I feel so blessed to have five wonderful DILs and two daughters! We all have such a great time together! Here they are: Me, Anne, Amy, Kim, Alison, Natalie, Cassie, and Angie
While the other six were flying in from Utah, Texas, Kansas City, and Washington, I had flown in the day before to Oakland to ride the four hours with Alison to Lake Tahoe. It was a beautiful ride through the mountains--and of course, we always have fun talking as we go!
It was so fun to see everyone arrive--we were all so excited to see each other. After everyone got their suitcases into the hotel store room since our condo wasn't quite ready, we headed out to get some lunch. The yellow jackets were everywhere, and we really had to keep jumping to keep them away from us!
It was so fun to see everyone arrive--we were all so excited to see each other. After everyone got their suitcases into the hotel store room since our condo wasn't quite ready, we headed out to get some lunch. The yellow jackets were everywhere, and we really had to keep jumping to keep them away from us!
After lunch, the first thing on our agenda was pedicures (and some had manicures).
The next day was full of seeing this beautiful area and heading up the mountain.
We boarded the tram and headed up.
About mid-way up, you get out of the gondola and then get on a chair lift to go even higher! Before we got on the chair lift, we took pictures with the beautiful scenery behind us.
Boarding the chair lift.
Of course, the scenery becomes even more spectacular and the lake becomes even bluer the higher you go!
Here are the stats for the lake.
We now had to make a decision to hike the last mile up to the tallest peak or to take the discovery tour which included rope swings, speeding sleds, etc. It was funny how the four older of us decided to hike, and the younger four decided to do the discovery tour.
When I say the four older, I laugh! there was no way I could keep up with these three when we were hiking pretty much straight up the whole time. A mile didn't sound like much, but with the altitude and the pitch of the path, I got pretty winded. Luckily, I had very understanding people I was hiking with. They let me stop several times to get my breath!
But when we got to the top, I felt such a sense of accomplishment!
This certainly made me feel better as to part of the reason I felt so winded. I live where it is 666 feet and this is 10,040 feet!
After looking around at the top, we still had to walk the mile back down to get back on the chair lift. Most of the time, it was much easier than going up! We got back to the meeting place before the other girls were finished, so we had lunch at the station there.
Meanwhile, what were the other four doing? This is pretty cool--they stood on the line that divides California from Nevada.
One foot in each state!
And off these four dare-devils went!
I think it's safe to say we all had such a great time! So much so that everyone wants to bring their families back here next summer to enjoy it all again with them!
The thing that was so great about staying at the Marriott was that everything was basically within walking distance--it was so centrally located. We loved it!
After cleaning up, we all went to a restaurant where you pick your vegetables and meats, and they cook it on a big grill for you. It was absolutely delicious!
After we got back to our condo, we did a "Favorite Things" Exchange! It was so fun to get items that each of the girls considered items they absolutely loved!
We then played a game called, "Left, Right, Center," which was lots of fun. Natalie and Amy were two of the big winners.
On Sunday, we all attended church at the South Tahoe Ward. I love that these seven beautiful mothers always want to attend church and when they're home, they always make sure our grandchildren get to church, too.
We then went to "brunch." Cassie had a friend who joined us who lived near Lake Tahoe and who she hadn't seen for years. She was such a nice young lady, and we really enjoyed having her come with us!
That afternoon, we all went biking! It was a great idea to ride through the woods and around the lake.
We tried a jumping shot, but we could never get everyone off the ground at the same time with my little phone camera lens--but we had a great time trying it!
Like I said, the biking idea was great, but my tailbone wasn't cooperating. It was so bruised and sore, that even a week later, I can still hardly sit. Again, the girls were very kind and came and got me with the car the last little bit! I truly am a wimp!
Every time we came back to our condo, we saw this big black bear greeting us. We had to take a picture of Natalie and Cassie with it because, I believe, it was Kevin who started calling Kent "Bear" when he was little, and Craig--"Bear Cub." They were known by those names in our family for years!
That night, some of us went to the "Magic Fusion" show. Alison was picked from the audience to help the magician/comedian. It was really fun--she always make everything even more fun!
The next day we started out for a planned adventure, but got side-tracked at a T J Maxx. That's okay--the girls had a great time getting some great buys to take back home. Anne found her Halloween costume there!
It was another beautiful day in Tahoe!
We stopped for lunch at a BBQ place that served us warm towels after we finished eating.
We then took a very tiny winding road around the mountain where we ended up at "Fallen Leaf" Lake.
This place was one of the most beautiful places in the world!
We tried the jumping idea again--on the dock--not a good idea! Angie's glasses popped off her head, but luckily, she fell to her knees and fished them out before they reached the bottom!
So, we all sat down on the dock to just enjoy the beauty of this special place, again with yellow jackets swarming everywhere. I had barely sat down when one must have come up my sleeve because I had long sleeves on! I suddenly yelled out! Sure enough! It hurt like crazy, but we went to the little store there where they gave me ice to help soothe it! Can you believe my luck! Every single day it was something that I was involved in! Hah!
That night we went to see "Sully," a fantastic movie with Tom Hanks who played the pilot who landed the plane on the Hudson River in 2009 after both engines were hit by a flock of geese, but he was able to save all 155 passengers on board. Great movie! We knew we were all going to see it again with our husbands because we knew they would love it, too!
We all knew we would be going home tomorrow and there was one more thing we hadn't done--put a puzzle together! So bring out the hot chocolate, the Diet Coke, and the treats, and off we went!
This just happened to be a 1,000 piece puzzle and it was getting late . . .
I love the pure joy and excitement of Anne as we were putting the last pieces into place!
It just brought a smile and joy to all of us! It may have been 2:00 a.m., but I was so proud of these seven not giving up until a job was done! Girls after my own heart!
The next day, we all said our "Good-byes," and everyone was off in their different directions for home. All seven husbands and Grandpa George were such great sports watching all the kids in order for us to do this special get-away! It was certainly one we will never forget! Thanks to all of you for coming and for all of Alison's hard work in making the plans! It couldn't have been more perfect! Next year--Anne and Cassie will have something special planned, I know!
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