Pool Update, Family Vacation...lots of pictures!

On the 18th of March they plastered the pool, and then we began to fill it. They said it would take approximately 24 hours. We thought it would go faster because "we have good water pressure"....ahh no! It took over 30 hours....one of the pool guys who gave us a bid said it should only cost approximately $60 to fill the pool....I am not so sure that it will be that cheap considering the water shortage....I guess we will see when we get the bill. We enlisted our youth labor once again...leveling dirt, and laying sod!

The reward!!! A week of skiing in Mammoth! After a 6 hour drive the kids were excited to get out and do some sledding....Ellie was ready to get geared up.

And off they go....it is so nice to have an older brother!

The next day off to skiing/snowboarding. This is the second year we have stayed in the same condo....and it is within walking distance. We can even come home for lunch saving lots of $$$$.

These pictures get a little out of order, but you get the idea. As you can see we put Ellie on skis! She loved the chairlift....kind of like the buckets at the zoo. She was quiet as a mouse on the way up. She even fell asleep on my lap in the afternoon! I guess that means she was very relaxed...or we wore her out.

On the way down the moutain, she was chatting the whole way. When I would stop so I could bend down and hear what she was saying, she would say, "Mom why are you stopping? Go faster mom!"

I really just guided her down the slopes....but she had fun anyway...one introductory day for Ellie this year. She had fun! Next year she can take a little class....or maybe I will teach her we will see.

We travel with another family. This is the rest of the crew getting ready to hit the slopes.

The kids switched to snowboarding last year and really like it. This year they made a marked improvement on the boards and could go on alot more runs.

The first day of skiing was warm and sunny...in the 50's, each day got progressively colder and windier, this was day 3....it didn't stop us though.

Me, Ben and Madeline.

We came back to 80 degree weather and a full pool in San Diego. Unfortunately the pool is only about 67 we may need to invest in the solar panels. The kids went in anyway....although they didn't stay in a long time...alot of in, swim a bit...and back out for a bit.

We have company coming on Thursday, we have been working on the yard. We planted some more sod....and added some plants and trees.