Sunday, February 27, 2011

Our Response To A Challenge: Our (1st) Annual Skiing (and Snowboarding) Trip!

So who was the idiot who suggested taking everyone skiing (and snowboarding)?

Hey, let's not point fingers or anything back at me, even though I did suggest it.

Actually, the blame lies with another family who tried this and suggested it to us. We won't mention any names.

The most daunting part of our journey was getting the chains on the van. Would we be able to untangle them? Would we be able to get them on? Would it all end in tears and swearing? Bungee cords? Really?


Much to our relief, Juan got the chains on the wheels fairly quickly, and in spite of the horrible noises, they did not destroy the car.
Glacier Point Road, just a few miles to Badger Pass, but it was a slow drive.

We arrive at Badger Pass! The high for the day at Badger in Yosemite was 37 degrees.
After much confusion, running back and forth, and trying to figure out how to put on ski boots, we got the kids to their classes. In the time honoured tradition of having nicknames, the kids will now present some of their own comments under their Extreme Sports names!

And now, here is Badger X!:
"you are probably wondering why I am not using poles! Because young children do not use poles!"


And now Ski Bunny!

"Ski Bunny goes down the hill! Ski Bunny loses control and regains control!"


A view of Badger Pass looking Southwest.

Coolest snow boarding helmet we saw that day.

And now a comment by Terminal Velocity!

"Hi! The first thing we had to do was learn how to strap in our main foot. Apparently I am goofy. I was the only one in my class. Goofy is leaning on your right foot. "

"Wheeeeee!"

"Yay! I managed to stop without wiping out!"

And now, here is Bram Stoker's Dracula!
"Hey, I am doing something I couldn't do this morning!"
Skiing was lots of fun, and I enjoyed it. I hope to do this again pretty soon."
This guy looked pretty good. He looked like he was coming down at about 30 MPH.

Ski Bunny!: "Ski Bunny finds her way down the hill."

The Ski and Board equipment for the day as we ate lunch.

All the Mendoza kids on the same slope at once with a little girl who got in the way. Get out of the way, little girl! You're ruining a family moment!

"Ski Bunny goes wild while racing with her brother."
"Here is Badger X is racing Ski Bunny. It looks like I am tied with her."

Terminal Velocity: "Aww, the board was flat. You're not supposed to do that!"
It was all fun and games, until Terminal Velocity wiped out, and mentioned how she was going to break her ankle doing this.

So a great time was had by the kids, especially at the end when they got to the gift shop and choose their stickers. The staff at Badger Pass was awesome. they were friendly and professional, and showed the kids a really good time learning how to ski (and snowboard).

And now back to Mariposa for some delicious and well-deserved Pizza!

Saturday, February 26, 2011

Happy Birthday, Daniel!

Happy Birthday, Daniel!

We wish we could be with you on your birthday building Legos and eating cake.

Looks like you have plenty of snow over there. We just came back from snow, and it was lots fun. Now we can ski and snowboard with you over at Gunstock, near Laconia, home to FunSpot!, the world's largest arcade!

It would be fun to throw snowballs, and just have some fun in the snow.

So enjoy this virtual birthday cake that looks like a Lego pyramid.

May God bless you, and grant you many more years. We love you very much!

Saturday, February 19, 2011

Catch Us On The Web!

Unlike the New Broadway Spider-Man Production, no children were harmed in the making of this photograph.

Wednesday, February 2, 2011

Kramer Sighting: Inception Edition!

By now, even the Mendoza Family has seen the movie, "Inception," the movie just about everyone told us that we absolutely had to see!!!

Well, we would have seen in it in the theatre if people had just told us that the Kramers WERE IN IT!

Let's look at the evidence!

As you can see here in exhibit A, as Jack from that other movie, "Titanic" is whining on about Rose and the heart of the Ocean, the Kramer van, otherwise known as the Beast, is clearly visible in the background.

Exhibit B... Here they are again , coming out of an abandoned warehouse. Warehouses seem to be in every movie we watch. There is probably a music video being filmed on the other side of the warehouse.

Here they go in Exhibit C. They've got everyone packed up, shoes or no shoes, and are off to church.


Exhibit D...
It seems they're being pursued by some bad guys. Possibly handing out Jack Chick pamphlets. Nothing can outmanuver villains on motorcycles like the Ford Econline Van! Everybody lean to the left!

Believability Rating: 0%. There is no believability in this, as we saw "Inception" in a dream, so none of this actually happened. "But wait!" you say, "how could it be a dream if you've got pictures?" It means that you are also dreaming right now! Wake up! WAKE UP!!!
WAKE UP!!!!!
Why is the top still spinning???