Hello Lance Armstrong!

The AMGEN Tour of California came right through our small town this afternoon. The boys made signs to root on the cyclists and shook cowbells as they raced by. It was pretty amazing to see how fast these guys go!

Lance Armstrong is the one with the yellow helmet. I think Levi, the overall race winner, is the guy in front of him--it was all a blur as they zoomed by. Those "in the know" around us said it was estimated that the riders were going 70mph here at the base of the mountain.

The chase pack rounded the corner...

Ethan with his sign...

Seth held his sign with pride.

Emerson cheered from the sidelines.

The home stretch...

Lizard Friend

Ethan and Dad rescued a baby lizard from the art tub in our extra room this afternoon. It must have crawled into the house through the garage before getting trapped. Ethan was so proud of his find.

The Alabama Hills

We stopped in Lone Pine and took a little hike in the Alabama Hills off Movie Road. I didn't realize so many of the old westerns were filmed there! We ran into a park ranger who shared a lot of information with us. We hiked out to see the natural arches and admired Mt. Whitney in the distance. Afterward, we ate lunch at a cool hamburger shack that had a ton of old black and white movie pictures scattered across the walls.

The boys posed in front of Mount Whitney. It is the peak just to the left of center. It is easy to recognize because there are two jagged peaks to the left of it and a valley to the right.

Convict Lake

Convict Lake is always a fun place to visit. This is where Randy and Seth saw a black bear when camping last summer! We decided to go up and check it out on our way home. This time, the lake was frozen over. The boys couldn't believe the icy plain they saw was a lake.

Ski Time!

We skied two days during our trip. The boys went to ski school one day, and they skied with us the other. Ethan wasn't so sure about skiing, but Seth just loved it. He just kept on trying. He would fall down and get right back up. Ethan said, "Seth is better!" It was really good for Seth! Ethan is the motorcycle rider!

At first, we worried about getting a call to pick the boys up early, but they didn't want to leave at pick up time! Both boys wanted to go back to ski school the next day! It was a great introduction for them. We look forward to next year.

Seth hung out at the wall waiting for Dad to take him up the hill while Mom and E took a break.

The ski school line up--Ethan is at the front of the line.

Ethan rode up the "Magic Carpet" to work on his stops.

There he goes--no stopping here! We will have to work on the snow plow a bit more next time!

Seth practiced going down the hill in ski school, too.

Taking a break...

Cruising down the hill...

I skied for the first time in 12 years! The last few times I snowboarded, but I was tired of always sitting in the snow! This time, we left my snowboard (and the tears) at home!

I crashed in the powder. At least it didn't hurt!

We enjoyed our time on the hill while the boys were in ski school.

Seth after a big crash!

Seth waited patiently downhill as Mom tried to get Ethan up and back in his skis.

Ethan was down, but he was still happy (for now)!

Seth made his way down the slopes with his own style. We loved how he held his left arm for balance.

Concentrating...

Swimming Under Falling Snow

Have you ever gone swimming in the snow? Believe it or not, it is so much fun. The boys couldn't believe what we were about to do, but after a long day of hiking, sledding and building our snowman we decided to trek on over to the pool for a swim and a relaxing soak in the tub. Such a good time...

We hustled over to the pool as quickly as possible!

Dad and Seth warmed up in the spa.

We met a troop of 9 year old boys from Newport who were doing a "Survivor Challenge" by sitting in the snow. Our boys decided to do the same; they didn't last nearly as long!

At first, Dad had to swim in the pool alone. The boys seem to have "forgotten" how to swim now that summer is over. Later, Seth went in and practiced a bit. He was clumsy, but it all started to come back. We'll have to try again tomorrow.

Snow, Snow and More Snow!

We (the parents) weren't set on a game plan for the day. We wanted to ski, but with so much snow and a bit of wind on the mountain, we worried how difficult it would be for the boys. The storm continued as we contemplated our plan of attack. As we discussed it over breakfast, Seth said, "Today we are going to hike up a mountain, go sledding, build a snowman and have a snowball fight." With that, our day was planned!

Here we are with our snowman. What you can't see in the picture is Seth's planning. Before leaving home, he packed an extra pair of glasses, a pencil and a Tiger's Milk bar for the snowman to wear and hold. It was so funny when he started pulling these things out of his toy bag prior to our leaving the condo this morning. The glasses were really cute. In the picture, you can't see them. Instead, you see the eyebrows!

Here are some sledding pictures of the boys. Ethan was so cute as a sledder. He kept spinning around backwards on the saucer, and he would plow up lots of snow on the other!

Dad was the hardest worker of all that day. After shoveling out a parking spot (and using the car's 4 wheel drive to do some plowing) he led the path from where we parked to the hill, sometimes sinking waist high in powder. Then, he had to dig and plow and dig and plow through deep, deep powder in order for us to have our sled path. We love you Dad!

Here I am going down the hill. It was WAY too steep for me! I only went down one more time...that was more than enough for me!

Seth was a pro! He kept doing awesome jumps! We had two types of sleds, and he mastered them both. At this time he was wearing Dad's snowboarding mask. His poor little face got so cold that is was nearly purple. The mask made an immediate change!

Here is Seth again...catching some air!

Such a fun time!