Lake Tahoe Trip 2011

We went on our annual Lake Tahoe trip for the 4th of July this year. We got there very late on June 30th and stayed until July 7th and had a really nice vacation.

Day 1: We took it pretty easy the first day. We slept in, ate a nice breakfast, packed a lunch, took a walk to the park, and had a picnic. At the park, Joshua slept in the stroller while we ate and then we played some ping pong and there were some little bitty lawn chairs and a baby swing that we put Joshua in.

Day 2: We slept in again and eventually headed down to the beach (it's amazing how long it takes to do something when you get all ready to go and then it's time for Joshua's nap). At the beach we mostly just played in the sand. The water is really high this year so it's FREEEEZING cold. Needless to say, Joshua wasn't a fan of going into the water at all, not even his feet. That night my cousin and her boyfriend (Sylvia and Frank...and Burley the Bulldog) came and we had enchiladas for dinner. yum! I made them with rice in the sauce and rolled half and tore the other half.

Day 3: We went on a hike around Spooner Lake (Dave, Joshua, Sylvia, and me). It was more like a nature walk, but a pretty area, for sure. I was wondering why people didn't swim in that lake, since it's sure to be warmer than Tahoe, but then we saw a sign warning of Leeches. Blech. That evening everyone else arrived: My aunt and her boyfriend (Karen and Greg), my mom's cousin and his wife and daughter (Darrel, Deia, and Mayara), his wife's nephew and his girlfriend (? and Mayara). It was a full house! That night we had Lasagne made by Sylvia with thinly shaved carrots and zucchini in it. Yum again!

Day 4: Sunday, so we went to church, took a nap, went on a walk, and then Darrel made ribs for dinner. oh. my.

Day 5: Independence Day! We woke up early to go to a ceremony at the lake (can't spell the word...revaly? revally? revely?) I spent the afternoon making a birthday cake, someone decorated the golf cart for the parade, and then there was the parade and the picnic. Tons of food as usual. We stuffed our faces with BBQ chicken, hot dogs, and MORE RIBS! At the end we snatched up extra left over drinks and food (and my grandmother snatched a few extra bottles of wine and hid them in a bag - as usual. hehehe. silly.). Then we headed home to eat cake for little Mayara's 5th birthday before the fireworks started. We debated going to watch the fireworks from the shore, but decided that it would be too loud for Joshua, so we ended up watching them from the deck and Joshua was fascinated...until he fell asleep.

Day 6: Darrel and company left early, before anyone else was even up. We bummed around a bit and then went to China beach (Dave, Joshua, Sylvia, and I) and played in the sand and water (it was warmer water there, since it's shallower and has black sand). Joshua was covered in sand, and even ate a few grains...crunchy! Frank had been working to get a bolt on his motorcycle loose all week and finally got it off that morning, so once he got it fixed, we all had an early dinner of burgers and hot dogs and then everyone else headed home again.

Day 7: Dave and I watched a movie in the morning while Joshua took a long nap, we went hiking up Shakespeare Rock and planned to have lunch at the top, but noticed some menacing clouds, lightening, and thunder rolling in, so we headed down quickly and almost MISSED getting poured on. We enjoyed the storm from the deck instead of going to the beach again like we planned. Then we had dinner of lemon cod with my grandparents.

Day 8: We washed sheets, vacuumed, and cleaned up after ourselves, and then headed home. They were fixing some scratches on the driveway which made it a bit complicated to pack up, but we got it figured out. On the way home, we noticed that Joshua had a fever ("Ding!" oh, that's why he's been taking long naps...), which turned into a pretty nasty flu/cold bug and was passed on to me, and then Dave, and it's almost finished running its course, two weeks later.

Besides getting sick, which is almost a given being around so many different people for a week, it was a wonderful trip and it was really refreshing to spend so much time together and not have to worry about a lot of things.