Sam had his birthday party on his actual birthday this year. He had a bunch of friends go play laser tag. Everyone seemed to enjoy it.
Category: Family
We all went to something that only Elizabeth had done before, a bar mitzvah. It was David Cooper’s 13th birthday. I remember when Viv was in the hospital having him, I was at Cooper’s house painting his bathroom that he didn’t have time to finish. It was a very modern ceremony that was interesting. Afterwards, there was the reception. All of the kids really loved the party. Katy has decided she wants a sweet 16 party now. We wish her luck with that.
We had New Years again in Tahoe. We had about 20 people at the house. Bruce forgot to bring the fireworks, so we didn’t have pyrotechnics to entertain us, but we did have poppers as well as silly string to make a mess with in the street.
For the first time in years we all watched the ball drop in Time’s Square. We had to watch on CNN because the network feeds are delayed for us on the left coast.
Another great Christmas. Santa brought the kids Band Hero. I think the adults may be enjoying it more. We have already ordered another guitar so someone can play the bass. Other than that, Christmas was great as always. Everyone got lots of fun things and so far having a good time.
We trimmed the tree tonight. The kids all knew who was supposed to put the star on top of the tree, I had to look it up. I think that this is the first time I didn’t have to hoist someone up on my shoulders to put the star on top of the tree.
The Christmas Parade happened again. We all rode in the TR250 and walked the dogs. Sam actually was in the parade twice. He rode with us then ran back and walked with his Cub Scout Pack. They are always the last thing to go before Santa.
Another year, another overdone Halloween on Johnson Ave. This year, Elizabeth created a “Witch’s Kitchen” in the front yard. She was the witch. Luckily for me, this meant that MOST people didn’t come to the front door and bother me. We gave out about 1000 glow bracelets again this year. I think because it was a Saturday and really nice weather, it was more crowded than usual. Sam was Ghost Luigi. Margaret was Alice (in Wonderland). Katy was a fairy. Katy still loves Halloween even though she is getting a bit old for it. She was somewhat disappointed that no one wore their costumes to school this year.
We were up in Tahoe and decided to go for a hike. We figured that it was mid September and that even the crowded places wouldn’t be. So we tried a hike that is supposed to be nice. Five Lakes near Alpine Meadows. It was a nice climb up to 5 alpine lakes. It turns out you don’t really see but 2 of them. There were a fair number of people on the trail. I just can’t imagine what it must be like in the middle of the summer when the place is crowded.
We went to pick up the girls at camp. Sam is pretty well convinced that he will be going there next year. Once I get the pictures from Katy and Margaret, I’ll post them here as well. I don’t know if Katy washed her feet while she was there.
On the way to pick up the girls at Skylake, we decided to spend the day in Yosemite. Sam had never been. We bouldered a bit under Yosemite Falls, then went and did the Mist Trail to the top of Vernal Falls. The trail was more up than Elizabeth and I remembered, but Sam was a trooper and led us up and down.