What Ana Does

Maybe end of April is the ideal time of year to visit Alaska, or we just got super lucky, but the weather was not cold. 50s and sunny in the day. With daylight lasting well into 9pm.  But wait, let me back up.  In the last week of April, my brother-in-law invited us all to Wasilla, Alaska to surprise my older sister on her 50th birthday. It was a huge surprise and she was SUPER shocked to see me, my younger sister and Mom at her doorstep. Epic. Just epic. Once the shock wore off (it took hours), we had an absolute spectacular weekend.   First day, we drove along the Seward Highway toward Seward. We stopped at a glacial lake and Whittier , a harbor town with shrimp boats and small cruise ships that go around looking at glaciers. The town is tiny, only reachable through a one-lane road that goes under a mountain (or by boat) and ALL its residents live in one high-rise apartment building with a school/market across the street accessible by tunnel because of all the cr...

For months, and maybe even since Christmas, the girls have been sleeping in the same room. They are going through that stage where they are afraid of just about everything. And I mean, everything that could possible go wrong in the world. (Eg. Leah watched a fire safety video at school and she's now convinced of a fire in our house.) And sleeping together makes them feel safer. When we had the bunk beds, this was convenient. But since we got the daybed, Leah's been sleeping on a mattress on the floor... Not awesome. So, this weekend it was time to make this sleeping arrangement permanent. It wasn't easy, because that bed was pretty tough to move, but after a day's work, Leah has a real bed. Hooray! And after a sleepover the night before, she was more than ready to use it. The Beds All Lined Up! It's too bad this room isn't a little larger -- when my sister I shared a room we had enough space to run the dressers down the middle. But, I guess at that...

Feeling super lucky right now, as I'm researching hotels for a trip to Madrid and Tenerife in the fall!! I guess I go to Europe once a year now. La di da!  Madrid has all these affordable boutique hotel apartments. With lots more space for a very similar price to a standard European shoebox hotel room. It can't be this good, right? And lots in Tenerife to be found, too. Though, we're opting to stay in Santa Cruz, so less in the mix. A Photo From Our Madrid Hostel The last time I was in Madrid was 2002 with my big sister. Like this trip, it was a quick stop over (just a few days) before getting to Tenerife where we have family. We were in our early 20s and stayed in a hostel near the Prado. I dug out the journal I kept on that trip and wrote a lot about the old-world charm of Madrid, the cobblestoned streets, old buildings, large plazas. And the food, of course. Though, I was less adventurous in those days. I was also impressed by how walkable the city was, so ...

Many years ago, my sister Liza and I bought the SAME EXACT BIKE (model, color, etc.) at about the same time. She used it for navigating Georgetown, where she was studying. And I (with David) picked mine out for "riding" in the Bay Area on weekend. (Mostly, though, it just hung in the garage. Let's be honest.) We always thought this was funny and weird. Our tastes just match-up in some things, I guess. The day after we purchased our new SportWagen (see earlier post) I get a call from Liza. Guess who also owns a VW Jetta SportWagen (in a slightly different color) that she bought last weekend? Yeah. We spent 10 minutes oohhing about the moon roof and comfy seats. Scary sister connection!

My baby is FOUR today!! What a big girl! The Sisters She got a tennis-player Barbie and pink convertible for doll to drive around in. Leah picked out a Blueberry Muffin doll (which was her Halloween costume last year) and Dave picked out a microphone for her to play with. It was a happy morning. Relate posts: More more and more Alice

Thanks to a package that arrived in the mail today, I have two little girls who are ready for the 4th of July! Thank you (Great) Grandma! Red, White and Happy!