Friday, January 1, 2016

December Sand




On New Year's Eve (day), we took the kids to Huntington Beach to frolic a bit in the sand. It was a bit windy but a lovely, December-in-California day-- we even saw people surfing and running around in shorts!


Sand was a bit of a different surface for our new walker!


Ông cố ngoại (great grandfather) cheered Iver on!





Ông nội brought Iver to the ocean to touch his feet to the waves.... 



... and then (alas, I didn't capture it on camera) a big wave approached, and grandpa fell on his bottom while backpedaling, getting soaked in the process (but kept Iver dry!)



Kids were flying kites




Emma and Iver then enjoyed playing at a nearby park.

He was very determined to climb up the slide...

... but eventually gave up.

The sand was also a hit (some went into his mouth).


We enjoyed a home-cooked lobster dinner to celebrate the New Year and Kenn's birthday a couple of days early.

Iver got a new stethoscope (so he can stop stealing mine) from auntie Theresa








Danny also shares Kenn's birthday!

I'm always so amazed how smiley Kingston always is for the camera!








We hit the hay around 9:30 p.m. (but were up around midnight to celebrate the New Year with Iver's first waking of the night). Happy 2016!

Wednesday, December 30, 2015

First Sight of Snow! (Big Bear 2015)


We (and Kelvin's immediate family) took a mini getaway to Big Bear Lake in the San Bernadino Mountains east of L.A. before the New Year. It was Kelvin's parents' first time seeing snow (fallen or falling!) in their lifetimes, which was special to witness! (Of course, it was also Iver's and Kingston's first time experiencing "winter," too!)



The Village

Nice fire pits to warm us up!



Iver's footing was a bit unsteady on the snow...

Our snow angel

The nine of us (Kelvin's parents, siblings, and significant others) stayed in a rented AirBnB place not too far from Bear Mountain ski resort.  There was a nice open living area off the kitchen where the boys could roam, climb, and cuddle/horse around with family.

 











Little bear in Big Bear!












Just a little cousin-riding...


Rosy cheeks from the cold!
 

The boys (and Katherine) got to experience snow-shoveling of our driveway


On Tuesday, Eddie and I ventured to Snow Summit resort to (snowboard/)ski. Despite the hour-long line for gear rental (I didn't have room to bring down my own skis!), it was great weather to ski and the conditions were good (and, despite having taken an almost two-year hiatus from skiing, I luckily wasn't too rusty). I loved the long blue runs down the mountain, which overlooked Big Bear Lake.

We had some time for some snow photo shoots with the boys and family.







Enjoy this video of a little snow tumble!
 

(Cute) bears crossing!


We didn't really have enough of an incline to sled







Kingston wasn't too big a fan of the snow



















 

 It was a fun California winter getaway!  Now it's back to warm and sunny OC!