Sadly, it has been a pretty blog-free year here at the Flying Baileys. I don't know what happened to keep me away, but it did. I must be getting to that age where this is a normal thing, just wondering where the time went as I stare with vacant eyes and a little drool running from the corner of my mouth. It feels that way, anyway. In an effort to fight the inevitable, though, I thought I would post a few entries to try and catch up on our year-to-date.
We spent a fair bit of free time in January and February doing something I love deeply -- skiing. Alden loves it too, though the rest of the family, particularly Keegan, have yet to make it a passion. Once we actually get there, however, it is so beautiful, I quickly forget all the gear and effort and complaint-hearing it takes to get out of the door. I mean, how can you not love something like this?:
Here is some proof that they at least smiled once while they were there:
Keegs is still a work in progress on the whole skiing thing, though he does like playing in and around the snow at our house, so I continue to hold out hope even though he says he hates skiing. I can't wait to go again this winter.
When we aren't skiing in the winter months around here, Kath works hard to make sure we have a lot of culture in our lives. We find a lot of plays to attend, from Hale theatre, to Capitol Theater musicals (as I type this, the kids are helping clean the kitchen and singing Newsies at the top of their lungs), to our local Rogers Memorial Theater, to plays the kids are actually in, like Alden as Sven in Frozen this past February.
Here he is with his cute friends C. (the tall one in the middle, who will listen to stories about battleships forever, which is a key component to any interaction with Alden), and L. Keegan and Alden also love putting on their annual Chinese new year program, which always happens in late January or early February. (Alden also loves nothing more than a good photo-bomb.)
We also support Kate in her piano recitals and concert choir shows, which is where the whole Newsies thing began to catch on. She even had a solo in the choir performance, which she pulled off with great style in front of hundreds of people. Brave girl!
Probably as a nod to my side of the equation, she tries not to make it all high brow. We also visited the aquarium here in town, complete with penguins - as I said, a nod to my side. :-)
Above all, though, we try to spend time with family, which was certainly a prime reason for our move back from the Bay area. We try to see our Moon relatives at least once a month, and it is always a load of fun, as these photos from last halloween and Jared and Francesca's wedding attest.
They are great people to be around, and it is amazing the bond that exists between cousins. All in all, we do manage to have some fun when we aren't about our daily grind.
In late February we went hiking on Antelope Island, with the weather being so much warmer than normal for this time of year. Every time we come out here, we wonder why we don't do it more often.
It is a playground of sedimentary and igneous rock, and the views are always stunning.
The best part about going in February is that there are no bugs, which can be a real problem starting in late April and continuing through the summer.
Kevin and Angela's dog, Mushu, came along for the hike and seemed to be in heaven. We all really love that dog, he is just such a great dog (at least once you get past the snoring as he sleeps).
Family photo on the back (west( side of the island. It was a beautiful evening, as the sunset below attests.
Our next 2016 adventure is to a little visited part of Utah -- Vernal. Post to follow.
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