Mother's Day

Friday was the big "Mothers Surprise" party at Kenzo's preschool.

Each child requested his mom wear something very specific to the party. 

Mine was benign: pink skirt, pink top, sparkly shoes. Others didn't get off so easily and looked like they were ready for a night out at the casinos!!

The classroom was decorated and ready for our brunch, made by the teachers.

Hand made cards, and jars with bulbs for the moms were on the tables.

The kids acted out a few books about moms...

"What Mommies Do Best..." was the title of the book for Kenzo's group.

"They can take you trick-or-treating at Halloween!"
 

Another group acted out the book "Are You My Mommy?"

Such a sweet and special party!

Then we "bribed" Kenzo with a trip to see dinosaurs in exchange for a good night's sleep...it worked, I think?

Pretty cool exhibit, complete with a bounce house and obligatory dinosaur gift shop.
 

Much more brave the second time through...

About 1 minute inside the exhibit, I wondered if we just negated the good sleep with the scary dinosaurs. 

The hour inside the bounce house negated all worries.

Mother's Day breakfast at Firesign, which is now officially a tradition.

Then a hike up Shirley Canyon with the Goodman family to work off the breakfast.

Me, Kenzo, Chase, and Lisa.
 

The water was running, although not sure how long that will last this year!

This rock would usually be under water.
 

Eric and Ken.

Selfie with the boys.

The boys did great on the hike up the mountain, over boulders and streams!



 

Bikes and Dogs

Sweet Luna is staying with us this week while her owners are on vacation.

She is such a good dog, despite being blind and bumping into things all the time.
 

And now it's T-ball time...well, at least in our backyard.

We took Kenzo out for another ride and this time hit the dirt trail!

He loved it, although it's more nerve-wracking with more obstacles to navigate! 

Biking through Sugar Pine Point State Park.

This was the site of many cross country events at the 1960 Winter Olympics.

Hard to hear, but he says "I like riding on dirt!"

 Visited Melanie's pups again - they are 4 weeks old and simply adorable!

I mean, how can you resist this face?!
 

We had Willy over for a playdate!

He's 9 months older than Kenzo, and at least 9 inches taller! 

"I won't be able to climb through here when I'm 12!"

We rode all around the campgrounds again, and Kenzo wanted to show Willy the dirt trail.

Hiker Biker

On Tuesday it was back to Tahoe XC center for a great hike with my sporty guy.

 

We brought enough snacks to last a few days out there...

Keeping fueled up!

The sky was really this blue!

And some rock climbing too!
 

Cool totem pole to mark the trail. 

Then today, we hit the Truckee River Bike Trail!

Kenzo is just now (like two days ago) able to start on his own and so we both got on our bikes and got rolling.

And yes, we brought lots of snacks again.

Today was really our first official ride - together! So proud of my little rider!

Random April

Each day, someone is picked to share something with the class at TCNS. 

Kenzo brought in a crane truck and had to explain all about it, and then answer questions from his audience.

Love this little school!

Woke up on April 25th to over 10" of new snow and no power! 

Better late than never, I suppose.
 

 

Our first official snowman of the season. 

On April 25th. 

It lasted two hours before it started melting. 

But Kenzo was so happy to play in the snow...finally!

The next day, after the snowstorm, we went for a bike ride in the gorgeous sunshine.

A stop for hot chocolate on our rounds. 

Ended the day with a nice hike around the Tahoe XC area. 

Kenzo and Eric making shadows.

 
 

Spring Break

Ah Spring Break! Yay!

Boo! Plans of a trip to Santa Cruz with friends faded and then disappeared as Kenzo was sick all week - poor kid!

We got a bit better to visit Melanie & Neil's new litter of pups, though! 

They were five days old when we saw them.
 

Four out of eight of the babies. 

Finally, better enough to get out of town!

A stop at Uncle Tak's place before eating a yummy Korean dinner in Oakland.

Breakfast at our favorite dim sum spot! 

 Then to Japantown for the 48th Annual Cherry Blossom Festival! 

We walked down the street to the sounds of the drums for the mochitsuki.

Lots of walking to see the sights and sounds of the festival.

After the festival, we hit up the Marina green to enjoy the nice weather.

Lots of scooter time!

Fog covered Golden Gate bridge views.

Family selfie.

Back to Oakland where we met up with Gayle and Morgan for a yummy Japanese dinner. 

We asked Kenzo on the drive back to Tahoe what was his favorite part of the weekend and he answered "being with Morgan and Gayle!" So nice to catch up a little with these ladies!

Back to dim sum for one more breakfast. We are so starved for ethnic foods!!

 

Duck, dumplings, sticky rice, custard tarts...yes, we ate it all.
 

A funny series from Eric's phone...

Just shows how much Kenzo was enjoying this "fancy" breakfast of ours. Again.  

We are very thankful and lucky to have such a little gourmand on our hands!