Tahoe Getaway

You know how sometimes in life the stars just seem to align and you have to pinch yourself because you feel so lucky? Well, that happened to me and Dave when we found out we'd get to take a trip together to Lake Tahoe. Dave had to go to Reno for a week for work training, and as luck would have it, an incredibly generous friend of mine offered her vacation condo in Lake Tahoe to us! So, after Dave's week-long training, I flew out to meet him, and we spent an awesome long weekend together in Lake Tahoe. And by the way, it's just as beautiful as everyone says. These pictures don't do it justice, but you'll get the idea!

While it was a little hard for me to leave Andra at home (four nights was the longest I'd ever been away from her), I also knew it'd be really nice for Dave and I to reconnect before our lives are turned upside down again with the arrival of the baby. So Andra got to spend some special time with her grandparents, which is always a treat for her! She was spoiled rotten, of course, and I was even informed that one night she had ice cream and M&Ms for dinner. :) The girl knows how to play her cards right.

One of our favorite activities in Tahoe was a tour of the lake on board the Tahoe Queen. It took us to Emerald Bay, which was breathtaking! We went all the way back into the bay, and the mountains were just towering over us. It was incredible.

This next picture is from one of our favorite discoveries we made while in Tahoe...Memorial Point. It's a lookout just off the main drag, and a short hike leads you to this (and several) other incredible views. The water was an amazing turquoise in some spots, a rich blue in the deeper areas, and crystal clear! It made you just want to jump in! ...but oh man, was it COLD! The lake is all snow run-off from the mountains, so the temperature in most places is in the 60s. Brrrr! We did get in a few times, but usually not for very long! The locals call it "refreshing." :) um, okay.

At Memorial Point together... this spot both brought us back to our honeymoon. It reminded us of a picnic spot we discovered on the coast of Maui! (Crystal, GO THERE! It's in the Hawaii book I sent you!)

We also took a gondola ride to the top of a mountain for some incredible views. Dave is terrified of heights, so the ride up wasn't so pleasant for him, but he did it for me. What a guy. ;)

The view from the top. Dave admitted it was worth the terrifying gondola ride. :)

One night we had a casual picnic on the beach and watched the sunset. So relaxing and so beautiful!

As if the gondola ride wasn't enough, I also made Dave drive this hairpin-turn road to the top of a mountain to reach Donner Pass. I'm pretty sure he wanted to kill me with his bare hands (if he could have taken them off the wheel) on the way up, but we survived the trip and were rewarded with another incredible view! (In my defense, I offered to drive many times, but he refused) Again, he thought the view was pretty incredible once we made it to the top. :)

We had such an amazing time together and finished our trip with a romantic, relaxing sunset dinner lakeside with a great view of a marina (below) and the mountains in the distance. I had the best salmon I've probably ever eaten in my life (and I eat a lot of salmon!), and dessert was divine. It was called Hula Pie, and was a giant slice of Macadamia Nut ice cream pie about as big as your head. When it arrived on our table, we thought we'd never be able to eat it all. And then we did. :) Dave even accused me of licking the chocolate syrup off the plate. I blamed it on the baby. :) I should've taken a picture of the pie, darnit.

So we came back relaxed, rejuvenated and (hopefully!) a little bit more ready to embrace the chaos of a new baby arriving. It was an incredible getaway, and we're already wanting to take the "kids" back someday! There were some water sports I couldn't take part in (belly in the way) and lots of fun family activities we'd like to do too. So, until next time, Tahoe...

Under the Sea

We hit the road this weekend and went on a little day trip to the Newport Aquarium near Cincinnati. We wanted to do something special with Andra...we'd originally planned on taking a summer trip to Chicago for a long weekend, but somehow the summer seems to be getting awfully short as the arrival of her baby brother gets closer and closer. So we stayed a bit closer to home.

Andra's always liked fish (she likes any animal, really!), but we borrowed Grandma's copy of Finding Nemo to get her extra prepared (come to find out she's still a little young for that movie...we fast forward through most of it and only watch the "happy" parts!). So she was ecstatic to see a tank full of Nemos! ("Mee-mos")

We'd gotten an early start on the day, and had the exhibits almost entirely to ourselves before any crowds arrived. Her favorite exhibit was the Frog Bog. They had large frogs she could climb all over, and she made fast friends with the blue one, of course. You gotta kiss a lot of toads before you find your handsome prince! ;)

Dave even got to indulge his shark obsession. Really, this guy is fascinated with sharks. It's kind of amusing. So he was entranced by the shark tank...which Andra seemed a little intimidated by...not too surprisingly.

We ended our morning with "lunch by the bridges." It was a beautiful, breezy day, so we had lunch in the shade at a waterfront restaurant. It was really a perfect morning. Helloooo, belly!

Aftewards, we headed to the nearby Ikea to a get a couple items to help convert our office to a nursery and make room for baby. WHOA. That place is awesome! I'm definitely a fan and will be making future trips there when we need things for the house. That place needs its own zip code! It was a successful trip and we got what we needed. Deep breath. I'm feeling a little bit more prepared for this little guy! :)

Happy 4th of July!

Wishing you a belated Happy 4th of July from our all-American gal!

Andra got to see her first-ever firework display, and it was a big hit! I thought the noise might scare her, but she sat in my lap the entire time with a big grin, big eyes, and a look of awe on her face. When the show was over and everyone started packing up, she started to cry and said "I don't want to go bye-bye! I like this place." :)

We spent the rest of our holiday weekend starting to convert our office/den to the baby's room. Yes, I said "starting." For those who know me, it's really hard to believe that I--Type A, always-way-ahead planner--didn't start this process until my third trimester. I find it a little surprising too that I waited so long, but it's for two big reasons. Reason #1: we spend a lot of time in the office; we're kind of computer geeks and I work in there on the days I work from home, so I was putting off giving up that space until I absolutely had to. Reason #2: this room also houses the most important piece of furniture in our house: Andra's Thomas the Train table. :) It'll find a new home, begrudgingly, in our formal dining room, because that's the only space big enough for it. *sigh* I'm pretty confident new-house-shopping will begin in earnest once the baby's about six months old and we're through that really tough newborn stage. I'm a little stressed about everything that needs to get done in that room before the baby's arrival, but I'm trying to just take it one step at a time. It'll all get done.

So we let Andra have a little fun with the walls, since we'll be repainting very soon and having new carpet installed. I hope I don't regret this. :) I explained (several times) this painting on the wall activity was a ONE TIME thing!