Thank Heaven for Little Girls!

Yesterday Brett and Kimber found out that they will be having a little GIRL (YAY!)

 and shared the good news by posting this creative video that she and Brooke put together!

 I'm not sure who is more excited about "Baby Girl C"... Brett, Kimber or Brooke!

Actually, all of us are very, very excited!

I loved talking to Kimber right after she found out that it was a girl. 

She was still kind of in awe and shock after the ultrasound and it was just sinking in. 

 I think that she worried about getting a girl since Brett was from a mostly boy family

 and it probably didn't help that we teased her about having a bunch of rowdy and unruly boys!

So when I spoke to Kimber, she excitedly said, "I can't believe that I got my little girl.  
I don't care if all the rest are little boys.  At least, I got my little girl!"

It reminded me of how I felt when I had Kimber and I realized that I got my little girl. 

Since Mark has 4 brothers and only 1 sister, I felt like I was doomed destined to have all boys!

I remember feeling just like Kimber did when she realized that she was having a girl... 
I reacted the same way, with the same kind surprise and excitement,
 as I looked down at Kimber, my little girl, I said exactly what Kimber said,
 "It's a GIRL!!!  I got my little girl!
I don't care if all the rest are boys because I got my girl!"

Little did I know what was in store for me:)!  
Now that I have my 4 little girls, I know what is in store for Kimber and I'm excited for her! 
 Girls are so much fun and what a lucky little girl "Baby C" is!

And I'm SO excited for Brett to have a daughter!! 

 There is nothing like the relationship between a dad and his little girl! 

She will definitely have him wrapped around her finger:)!! 

This little one is very lucky to have parents that are so anxious and excited for her arrival!!

Congratulations, Brett and Kimber!

We love "Baby Girl C" already!

A Hike to Hidden Falls

A group of Granite Bay gals have gotten together and started a "hiking club."

That's right, I'm hiking and biking these days.

In fact, I biked 4 days last week, conquering the Sierra College hill (see photo at the bottom of the post)

and on Thursday I went on a hike to Hidden Falls near Auburn.

Exercising has never been "my thing." I know that sounds terrible but it's true.

 I'm basically a lazy kind of a person. Mark is just the opposite. 

 He is always exercising and trying to get me to join him.

 He says that I need to work out more because at our age we start to loss muscle mass 

and he doesn't want to be pushing me around in a wheelchair in our old age. Ugh! 

 Any athletic activity that I participate in has to involve food or friends, much to Mark's dismay.

Fortunately, my friends love to participate in outdoor activities that require physical exertion

which usually includes some kind of food or refreshment

and always provides lots of good conversation while we are busy making great memories.

Here we are, 30 Granite Bay friends, having reached our destination,

stop to enjoy the view and take a group photo!

This is the group of ladies as we begin our hike to Hidden Falls.

Not too strenuous of a hike... which was great... so we could concentrate on visiting with each other.

We all got so caught up in the conversation that we didn't even notice how quickly we made it to our first water break.

I got a kick out of seeing my good friend, Kim pull out her "BracesByHolt" water bottle.

Glad to know that someone actually uses those bottles that Dad's office gives away!

We made it to the lookout and quickly took over the entire deck.  

And this was our view!  Gorgeous!

 The trail got a little more narrow and steep...

as we made our way down to the pool of water at the end of the trail.

Me and my dear friend Sue!

We ski together, eat together, quilt together, shop together, bike together and now hike together:)!

The gals, visiting and chatting before we head back.

Everyone enjoyed the views on the hike back.

We enjoyed a delicious lunch prepared by Paige back at the Mt. Vernon Winery.

It was a gorgeous day so we stayed and visited as long as we could until we had to get back home.

Thanks to Suzanne Butcher and Paige Stauss for organizing this fun day!

And here is proof that I rode to the top of Sierra College Blvd. 

It was Kim's birthday on Wednesday and that is why she is sporting the birthday hat and birthday lei!

And I guess for her birthday, she wanted to ride to the top of the hill to celebrate!

Afterwards, we headed downhill to Liz's house to continue the birthday celebrations

and enjoyed fresh fruit, cupcakes and lemonade!  Yum!

Like I said, there has to be food and friends involved with every workout

and that is exactly what both days were all about and that is what made it all so fun!

A Father's Day weekend ride at Tahoe

  Dad is a man of very few wants and needs because he is always doing for others
 and making sure everyone else is happy and taken care of.
So when I asked him what he wanted for Father's day

the only thing that he could come up with was "go on a bike ride with me."

That was a pretty easy request and since it was going to be a very hot day in Sacramento, 

we decided to load up the bikes and head to Tahoe for the day.

 This picture cracks me up... we didn't even realize that we were wearing matching shirts

 until we looked at this picture!  Ha! Ha!

 It was a gorgeous day...

 and the view riding along the river was breathtaking!

 We rode from Lake Tahoe along the river... 

  and then headed up to Squaw Valley ski resort!

 With the sale of Squaw Valley ski resort this year came some changes 

and we were excited to see what they had done to the resort.

It was the first time in 20 years that we didn't ski one day at Squaw this winter! Unbelievable! 

 When the kids were young, we came up every single Saturday to ski as a family.

We would pack a lunch and haul all 5 kids and their ski gear up the hill.

It was quite an ordeal when they were so young.

But it was Dad's dream to have all his kids learn to ski and love it just as much as he does.

Because of his determination, I think his dream has come true.

Starting out at ski school, then graduating to the blue runs with Mom,
and eventually going down the black diamond runs (KT22 and Jonny Moseley's run) with Dad, 

this is where they all learned to ski!  We have so many great memories at Squaw!  

Like when Allie turned 8 and Dad let her skip school and took her skiing for the day to celebrate.

Or when Dad and I skied with JC and Shareen Fat on the 4th of July.

And the time we brought our swimsuits and at the end of the ski day, 

we changed into our suits and swam at the pool up at High Camp.

Squaw was such a big part our lives but now that the kids are all gone 

and we have our place in Park City, our days at Squaw Valley are over...

at least they were this past winter.

 The old ticket booths have been removed and here is a picture of the new booths
 which are located just past the ski and rental shop.

 We rode our bikes up and around the plaza.

 The huge fire pits are new on the plaza.

 They updated the dining hall at the base of KT22.

We have eaten plenty of squished homemade PB&J's inside that lodge.

 They updated the entrance to the ski resort.

 We stopped and had lunch in the village.

Enjoyed the sunshine for a bit and then headed back.

 The view riding back to the highway from Squaw.  

 We made it to the Olympic sign at the turn off to Squaw Valley.

 We crossed the bridge at Squaw Creek.

 Dad was a good sport and posed for another photo.

 Riding alongside the creek was spectacular!

 It just doesn't get pretty than this...

 or so I thought...

 until we made our way to the lake.  What a view!

I never cease to be amazed at the beauty of Lake Tahoe!

 We caught the new trail along the lake.

 We passed by this beautiful busy beach.

 We stopped and looked at all the fish in the river.

 Dad spotted this sign and made me get a picture with it.

As usual, he was missing his "Bear" and was wishing that Brooke

was running alongside him on the bike ride.

And at the end of our ride, Dad is a happy guy

and thanked me for granting him his Father's Day wish!

I'm lucky that he is so easy to please and enjoys the simple things in life!

Happy Father's Day to a great guy and a fabulous father!

OKC Thunder are better than just OK!!

We have joined the Thunder craze, along with Tyler and Sonya, and every other Oklahoman!
Dad's office is decorated with crate paper and banners everywhere
and he is proudly sporting his new OKC Thunder shirt 
that the kids gave him as an early Father's Day present!

Thanks, kids!  You guys are the best!

Dad is ready for the NBA Finals and the Thunder proved that they were ready for Game 1 

by beating the Miami Heat with a score of 105-94!

I think we are going to be sitting in front of the TV, watching a lot of basketball the next couple of weeks!

We probably should order some takeout BBQ for dinner so that we get the "real" Oklahoma experience!

We hope y'all will be cheering for OKC too!  Thunder UP!

Birthday Celebrations!

After spending a couple of days in DC with Ashley,

 I took the train back to NYC so that I could celebrate Kimber's birthday with her. 

 But to my surprise, she and Brooke had an early birthday surprise waiting for me!

They greeted me at the door with a candy necklace, a darling homemade birthday card 

and tickets to my favorite show on Broadway "Mary Poppins!"

I've been wanting to go to Mary Poppins forever 

but every time that I suggest that we see the show, I always get shot down,

because I'm the only one that loves Mary Poppins. 

When I was a little kid, we owned a record that had all the songs from the movie Mary Poppins.

My sisters and I listened to it all day long and we knew all the words to every song.

Mary Poppins was the first Disney show that I remember seeing in a movie theater.

In those days, it was a special treat to go to a movie theater

and I feel in love with Julie Andrews and Dick Van Dyck!

But when my kids were little, Disney hadn't released Mary Poppins to video yet

 so my kids didn't grow up watching the movie and they aren't really familiar with the songs. 

And that is why they really have no interest in seeing it on Broadway.

But Kimber and Brooke knew that I would not only be surprised but thrilled to see the show.

And they were right!  I couldn't be more excited with the early birthday surprise!

After enjoying a relaxful foot massage at Kimber's reflexology place,

we walked through Times Square, stopped to take a picture  

and made our way to Tony's for a yummy italian dinner before the show!

These two girls love to pack things in!

Tony DiNapoli's is one of our favorite family style italian restaurants in the city.

The portions are huge and every dish is so tasty. 

My favorite is the Zucchini Fritti appetizer, which are deep fried zucchini chips
 sprinkled with parmesan cheese that you dip in marinara sauce.

They look like Lay's potato chips and just like Lay's slogan, "Betcha can't eat just one!"

Once you start eating the zucchini chips, you seriously can't stop!

I probably ate a hundred and one all by myself!

They were just that good!
Sorry, I didn't get a photo of the Zucchini Fritti appetizer...
probably because I was too busy eating them:)!!

After a delicious dinner, we are ready to walk over to the theater.

Can you tell, I'm just a little excited?!

The show, Mary Poppins, turned out to be, just as Mary says it herself, "Practically Perfect!"

We loved it!  The singing, the dancing and especially Brooke loved the costumes!!

We had great seats, thanks to Kimber, who got the tickets at Tckts discount booth on the day of the show!  

Thanks girls, for the wonderful early birthday surprise!!

The next day was Kimber's birthday and we invited some of her girlfriends 

to join us for brunch at The Park Room at the Helmsley Park Lane Hotel to celebrate!

What a darling group of ladies!  It was so fun to visit with them and get to know them better!

I was so excited to give Kimber this book and pregnancy journal!

 It was so fun celebrating Kimber's birthday with these two girls! 

After lunch, Brooke had to go work... ahhhh, the life of an intern:)!

 So Kimber and I had a chance to walk through Central Park together and visit.

It was a gorgeous day and such a great way to end our week together!

I made her stop and pose for her first maternity photos 
showing her little... very little in this photo, baby belly!

Happy Birthday, Kimber!  We love you lots and we are excited

 for all the wonderful things that are in store for you this next year!