Family Vacation 2012 Lake Tahoe (Part 1)

Every year we decide as a family where we will visit for the summer. We discussed it this year and Northern California was chosen. We pick a place, make plans, and let each of the older girls choose an activity from the items available. We knew this trip would be a lot of driving but figured if we broke up the hours amongst the days it wouldn't be quite so bad. We left early Sunday morning and headed to Lake Tahoe as our first destination. It was an 8 plus hour drive counting stops for potty and lunch. We found a fun park to let the girls use up some energy and we all stretched our legs and enjoyed a hoagie sandwich with chips. 

 We thought it would be best if we split the little girls up and had one in the back and the other in the middle. See the smiles in the beginning. We are going to have the time of our lives little ones, so buckle up and enjoy the scenery!

 Do you think we are a bit loaded down? We were gone from Sunday to Saturday but it looks like we are moving. Oh goodness, the items we must pack to go on a family vacation. Please take note of the pink star blankie. It is Bria's BFF and she would be lost without it.

 We found this awesome park with basically no one around and let the girls stretch and work out some energy. We made hoagie sandwiches as it was Sunday and we chose to not eat out.

 Wrong way little Ada Rae!

 After an hour of a break we piled back into the Yukon for the remaining 4 hour drive ahead of us. Between stickers, movies and coloring we made it safely to our friend's the Hastings. They live in Reno and were kind enough to allow us to stay with them a couple of nights. We enjoyed a delicious pork tenderloin with fresh mango salsa and cooked on the BBQ. We had a fun time getting reacquainted and having a financial FHE with them. We made plans for Lake Tahoe for the following day and the kids played and played. They have four children. Lucy is Malia's best friend, then Anders and Tucker who are 10 and 9 and the caboose is Clara who is a year older than Bria. It was fun to see the friendships re-blossom and everyone seemed to enjoy themselves. Anna is a dear friend. It is hard to have her so far away, but it gives us an excuse to travel and visit them in all their adventures.

Monday morning we made lunches and gathered sunscreen and water and headed off for an entire day at Lake Tahoe. Anna lives about 30 minutes from San Harbor so not too bad of time spent in the Yukon.

 Our happy family!

 The girls just itching to get into the water.  Gorgeous isn't it.

 Anna and Teesh setting up home for the day

 We rented kayaks and long boards for the day.

 It was fun to see Teesh spread her wings and learn a new skill. She spent a lot of her day in this yellow submarine.

 The water is gorgeous, huh? It was crystal clear and so calm. Picture perfect day.

 Corby great pose!

 Anna and I catching up on many missed hours of conversations.

Oh how I love chit chatting with like minded people. This was a great day, one to not forget any time soon.