Saturday, December 25, 2010

Most improbable Christmas morning photo

Christmas dinner

I like it a pumpkin pie!

A busy night

I hope Santa Claus didn't collide with the tooth fairy last night. Kelton lost his first tooth on Christmas Eve!

Wednesday, December 22, 2010

Gingerbread cookies!

When I was a kid it was a family holiday tradition to make and decorate gingerbread cookies. My mom gave me all the cookie cutters and now I make cookies with my little boys. This was the first year Weston and Brennan were able to join in.

Weston loved making bears, although many got mangled before he put them on the tray because he hugged and kissed them first. Brennan made a lot of dinosaurs and hearts, while Kelton enjoyed making snakes from the dough. There was too much excitement during cookie making, so I forgot to take photos, but here's W & B enjoying the results.

Baylands

We went for a walk at The Baylands in-between rain showers. There was an unusually high and rising tide while we were there. Kelton taught Brennan how to pick and eat pickleweed. Weston didn't want to try it.

Monday, December 20, 2010

Playing with Carina at the park

We bounced on the teeter totter, rode the train and rocked the motorcycle with Carina while our big brothers played in the big kid playground.

Storytime

Storytime is a favorite part of the bedtime routine. Suddenly Weston and Brennan can really follow and enjoy full length stories. We're outgrowing board books.

Stanford

We toured Stanford on a rainy Saturday. The rows of arches looked like tunnels to Weston, Kelton and Brennan found a huge palm frond, and everyone admired the mechanical pendulum driven bell tower.

Sunday, December 19, 2010

Electric thrills





Out of the blue I ended up borrowing Larry Page's Tesla Roadster for
the weekend. Holy crap, that thing is a thrill. Kelton, who has been
obsessed with electric cars for a while, was beside himself -- and
that was before I took him for a spin and pinned his little body
against the backrest over and over with quick jolts of juice ;*) It
feels like coming over the top of a rollercoaster and he hasn't felt
anything like that before. His giddy snorts punctuated the
high-pitched electric whirr. Lisa even took it for a spin during our
"date night". The only trick is getting in and out, as the door sill
is a good 3 inches *higher* than the seat. I'm a big fan of electric
for our environmental, military and economic security, and really like
Tesla's business strategy, but there's no denying this weekend was
just about the pure fun of it. It also was a fine chance to break out
the camera.

Thursday, December 16, 2010

Sleigh ride

Dashing down the hall, in a one Brennan-powered box, laughing all the way....

Tuesday, December 14, 2010

Going on a salamander hunt

Sunday was cool and misty, perfect salamander weather. We had a great hike at Wunderlich. We explored several redwood "fairy rings" which Kelton pretended were houses, Weston practiced climbing, and Brennan was creeped out by all the spider webs. We finally found two small salamanders. Hopefully next time we will be able to hike even farther and find the fabled salamander pool.

Sunday, December 12, 2010

Fall in December?

Weston and Brennan romp through the leaves at Rinconada Park. Funny how fall blends into Christmas here.

Building a shelf

Kelton helped daddy drill the holes, put in the screws and finally put on the brackets. More organized garage!

Thursday, December 09, 2010

Star Wars Conundrums

Reading a book introducing the Star Wars characters generated some
interesting questions from Kelton. Do light sabers have rechargeable
batteries?  Why not?  Where does Yoda live?  Does all Chewbacca's hair
grow from his head?  Is he smart?  Is there a person inside R2-D2? How
does Darth Vader go wee-wee in that suit? Why do bad guys wear black?
Next time I see a bad guy will he be wearing black?  Why don't real
bad guys wear black?  Why is mommy tired of talking.....