Up, up and away

Hiking was the word of the day on Thursday.  The morning hike was along the McCurdy trail just outside of Stinson Beach.  Unfortunately, if Mr. McCurdy knew the shape of his namesake trail, he would be quite embarrassed.  In fact, Maleia and Josiah called it the "grass and flowers in your face" trail.  It could have kept a hard-working Salvadoreño and his trusty machete busy for a couple of days, if not weeks.

Afterwards, we treated ourselves to coffee/donuts at the Parkside Cafe and let the kids play on the playground.  

The afternoon hike was much nicer . . . up the trail with a great ocean view as your reward, well, that plus a couple of wild, ripe blackberries.  

One last splash in the cold, cold water to end the day.

Saying goodbye to the grandkids

One of the things we try to do before we leave California is to discuss/decide/plan our next trip.  Although we talked about we didn't make any definite plans.  I just know I won't be able to wait too long . . . . we're thinking maybe late May or early June.  Even so, Aviah will be six months by then and will have changed so much!  

Here's a photo review of our trip!

 Happy, happy girl!

 Grandpa getting back in practice!

 Day at the park

 Adventure with the fireman (see earlier post)

 Maleia practicing her cursive with Shannon

 Uncle Jon came to see us

 Talking to Grandma

 Decked out for roller skating

 Yes, Josiah drew this car all by himself.  Did I say he's 2 1/2

Took a few minutes off playing with cars to get a lesson from daddy

 What a hit!

Tahoe Trip

We left for Tahoe on Saturday afternoon--it's not a terribly long drive, but it was raining so we didn't make great time.  Not too far from the pass, Cal Trans was requiring chains.  Daniel and Stephen decided to pay one of the "professional" chain installers who were dressed in rain gear rather than doing it themselves.  As it turned out, we really didn't even need the chains as most of the time we were driving in slushy rain.  After clearing the highest point and starting down the mountain, one of the chains broke.  What a mess--it took Daniel, Stephen and a random stranger who offered to help more than 30 minutes to get the chains off.  

Anyway, we finally pulled into our condo rental at Tahoe Donner about 8:30 and got the kids off to bed; we had a quick supper, watched a little of the Olympics and called it a night.

Daniel and Maleia were hoping to ski on Sunday, but it rained all day.  They tell me that skiing in rain is very uncomfortable and cold as ski wear is made to repel snow, but not constant rain.  Maleia was a bit under the weather, so we took it easy.  Stephen and I were able to visit the shops in downtown Truckee while Daniel and Shannon took Maleia ice skating.

The weather on Monday was much nicer so we checked out of the condo and drove to Boreal Mountain.  Daniel and Maleia skied, Josiah and Shannon played in the snow and Stephen and I watched Aviah in the lodge.  

Starting our second week

We're starting on second week here in California--time is really flying by.  Wednesday is Maleia's swimming lesson day; she just loves her lessons.  Before Aviah was born, Josiah had Mommy/me lessons, but he's sitting out for awhile and that's okay with him.  Josiah and I had a conversation about things we like and don't like.   I asked if he liked kiwi and he said, "no."  Then he asked me if I liked pomegranates.  My goodness, I don't know if I've ever eaten a pomegranate. I definitely got outsmarted by my 2 1/2-year old grandson!

Daniel was able to come home a little early and we all went for a walk, except Maleia who roller skated.  She's getting pretty good.  Thankfully, her knee pads, elbow pads, wrist protectors and helmet keep her from getting hurt when she does fall.

Aviah is a very happy baby!  She's full of smiles and carrying on whole "cooing" conversations with us.  We even caught a few of her "words" on video today!

 

Nothing like family time!

 Grandpa and Josiah drawing cars

 Josiah and mommy playing with cars

  Aunt Emily and Aviah who is sporting her blue and green on super bowl Sunday.  

 Maleia and Aviah both look beautiful in this color!

 Smiling and cooing on Grandma's lap.

Maleia loves to draw on the iPad.

Happy Birthday to You

We celebrated Stephen's 63 birthday on Wednesday.  I offered to make him biscuits and gravy, but he opted for Starbucks instead.  Of course, that meant less work for me and less mess in the kitchen! 

The Starbucks barista brought him a free blueberry muffin.  She said it isn't normal for them to do this, but she brought it anyway!  Maybe it was one of the perks of being a gringo in El Salvador.  

After a relaxing morning at home, we went to our favorite Chinese restaurant, 168, for lunch.  They have great lunch specials and the food is as good as our favorite in Lee's Summit.  

Stephen spent most of the afternoon practicing the music for Thursday night and Sunday morning.  After band practice we Skyped with the kids and talked with Jon.  There's nothing sweeter than hearing Maleia say, "Happy Birthday, Grandpa, wish you were here!" and hearing Josiah's sweet little voice sayiing, "Happy Birthday, Stephen."  Last time we were there, he was calling him "Grandpa Stephen," but guess he wanted to shorten it!  

It's Red eye Time Again

Sitting at the gate at San Francisco International Airport waiting for 1:15 a.m. to roll around.  Not my favorite thing to do--which I believe I may have mentioned in previous posts.  Tonight we got here even earlier because Daniel had a red eye to New York that left at 11:15.  

Had to say goodbye to these two cuties!  It will be four long months before we see them (except for Skype) and meet their new baby sister!  

Great Way to Spend a Monday

We were able to watch the kids this morning because Shannon went to her BSF planning meeting.  We read books and drew pictures.  It's too bad we have to say goodbye to these sweet faces on Tuesday night.

Saying Good Night

It was hard to say good night to the kids last night.  As she got ready for bed each night Maleia would come to say good night like this, "Good night, see you in the morning  light."  We would respond, "good night, sleep tight, see you in the morning light."  Last night, however, since she knew we were leaving she said, "Good night, sorry I won't see you in the morning light."  She was right--when the morning light rose we were at 39000 feet over Mexico!

I know that red-eye flights serve a worthwhile purpose, but they make me absolutely miserable!  We departed SFO at 1:30 a.m. and landed in San Salvador at 8:00 a.m.  As hard as a tried, I don't think I slept more than a few minutes the whole flight.  Stephen didn't even try--he watched two movies.  The lines at immigration were short and our luggage came out quick, so we were in the truck and on the way home by 8:45.  Of course, we both crashed when we got home.  We finally ventured out to the grocery store about 5:00 p.m.

Hopefully, tomorrow will be a more normal day!