Snow!

Brennan saw snow for the first time 2 weeks ago - and did he see lots of it! We drove up to Tahoe in the middle of a big snowstorm - all the rain I was complaining about in San Francisco translated to 2-3 feet of fresh snow up in the mountains. All the X-games types were excited ("Dude, it's EPIC"; "fresh pow", etc), and once again, we blundered into the best stuff in years for some sport or another (see earlier entry, re: waves in Maui). Anyway, I can't remember the last time I saw so much snow.

We shared a house with Ian and his entourage for the weekend. The boys loved the snow, once we found the right way to present it to them. First, I had to find the right sled:

Then, we had to find the right spot. The right spot turned to be - the driveway.

Most important (and least expected) for full enjoyment were mittens. Big, cozy, waterproof mittens = torture. No mittens and cold snow on the hands = meltdown. Lightweight, overpriced fleece mittens from the kids' store in Tahoe = OK, especially if there is snow to be swatted and thrown:

Anyway, we had lots of fun in the snow - all the adults survived their turn at snowboarding, no one drove into a snowbank, and no one is pruned for life from the hot tub.

Currently, we're between adventures, so we're seeking them in our backyard, so to speak. The rain let up Friday morning, so we had a trip to Golden Gate Park, for our monthly (or so) visit to the California Academy of Sciences:

(he's actually having a blast here, but this is the only time he was still long enough for an in-focus photo)

Bren especially wants to thank Kris for his membership. He says this spot makes him feel like he's a star of 2001 Space Odyssey.

On the walk home, we discovered the historic carousel in Golden Gate Park was running. Loopy with the sun, I guess, we took a ride. Brennan wasn't 100% sure about it, but he didn't cry or need help hanging on. He always likes to watch the carousel from outside, so I hope he enjoyed being able to take part this time: