Lake Tahoe 2012

We had another wonderful vacation with my family this year. We went back to Lake Tahoe and it did not disappoint! The 9 hour drive was a little tough, but went pretty well considering we had a big pregnant lady and a just potty trained toddler. The kids had a blast playing with their cousins and us adults only had a few minor spats. :) Really, I am amazed at how much fun we have with 20 of us under one roof for a whole week. We always end up laughing more than anything and come home with some wonderful stories and memories. 

Here are some of the highlights from our trip:

We had fun visiting the town of Trukee and let the kids pick out a toy at a quaint toy store.

The kids played 

 

and played

 

and played in the sand! 

 My Uncle rented a boat and we all took turns tubing and wakboarding. Grandma and Papa wanted to prove that they were still young. What good sports! 

Haha!

We loved being on this beautiful lake!

Hudson wasn't sure at first, but ended up loving it! 

Cam got some good air!

I talked Kim into getting on with me, promising we wouldn't get wet because they would have to go slow. Well....we didn't last 10 seconds before we both rolled right off! Not the right kind of tube to sit up on. Sorry Kim! At least we can laugh about it now! 

Uncle Dale gave Hudson a driving lesson on our way back. 

 

We loved just hanging out at the cabin.

 We had a BBQ at my Uncle's house in Reno one night. His house backs up to a PGA golf course and it's beautiful! We tried to get in a few quick photos with the kids. They're a darling group!

Drew, Marlie, Addie, Hudson, and Kennady

 I love my family!

My handsome Hudson

Kennady would not stop to get her picture taken,

 

But had a blast playing on the grass!

I had several "ah" moments, like this one, where my kids just melt my heart!

And our favorite place: Sand Harbor! This place is beyond beautiful! I am always amazed at the clarity and color of the water. 

  

My parents went down early in the morning and saved us this spot where we had our own little private cove. It doesn't get better than this! 

Best thing for me-having Cam with us for a whole week. My mom even watched the kids for us one night so we could go to a movie! 

Family Time!

Grandma was in heaven! 

Kenna really liked the water and playing with her daddy. 

There wasn't any big rock jumping for me this year, but the kids had fun jumping off the smaller rocks.

She is so brave!

And spunky. 

Lots more cousin fun! We joke about how it's so sad that our kids don't get along. 

We loved playing in the water, even though it's cold! 

And last but not least, we got in some good naps!

A huge thanks to my parents for all of the fun games and things they did to make this trip possible! 

We love you! 

Summer FUN!!!

I love, love, summertime, but man it can be exhausting too! It feels like July flied by with us doing a lot of fun things. I'm going to simplify and show a fraction of the pictures of what we've been up to. 

We went up to Bear Lake a couple times this month-a whole week over the 4th! I can't tell you how much our kids love going to the cabin! 

We met up with my sister's friends one day on the lake. Kennady wanted to ride the tube, so we got my sister on too for a "slow" ride.

One day we drove up to Tony's Grove.

Where are Hudson and Marlie? Oh, just getting in the water! 

Kenna with Addie and Drew. These girls have so much fun together! 

The kids are crazy and all ended up playing in the freezing water in their clothes!

Hudson really wanted to help Uncle Tim blow out his candles. 

Love these girls!

Having a fun day on the Lake!

Cam was able to come up for a few days and play! 

We all had a blast on the paddle boards. 

Playing in the sand with Maddi. 

So fun! 

I love this of my mom and Kenna.

Marlie and Kennady

 Precious!

My dad is so good to get in and swim with the kids.

 Kennady just wanted to go down the slide non stop. She is fearless!

We were also able to have a short visit with my cousin Stacey and her family who live in Georgia. It was great to see them! 

I decided it was time to potty train Kennady when I saw we had a whole week we would be home. I don't know why it's always such an emotional thing for me, but after being cooped up in the house for a few days, I was losing it! I called my mom for support one night and she had the idea of us going to the zoo later that week. Kim and her girls met us there which made it even better. The kids loved it and my parents bought us a pass so we can now go for free! (Any friends want to meet us there?) Kenna has done amazing and we are so proud of her. She seems even more like a big girl now. Yay for no diapers....at least for a few months! :)

 The polar bears gave us a great show!

Cute cousins!

So excited to ride the train! 

We've also enjoyed going to the park, library, and taking walks at night as a family. As you can see, it's been a great summer so far! We also just got back from Lake Tahoe, so that post will be up next!

Welcome Home!

This house has felt like home from day 1. The kids call it our "new blue house." Cam and I are very pleased with how everything turned out. We love the blue! (The trim looks a little cream in this pic, but it's all white.) These are mostly cell phone pictures, but you'll get the idea. 

There were several things that we wanted in our house but weren't willing to pay the upgrades on, so we had a lot of work to do. Well, I should say that Cam had a lot of work to do! We were able to do our own flooring in the kitchen/great room before we closed and the rest had to wait until after. Our family helped out so much! 

Before pictures:

The kids and I went to see Cam while he was working on the floor

I hated having blankets over the windows!

After:

 We painted, trimmed out the windows, put in the fireplace (including mantle and tile), added can lights in the kitchen, board and batten, blinds, ceiling fans, and much more! Is my husband awesome or what?! It's still not all decorated, but I knew it would be a long time if I waited for that to happen to post pictures! 

It's so nice to finally be settled and feel like we have a home again! We are currently working on finishing the family room in the basement and have a yard to put in still, so I don't think we'll run out of projects anytime soon! And best of all? Cam is home so much earlier now that he's not driving so far to work that he actually has time to work on things! We are LOVING having him home more with us!