Seattle

Another traveling week-end for us. This time it was only Greg and I. The kids stayed with grandma and grandpa for 3 days and we went up to Seattle. The American Association of Immunologists (AAI) had its annual meeting there so I united work and pleasure. The meeting was really good (although rather packed with talks) and Greg and I had a good time walking around the town after the meeting. The pop-corns wit garlic and truffle from Oliver Twist will be memorable for a long long time!!

One Year Older and Happy!

Another year has gone by so fast! I can't believe I am 45 already..oh my!! Anyway I am very young at heart and that is all it matters. My birthday week-end was wonderful: it started Saturday morning with Greg making waffles for everybody, and then the kids gave me the present they made for me: a beautiful vase with their hand prints on it and with a gift certificate for Anthropologie in it. Do my men know me or what??? Then, at a leisurely pace we got ready for our adventure. We had lunch at "Stacks" (where I ordered another waffle with strawberry!) and then we went to visit Grandma Elva at the cemetery. She died exactly one year ago and we felt it was important to go see her. I am so glad we went! After that we took off for Monterey. We arrived there a little before 5PM, checked in (by the way I highly recommend the Intercontinental Clement, right on Cannery Row and very nice!) and then while Alex was "chilling" in the room we went for a brief visit to the Aquarium (the tickets were good for 2 days, so there was no rush). Dinner was at the "Fish Hopper" with good food and lots of laughs. After a walk we went back to the hotel where we rented "Inkheart" and watched it in bed (forgot to say that we got tea and cookies to bring to the room as well!). Sunday was another event filled day. Greg got up and went to get breakfast for everybody, then we finished watching the movie and then we all went back to the Aquarium. For lunch we decided to go to the Wharf and ate at the "Old Fisherman's Grotto" where we had another really good meal. The week'end ended with a bike ride for the entire family on one buggy that generated lots of laughs for everyone. I loved every minute of the week-end!

Lake Tahoe

So, I think by now it is well established that I am an horrible blogger. I don't know if I am too busy (I tend to believe that) or if I am too lazy and I don't make an extra effort to sit down and record the events of our lives and the emotions that go along with those. I really don't know, but the week goes by extremely fast and the week-ends we are often traveling (and I am so thankful for that as I am an avid traveler). The past week-end we went to Lake Tahoe and guess what I did?...I skied for the first time in the longest time!!! I think the last time I put skis on was probably 7 or 8 years ago, before I was even pregnant with Ryan. Well, it was the perfect day, blue sky, perfect fresh snow, and nobody on the slopes! I had the time of my life! While the women were skiing the guys went sledding with the kids, so everyone had a great time! The day after we all went for a hike (where this picture was taken). That was fun as well, and the scenery was very beautiful. We stayed at the Timberlodge Marriott Resort at Heavenly and Greg even managed to go gambling!

Easter

The Easter Bunny most certainly stopped at our house yesterday and the kids had a great time trying to find all the secret spots where the eggs were hidden. It was a very peaceful day for us. After the hunt for the eggs we all went for a walk (kids on scooters) around the neighborhood and then back home for a big lunch in the backyard. The weather was perfect for an outdoor lunch! Lucas took a nice and long nap, while Greg took Ryan to the Park. I spent a couple of hours reading and totally loved it! Then we all went to see Doug and Margaret house (almost done with remodeling and it looks great!), followed by dinner at all together (Passage to India, one of my favorite Indian restaurants). Oh, how I wish every day could be Easter!

Swim Meet

I have not fallen out of the face of earth, I have been extremely busy both at work and at home. Last week the kids had a swim meet and it was the first time for Ryan. It was pretty hectic but a lot of fun. Alex was great, he swam the 50 freestyle and the 100 breaststroke and he did really well. In the freestyle he got an A time and got first place. Ryan was so sweet, a little nervous for his 25 backstroke, but he went for it and got second place.