We spent this past week with Alex's family in California. We flew out after work on Friday. The kids did amazing on the flights out to California and home. Emily and her kiddos arrived in Cali shortly after we did. Harper and Ethan had an amazing time playing with their cousins. We did so many amazing things on this vacation! There was something for everyone and we all had a blast. It was also nice for me to finally see Michele and Dave's beautiful California home.
Alex's baby picture looks just like Ethan!
On Saturday, Michele, Ethan and I snuck off to San Francisco to spend the day. The rest of the family met up with old friends in Walnut Creek. We started our adventure with a delicious lunch with a view!
We could see the Golden Gate Bridge.
I took Little Man to see the sea lions. He was not as impressed with the sea lions as he was with the seagulls.
Our climber
Of course we had to go visit the Golden Gate Bridge. Ethan was here before when I was studying for my boards.
Harper and the gang had a blast on their adventure in Walnut Creek.
Sand angels
Back at home in Davis, Harper met the porsche.
The kids dinner was special with bread bears from San Francisco that night!
We spent the next day at the Sacramento Zoo! There was a dinosaur exhibit.
Our dinosaur lover was excited!
Posing with the lemurs
The grandkids got a lot of snuggles!
We had dinner Sunday night at the most amazing sushi place! There was a building with a cat entrance across the street, so we took a picture for Aunt Lisa.
After dinner, the girls made cupcakes with Nanna.
They were a big hit!
On Monday, we drove up to Lake Tahoe! Our hotel room had two floors with three bedrooms and was fantastic! We shared the suite with Emily and her kids.
The kitchen was key.
The living room had views of the gondola and the pool.
Every room had a fireplace. This was Alex and my room (and Ethan got the massive closet).
Walking to s'mores the first night!
The hotel had activities daily. We only made it to s'mores once, but it was amazing.
Playing in the lobby!
After s'mores, we went down to the pool. The pool was heated, of course.
Our little mermaid!
We took turns making dinner. Alex and I made a white chicken chili soup.
The first full day in Lake Tahoe, the kids had ski school and Alex, Emily and Dave went skiing and snowboarding. Harper was very excited for ski school. She had a fantastic time!
Ethan and I went out for a walk to explore the town.
The weather in Tahoe was in the 50s during the day and the 20s at night. It was sunny throughout our stay and there was really no snow on the ground other than on the mountain and in shady areas. While at first we were a bit bummed by the lack of snow, it actually made exploring the town and going out so much easier and fun!
I wanted to see the water so we walked and walked and walked until we found a resort that had beach front views. We snuck into the resort to explore.
These were my favorite views from the trip. Ethan and I sat on this beachy area and enjoyed the mountains.
After our long walk, Ethan and I met Michele for a yummy lunch. It was so fun being in the ski village. There were so many shops and restaurants right under or next to our hotel.
My lunch date!
After lunch, we had to try some local donuts.
Alex, Emily and Dave had a fantastic time on the mountain. I cannot believe the views they had! Everyone did a great job and nobody got hurt!
Harper girlie had a great report from her ski instructor. She enjoyed learning how to make her skis look like french fries for going and pizza for stopping.
Cousins!
After everyone's very active day, we rode the gondola up to the top of the mountain to have a snack at the ski lodge and experience Lake Tahoe from great heights.
Harper was afraid initially and was worried we would fall.
Little man loved looking out the windows.
Going up!
The views got better the higher we got!
We stopped midway at the observation point to have a look.
Ethan loved being in the snow.
Wednesday morning, Nanna and Grandad took the kids so Emily, Alex and I could go snowmobiling. It was awesome!
We had a nice lunch afterwards, kid free!
We went swimming again that night after Emily and I had pedicures and massages.
The following day, Emily and Alex went back on the mountain for more skiing and snowboarding. The rest of us took the kids tubing.
Ethan fell asleep tubing with Grandad.
Alex came back with more great pictures.
We left Lake Tahoe on Friday and stopped at a winery on the way home.
If it is beautiful in February, I can't imagine what it looks like in warmer weather.
Ethan was able to play the piano with Grandad a few times.
