A day to relax and have fun...

It started as a lazy day and ended up being a jam packed day.

He missed his toys and played outside.

We did some much needed shopping, hit up a bday party that included inflatables which are always fun and ended at the grocery store.

Finally, the dude went down and was happy to be home and in his own bed.

An experience getting home...

On the last night in Tahoe we all went out for our traditional Mexican celebration, Chevy's...my favorite! With every minute that passed by the snow got bigger and bigger and fell harder and harder. It was so pretty to watch as I sipped on a yummy strawberry margarita!

We had caught news that yet another storm was blowing in. And that it was bad and they would require chains or snow tires on any car that was coming to or leaving Tahoe...of course on the roads that were open.

Yep, you guessed...what did that mean? Oh that upgrade to a 4x4 vehicle...might have been worth it! Were we going to get stuck in Tahoe, what was going to happen. Daddy went out at about 10 o'clock at night trying to find chains for our measly little Hyundai Sonata. It took a while but he came back feeling pretty confident. But then he starts to tell me the trials and tribulations he had to go through to get the chains and then put them on the car. I was ok, but I could tell he was worried!

We woke up bright and early to make sure we had enough time to get to Reno in case we had to drive slower or if conditions were really bad. Well, that snow that was falling the night before...had continued to fall all through the early morning. We packed up our bags and got to the car and this is how it looked. Not so bad if you ask me...but then when it was time to put that car into motion...boy oh boy I could see the flames come across Daddy's face!

As D is just munching away on his banana and his waffles, Daddy quickly pulls over to the side of the road. I am not sure I can quite explain the sound and the uneasiness...but it was not good. He tucked in the little tails on the chains off we went (with a little courage from our dear 6'8" friend). Oh and did I mention that the chains that were on our little car were for a small truck? yep, that meant the chains were too big.

As we drove down the road, I tried to stay positive and look on the bright side. But that is really hard to do at 6 o'clock in the morning with an awful thumping, clanking and repetitive beating to the car that come from under neath the wheel wells. Wow, we really drove 20 mph down a road that normally takes us 45 mins...took us almost an 1 1/2. It was bad. But at the first sight of the road not being iced over, Daddy took them off! Wow, it was like music to my ears...

In the midst of all of that I took some rather interesting and I think pretty neat pictures. What else can you do to get your mind off of the horrible sound for an hour? It was amazing to see how the road was completely iced over, I mean white! I kept looking for that black ice...nope all white! Pretty but I was amazed at how fast these people drove on it!

When we finally go to the airport we were just ready to get home. And to our luck, we got an entire row of seats to ourselves! Perfect ending to a trip. D thought he would be a big boy and sit int he seat himself, and then bounce from Mommy and then to Daddy. But it was so cute. He wanted to be a "big boy". Sad to say but this was our last trip having to not pay for a ticket for him. We tried to soak in it for all its worth!

He was yet again a wonderful passenger and an absolute angel!

It was back to reality and well...time to get back on schedule. We were luckily greeted from Grandma at the airport who took us home so we could go pick up our furry children! Who had the best time at Grandpa's. We can't thank everyone enough for all their help and support to make this trip happen! We love all of you! Until next year...it's time to break out the shorts! :)

Schedule all out of whack!

Dylan loved the snow...

One day we set out to just go sledding! Little did we know that "day" was a day that yet another storm was rolling in! Which meant all the roads to get the sled parks and other areas with bigger hills were all closed down.

That left us looking for something a bit more quaint and closer. So, we set out on foot behind the timeshare and we found the perfect "small" little sledding hill just big enough for our D. Sure he probably would have loved to go down a huge hill with Daddy and Mommy in tow, but maybe next year.

When we finally got all his gear on him, he wasn't quite sure what to think. He looked like quite the Michelin man to me! The boots we couldn't get him to wear before we left for Tahoe, he now was wearing with confidence. Funny how a bit of cold weather will make you change your mind, even the littlest of peeps!

First we started out on the sled that Papa and Cuckoo got him last year, then he saw everyone else sliding down in the "big kid" sleds that he wanted to as well.

He had the best time, to which he had to go by himself face first! Really, and truly I am not sure I was ready for it, but it was oh so cute and he loved every minute of it!

He and Bryce even raced and then he took turns going down a steeper little bump with Mommy and then Daddy.

He was more interested in tearing down the snowmen we would make than help build them. But what little boy at that age is interested in building, more or less "tearing down".

But then our time ran out, after about an hour the bargain "discount" snow gear I found at Old Navy wasn't so waterproof and the dude was getting sopping wet (of course it didn't help with the snow coming down at a pretty rapid pace either). So we headed back inside.

Later that afternoon we headed down to the village and D had quite a good time dancing to the music that was playing at the outdoor ice skating rink.

To our surprise, which I am not sure it was a surprise, the dude really didn't mind the cold weather and the snow. He didn't like when the wind would blow in his face, but he loved to play in it and be outside. I sure wish we could have had him out at the little play area where we were skiing. It would have been a great introduction and he would have loved it. Again, better luck next year. One year older and new experiences to be had!

March Madness but in February!

I have to say that we were all very satisfied celebrating our normal March Madness (the week of my birthday) a bit early in February! The weather is much more "winter" like and not so "spring" like in the snow. Most of the time you have to go high up in the mountains to find snow, but this time...it was all on the ground right at our finger tips!

This March Madness was pure madness for the lil man! He had so much fun, we just can't wait to get him out in the snow and on skis next year!

From bath time...an all time favorite in the big big jetted bathtub! Which this time he was enthused by the changing colored lights and not so happy about the bubbles!

To playtime with all the goodies that Papa and Cuckoo surprised him with!

Fun in the snow and experimenting what it exactly is...

To the best yet...face painting! D's favorite thing to do is paint lately and well with washable paints he and Papa got a little frisky one afternoon and started drawing mustache's. So that meant when Daddy and Mommy got home he had to show us what he could do.

First they drew on his face and then they drew on Daddy's face. Good times and definitely MADNESS!

One of the nights we decided to hit up the local Sushi place that we all love so much...and well the boys got a little crazy and wanted to act like they were sushi chefs...or better yet Samurai warriors! They were out of control!

Good times were had by all and we sure do love our home away from home! :)

An excursion in the snow!

Since it was snowing from the moment we arrived in Tahoe we should have known there would be a theme throughout the entire trip!

When it came time for dinner, we thought about going out...who wants to cook on the first night of vacation? Then we heard about this great pizza joint across the street. Ok, we'll walk it's not that bad out! Yeah, I loved it! It was snowing and snowing and it was coming down! It was absolutely gorgeous and fun and something we don't see very often...so I was super excited for D!

Of course there were the snow ball fights, then stopping and picking up snow to eat it!

Then the stick your tongue out and catch the snow, fiasco...which D really loved!

And of course, picture time while waiting for us to be allowed to cross the street.

Dinner was packed in a small quaint place...which I guess on a Saturday night was the place to be! Great pizza! I thought it was fun! And then of course the trek back across the street to the timeshare and then on to the hot tub and the bar!

Great start to a vacation! We couldn't wait to get on the mountain and experience all that we wanted to do! Daddy had his mind set that he wanted to go skiing/snowboarding AT LEAST 3 times while we were there. So then came the task of trying to figure out what you are going to do when, and how to fit it into everyone else's schedules and plans.

Hitting the slopes...

As we finally made it to the slopes the Monday after we arrived, it was a familiar cozy small place...Sierra at Tahoe. We got there early to get Bryce signed up into his snowboard lessons (and note to self, make reservations before hand!).

Man oh man what a cold morning it was...a whopping 13 degrees! It was windy too, so unless you were standing in the sun it would cut right through you. I decided to ditch the boys and go find myself some hot chocolate! That hit the spot...the only thing that would have been better is that Hot chocolate with Bailey's and peppermint I had at the end of the day, in the morning! It was so peaceful and beautiful just looking at the mountains and all the snow, we are so very lucky and blessed!

Finally, we were ready to hit the slopes. We decided to go down the run a few times on the bunny slope for our good ole 6'8" friend who hasn't snowboarded in 3 years! But it was a nice warm up, before you knew it we were ready to hit the top. All I have to say is thank goodness for my Nils, they kept me warm!

We ended up going to Sierra again the 2nd day in a row for Bryce to do half day class with his same friends from the day before. But this time, by the time we got to the mountain the storm they had predicted would bring a foot of snow or more was creeping in! It was nasty, but oh so fun! Thank goodness for goggles!

We were bound and determined to make it to the slopes a 3rd day, and oddly enough it turned out to be Heavenly for another year. Being it is so close to the time share it's just easy on those days you want to do half days. Hands down though, it was well worth the money! The best snow and conditions we have ever experienced in Tahoe! It was absolutely amazing!

We had fun strutting around the mountain all by ourselves. Daddy even almost got me to go down a double black diamond...um negative. I hiked back and then met some other people who did the same thing...darn trails!

It was a good run and good times. I think next year I might actually try snowboarding again on a cloudy not so great day. But I do love our time up on the mountain. We were more adventurous this time and found some things we had never done before. Definitely a great time and a great time of the year to go, the snow and conditions couldn't have been better!

Vacation...Finally!

I have to say, it was a long year coming and well deserved if you asked me!?

It was so hard to believe that it had been a year since our last trip, or shall I say vacation. Even though we probably shouldn't have gone because of the times and the market, blah blah blah. I know that Daddy and I were ready and couldn't wait to get out the door!

With that being said, you would think we would learn our lessons of "over sleeping". Yep...yet again we slept through the alarm clock but good thing this time we were packed and ready to go. All we had to do was get dressed and get the dude ready and out the door we went!

He wasn't quite sure what we were waking him up so early for but by the time we got to the airport and he saw all the "airplanes" it was all over! He was ecstatic!

He's such a good lil sport in that he flies so well! We had a nice lady switch seats with us so we could be together (I can hear it now..."Mama, Mama" the whole entire flight or vice versa). He sat on our laps, colored, looked at magazines, books and well finally after much squirming...fell asleep! Of course by that time we had to get off the plane to transfer to another plane. No problem, he was soaking it in.

This time we had to sit across the aisle from each other, so D liked bouncing back and forth. He sure did like laughing and flirting with all the people on the plane. He sure won some hearts that day, they were all so impressed that he flew so well. That's what you get when you start flying at a young age! ha! He was also so excited that Brice was on our flight that he wanted to go hang out with him but that just wasn't happening. Finally we got to Reno and finally got "all" the bags and we were ready to go. Oh wait, let me put in a blurp here...the rental car company wanted to know if we wanted to upgrade to an SUV with 4 wheel drive for $12 more a day...um NEGATIVE! And off we went...

Of course a stop at In-N-Out burger was an absolute necessary...I think the guys went for seconds! And of course a stop at Target to get some entertaining fun things for the dude. Boy were we surprised when we came out of Target, snow...in Reno! Wow, that's never happened while we were there before. We always go when it already is warming up! I was like a kid in the candy store! I loved all the snow (and there wasn't much of it, much like here...it melts before it hits the ground). However, we were in for a shock when we went over the mountain...snow and lots of it!

I was trying to keep Daddy entertained by being goofy and singing like I know what I am doing. What I do best, right?

And of course, by this time all the interrupted naps and sleep D had, he fell asleep too! dang it, I wish I was a kid again! j/j

And the vacation begins...

Some "priceless" photos of our trip!

Good ole fashioned spoiling...

I have to say that Valentine's Day falling on a Saturday this year was perfectly fine by me! Can they all fall on that day, every year? Daddy and D let me sleep in while they went to the store to get stuff to make breakfast. And when they came back, they even let me sleep longer. I loved every minute of it! But by the time I woke up...they surprised me. A precious little card from my dude and a watch I have been wanting for a year! Oh how I love simple but thoughtful surprises!

D had great valentines from his friends at school, too! Always fun to see what he makes us and to see what other people put together for sweat Valentine's.

We (as in Me and Daddy) decided to do something creative for D's Valentines to give to his friends at school. I feel they are still to young to have suckers and candy, so we made heart shaped crayons and attached them to a piece of construction paper that read: "Happy Valentine's Day, for Crayon out loud!". We had fun with it and I hope the other parents and kids liked them too!

Now that's love...

Our sweet boy never surprises us...just kidding that's an understatement! He is truly an affectionate and passionate lil man! Of all days, how did he know just a sweet smile and a bear hug would be all you need to do to melts someones heart?!

Even asking Mommy if he could clean was a treat!

He was all about being lovey dovey on Valentine's Day! Big hugs and kisses to Mom and even Dad, and then of course he thought it was necessary to show that love and expression to Gunnar in the form of great big bear hugs!

Either that or he didn't want Gunnar on the couch next to his mommy! j/j He's such a trooper, Gunnar that is so I couldn't help but snap some photos. Too bad they didn't turn out that well!

Oh and I guess D sat on a marker at school? HA!