Good times at the ranch

We have had so much fun here at the ranch. We've snacked and played and snacked some more. Tomorrow we hit the long road home and we are so sad to see this trip come to an end. We'll be back soon though and next time we just may never leave.

A good old fashioned family Christmas!

Ho Ho Ho! From the Griswolds...

Snow days

Too much fun!

To grandmothers house we go

We finally made it safe and sound to the ranch. We've been eating and playing non stop since we got here. We are loving every second and looking forward to seeing a white Christmas from the comfort of grandpa's laz-y-boy.

Stranded in Santa Fe

The road to Colorado was closed so we found a cozy hotel with an indoor pool and waited out the blizzard. After two days on the road we are beat. Elise fell asleep in a highchair at a restaurant and we were all in bed by 6:30.

A doozy of a drive

Thought we got far enough yesterday that today would be a breeze. Boy were we wrong. Cali kids should not be driving in snow. Looks like grandma will have to wait one more day :(

Half way

Well a little more than half way.
600 miles
13 hours
5 potty breaks
3 rain storms
1 snow storm (ok it felt like a storm to a California girl)

And they are still smiling

Road trip

Let the fun begin!

A bad word

Instead of playing the radio on the drive home from work and school one recent evening, Olivia and I started singing silly songs with made-up words. In our duet performances we usually take turns riffing on what the other has just sung about. Olivia likes to sing a song she heard on a cartoon show. The words go something like, "Stomp, Stomp, Stomp... Doin' that Yeti Stomp".

So, in my response I added some flair with "Shtomp, Shtomp, Shtomp... Doin' that Shtuppy Shtomp".

Before I knew what was going on I was getting a lecture from Olivia on the bad word I just said.

"What bad word did I say?"

"The S-word."

In my head I replayed my recent lyric a few times. Did she hear me say the S-word? I thought about my choice of using the Sh-sounds. Oh man... my 5-year-old, innocent, first-born treasure knows the S-word!

In my best fatherly tone I asked her what was the S-word that she heard.

"I'm going to say it, but don't get mad at me."

"OK. I won't get mad." At this point my heart was already breaking a little because I was positive that one of her school friends had already given her a lesson on bad words and I was about to hear her drop the S-bomb on me.

After a short dramatic pause she utters her S-word, "Stupid".

My heart warmed a little. I rethought what I could have possibly said and realized 'Shtuppy' can sound like stupid.

I told her I didn't mean to say the S-word and we started a new song.

Recommend to your children virtue; that alone can make them happy, not gold.

Ludwig van Beethoven