arrived Monday morning September 23, 2013.  I got to be in Alexandria a few days before he arrived and a few days after.  It is never long enough, but I did get to have a lot of fun with Clare while I was there.  Clare is a child with a great imagination and it is fun to see the way she thinks.  She was on a winter kick while I was there and dressed up in winter clothes consisting of two winter hats, mittens, a fluffy pink skirt, striped tights and snow boots.  After she was dressed she would announce to all "Winter's coming."

Here are a few more Clare pictures

Here are Sarah and Clare at the park the day before Garrett was born or Sarah's last day of pregnancy.

And here is little Garrett through the nursery windows just a few hours after birth, relaxed and enjoying life.

He likes to stretch out.  Here he is at home, still relaxed and happy, sleeping through a diaper change.

And he is welcomed by family members.

And the Bordelon Family through a smudged lens.

Welcome Garrett.  You have come to a wonderful family.  We are so glad you finally arrived.