Carrie Illum: MISSING!

Have you seen this lady? She was last seen carousing in downtown Sonoma. It is suspected that the lady she is hugging in this picture shanghaied her to a taxi-driver boot camp in Northwest Montana. It is clear from all reports that this buxom lady is of questionable character and has taken advantage of Carrie's good nature and unsuspecting disposition. Authorities fear that Carrie has fallen prey to a notorious transportation syndicate and will soon be working the streets of a major US city from behind the wheel of a checkered cab. If you come across a smiling female taxi driver in a metropolitan US city, please call the local authorities at once. Remember, she will be smiling even when she should be unhappy. Thank you for your cooperation.

Biking at Spring Lake

We spent this Saturday riding bikes at Spring Lake located in Santa Rosa at the bottom of Annadel State Park. When I ride my mountain bike nowdays, I frequently ride it in Annadel. But today we took the kids on their first ride to Spring Lake.

Climbing up the hill to the bike path was the hardest part. Soon we got going, and the kids had a great time. It was surprising to see Ella though. She has not ridden much over the winter, and she was pretty scared of the hills. This is a new one for her since she usually is pretty fearless on the bike. Perhaps she has gained a measure of caution. Still she managed the hills and loved riding her new bike!

Asher on the other hand got his first taste of trail riding. He liked it a lot, except for the rocky areas. What was actually shocking to me is that I still don't get poison oak. I can't recall all the times I got poison oak as a kid or the inopportune locations it seemed to show up. At one point, Jeremy and I decided it was mind over matter and we decided not get it anymore. It seemed to work, or we had built up enough tolerance. Well, I wondered if that still worked, but I walked right into some bushes on accident (I never push my luck with my immunity), but I haven't had a single problem. I can say without hesitation that I don't miss it. So Asher and I finished our ride by meeting up with the girls at the park. It was a nice way to spend a Saturday.

No Snow in Truckee

We wanted to catch what little snow was left this year before it all melted away, so we took the weekend to go up to Truckee. Stef stayed at home will I took Asher, Ella, and Marley up to Paul Nobmann's cabin in Lahontan. We had a great time in his beautiful house even with a serious lack of snow. Still we were able to find some snow when it came to it. Asher, Ella, and Marley all slept in the same bed with me which I didn't think was great, but the kids sure seemed to like it.

The golf course in Lahontan had very little snow, but it was enough. Asher and Ella loved the sled with the steering wheel. You can see in the video that we were able to work out quite a course. Ella liked to ride the sled stright down the hill and jump the mound at the end as she slid onto the green. Asher and I liked to ride down the side, jump the grass into the sand trap, cross the grass again on the way out of the trap, and coast across the fairway. Then I got to try a new toy--the snow skate. That was pretty fun too. It was pretty tricky, but I thought it was cool.
On the way home the next day, we stopped at Grandpa Steve and Grandma Dorothy's house. We played at the park and relaxed before making our way to Jeremy and Lori's house for dinner. It was a packed weekend, but a lot of fun.

Pirates!

Ella and Marley joined their friend Fiona in dressing up like pirates. Stefanie was having a "chick night" with lotions and perfumes and stuff. They thought it would be pretty peaceful until these buckaneers showed up.

Ella's 5th Birthday

Ella’s 5th birthday party was intimate but fun. Three friends came to have a lemonade and pizza tea party. Ella, Claire, Meghan, and Haylee decorated make-up boxes, painted their nails, and jumped on the trampoline. Marley decided to paint her entire hand, and the girls gave Jason a manicure. They got a kick out of drinking lemonade out of my grandmother’s china tea cups. Little girls’ birthday parties are awfully fun.

Snow? In Pinecrest?

Since we first started dating, Stefanie and I have spent a week in Pinecrest every summer with Bill and Marlene and the rest of the family, and Stefanie has been going before that since she was little. Last year we began a new tradition of visiting the snow of Pinecrest. Even in April the snow was still thick. So we figured that if April was good, February would be better. Unfortunately, the snow didn't follow the plan the year.

We left Sunday afternoon with the Adams family and made our way to Pinecrest. I still get that excited feeling when I see the first signs of snow along the highway, but I was a bit worried when we were 10 miles away with no visible signs of snow. Finally we saw traces as we got closer at 7:30 pm.

The bottom line was that I was pretty worried about the trip. A snow trip with 2 inches of snow on the ground didn't sound too exciting. But what do I know? Kids seem to be bored while surrounded with a mountain of toys and able make fun out of the pinch of snow.

The next day we drove to the top of Dodge Ridge and found a simple but fun sledding hill. We built snowpeople, sled, and had snowball fights. Before long, it started to snow. It ws a beautiful scene to be in a snowy forest with big flakes falling all around you.

The next day we played soccer in the snow, sled some more, and fought a lot of snowball fights. Marley thought the snow was the greatest thing she ever saw. Some friends gave us a very nice snow suit so she was never cold. I think that is why she had no problem with sitting in the snow and eating popcorn for 20 minutes.

I think the most striking thing was the emptied lake. We visited the lake before we left and walked along the bottom. Pinecrest is a man-made lake, so you can see the stumps of trees chopped down stretched out across the bottom. All that is left is a small pond in the middle of what used to be the lake. The dock is dragged crookedly down the side of the lake, and a mountain of boulders I have never seen rise up from the middle. Even when the lake is lower in late summer, these boulders are never seen even though they tower 40 feet above the bottom of the dried out lake. This picture shows the kids sitting at the end of the dock close to the bottom of the dried lake. I reckon that they are sitting 50-60 feet below the surface of the lake in summer.

The drive home gave Stef and I some time to think about how different a vacation with kids is from one without them. We had a lot of fun, but we are looking forward to the beginning of March for a trip to Palm Springs by ourselves. I'm sure it will be a shocker, but a shock we can survive to be sure.

Asher Loses a Tooth

Asher lost another tooth under questionable circumstances.