We spent the long MLK weekend up in Lake Tahoe. There wasn’t much snow to be found, but there was enough for the kids to make snowballs (lots of them!) and enough to make snowshoeing a happy and fun memory! They also did a little bit of sledding just outside the rental house.
We had a very comfortable rental and there was just enough snow outside on the deck that we could suit up the kids and let ’em at it knowing they were safe (being enclosed) while us grown-ups enjoyed the warmth of the indoors!
As much as we liked being in the house, though, we did take the kids out for a couple of snowshoe treks at nearby Sugar Pine Point State Park.
Tom and I also got to go on 2 back-to-back runs together as Bozsi (Heather’s mom) kindly watched the kids for us! Such a nice treat!
We also wanted to hook up with Jenny’s family (who also were there that weekend, but on South Shore) but we ended up in the wrong meeting place at the last minute and decided it would be too stressful to try to rush our way to meet them for tubing, especially since the kids hadn’t eaten well. That was a bummer, but overall, the trip was fantastic.
The temps stayed in the mid-40’s to low 50’s during the day, so the weather was very manageable for all of the kids. I remember when it was so cold, Dylan was just miserable in this very same snowsuit Chloe is wearing here! The nice weather made this trip a very positive experience for Chloe (and for all the kids, actually)! She made snowballs and even tried snowshoeing and sledding!
We were lucky enough to find a geocache, too! The description of it said it would not be possible to find under snow cover, but there was very little snow out and we were able to pry away enough snow to allow us to get to the goodies! On our second snow shoe trip out, Taliana traded one of her rubber band bracelets for a Lego guy.
The house’s back deck was awesome. The kids made tons and tons of snowballs and kept telling Assaf and Tom that they “dropped” something and could one of them go get it. Once a dad could be seen down below, they aimed for the bald spot (I kid you not!).
The dads were such good sports!
I am always so grateful for our friendship with H. She is always there to help out with the kids, always making sure they’re taken care of and able to participate when I can’t help them out (usually because I’ve got Chloe in-hand!)!
Conditions were icy and dicy out there on the sled run beside the rental house so I was especially appreciative of her efforts to take both Dylan and Cameron with her!
And, of course, there was lots of indoor fun to be had as well!
The kids entertained themselves by setting up a “clubhouse” in the heated closet downstairs; they build with Duplos and MagnaTiles and we played board games–Sleeping Queens, Wits and Wagers, and Alhambra. The latter 2 are new faves for Dylan while the former is already a fave (and he got his own copy of the game from HAKT this past Christmas). Since our return from Tahoe, we’ve played a game of Alhambra together and he did great. I’m so happy he loves games!
As for our 2 runs together, Tom and I ran along the Highway–not the most pleasant experience, especially when we had to be particularly attuned to oncoming cars and to slippery ice patches–but the lake was still beautiful. The higher elevation was also initially difficult to run in…and it was below 30F the first morning we ran together! I doubled up on long-sleeved shirts! Frankly, I was miserable, but I was determined to run to a view.
We ended up running to Homewood–an even 3 miles away–before turning back.
Tom clearly could have gone faster than me, but he was very patient and always happily slowed down for me! I guess the run wasn’t that bad because we repeated the experience the next day!! It was tough to get out there in the cold, but it also felt great to breathe in some fresh Tahoe air and to get some glimpses of the lake when all was said and done! It was also nice to be able to run with Tom–a rare treat, for sure!
