Lake Tahoe with friends

  In the middle of the wintertime we decided we wanted to take the kids to the snow.  They have few snow experiences in their memory bank and we wanted to help with that.  Little did we know that we chose an epic snow fall year, so planning our trip for March didn't leave us needing to look far for lots of snow.  However, the weather was starting to get nicer for us in the Bay area and the idea of going to snow was hard to wrap my mind around.

    We found a cozy cabin on Air BnB.  It clearly was their personal cabin that they still use.  Lots of family pictures covering the walls, all sorts of their own snow gear laying out.  I was afraid we might lose our stuff amongst theirs, but somehow we didn't lose a single thing.  Not even a stray glove.

  We left thursday, right as soon as school got out.  We hit some significant traffic trying to get out of the Bay, but we made decent time.  We probably would have preferred to drive the windy completely unlit roads up to the mountain in the day, but thank the Lord, we all made it safely.

A picture solely because she was so darn cute all bundled up.

Sledding right across the street from the cabin in a huge open space.  The kids wasted no time getting into the snow.

 Sled park.  We way over-dressed.  Way.  That guy in shorts and a t-shirt, that's Mike.

 Leave it to my husband to push boundaries and then also get yelled at.  They pulled the fencing to block that area as soon as they saw Mike up there.  Leave it to my husband to befriend the sled park worker and before you knew it he was chatting with us by our car in the parking lot and eating one of my homemade lemon ginger scones.  Haha!

   They all loved sledding.  Even Ava.  They all loved the snow.  The boys were like little puppies frolicking in the snow.  They would jump and belly flop into it.  They had SO much fun and it was such a joy to watch.

She was such a trooper!  Climbing up the hills all by herself, even dragging a sled behind her.  She never wanted to stop!

   If there were room for her, she would have been in there too!

 Instead, she got to "push" them down the hill.

My lovely friends and I.

 1st attempt at a family shot.  Oops, I was busy staring at my pouting child.

 2nd attempt.  Just laugh with me.  Thank you, Cari, for capturing the entire moment!

 A puzzle table.  Big hit with the big boys.

  Mike and I went on a walk early saturday morning.  Breakfast was being made by another family (we already took our turn) and the kids were finishing watching Moana.  Mike gave me a quick little 10 round workout that I got to do while I watched sun rise up from behind the mountains.  I enjoy CrossFit and all, but this is why you get out of the gym on occasion and work out.  You don't see this inside of a gym!

Joel was the last kid at the table and eating his fifth or fifteenth piece (who knows!) of french toast with the adults.  The boys loves him some sweets.  Baked goods, carb-heavy sugary things, he loves it all.

   Saturday morning we went down to the lake.  The snow went all the way up to the water.

   We went out onto the dock and all of the parents were preparing themselves for jumping in after a child.  It was giving me anxiety, because if one of them went it, it would be no ordinary lifeguard save.  And I've done my fair share...kids and adults included.  I don't know the role that adrenaline would play, but I honestly don't know if I would have been capable to carry someone and swim.  On the lighter side, the kids kept kicking the snow so it would chip off and they could throw it in.  Joel kicked some into his eye and he was so silly about it.

 Workout view in the daytime.  Went on a walk with my friend and had the sweetest time.  Possibly one of the highlights of the trip!  To me, there is nothing better than being in community.  That filled my quality time love tank right up.

   Finally had a chance to put our cold weather gear to good use!  At least for about 15 minutes, before the clouds were blown away and the sun came out again.

   We all went on a walk in the open space across the street from the house.  We found hills to sled on and there were huge boulders that the kids climbed on and we had a big snowball fight.  Another of my highlights from the trip.

  Hannah kept asking us why we don't buy a house in Tahoe for us to live in or vacation to.  Honestly, I completely agree with the vacation part.  Lake Tahoe is the best of both worlds if you are into it.  Snowy retreat in the winter, boating and hiking and swimming at the lake in the summer.  I  think she might be on to something.  Until then, we'll keep finding cabins with our friends.

Happy Wednesday!