Tahoe Vacation Day 4

Wednesday - Day 4 at Lake Tahoe found us sleeping in and enjoying a lazy morning around the cabin. Since we don't have cable with exciting channels at home the kids took advantage of the cable at the cabin. They loved vegging out and watching all the Disney channel shows they could stand.

After making hot dogs for lunch, we headed to Pope beach for some fun in the sand and waves. This is a State run beach ($5 parking). It has bathrooms, bbq's, picnic tables, and shallow water for splashing in. The waves from the far off speed boats were fun to play in. Rick lounged on the beach while I jumped in the cold Tahoe water with the kids. It really was fun. I decided to build a sandcastle fort then ended up creating a sand sculpture (of sorts) of a sea turtle (with help from Katie). Ken was off in his own world creating interesting sand art using pinecone pieces and rocks.


We packed up at Pope Beach and headed over to Richardson Beach (not far) to rent a paddle boat. It wasn't as exciting as we'd hoped and was, frankly, a lot of work to paddle us around the roped of area.

It was the kids' night to decide where to go out to dinner - they chose IHOP (ah to be a kid again) - so that's what we had for dinner - it's legal cause we're on vacation!
























Once back at the cabin Rick and I began to pack things up, while the kids enjoyed one last dip in the spa.

Tahoe Vacation Day 1

Our 5 day vacation at Lake Tahoe was fabulous.
Sunday we arrived at our cabin rental and found it to be comfortable and in a great location for all the activities we had in mind. The weather was a gorgeous 77 degrees, but the air was smokey - the Yosemite fire was sharing its smoke with us.

After we settled in we went for a 5 miles (round trip) bike ride to popular (& touristy) Camp Richardson to dip our toes in the lake. The bike trail led us through forests, meadows, campgrounds and gnats (mmmm - can you say dinner appetizer?). On the way back to the cabin we spotted a bear just moseying down the street. It was a big black bear who could've cared less that we were watching him/her. Then we headed to Chevy's (near the casinos) for dinner.

Kenny got kinda freaked-out about seeing the bear, which wasn't evident until bedtime. Ken made me take the photo of a bear off the wall of our bedroom. Additionally, Rick had to tell Kenny that bears couldn't climb stairs just to get him to calm down and fall asleep --- it worked (and the bike ride earlier helped too).

gaining independence

We are back in smokey Cameron Park after a long July 4th weekend at the Ghidossi cabin on the Russian River.

ODD FELLOWS RUSSIAN RIVER PARK, located two miles east of Guerneville on the south side of the Russian River in Sonoma County. There are 1,100 cabin sites including rental units and 35 family camping spaces. The 317 acres has road and street names with a connection to Odd Fellowship like Wildey, Colfax, Saratoga, etc. While many of the cabins and homes are located on the slopes and hills in the park, the flat land is utilized for the recreation area, camp grounds, rental units, store, teen club, clubhouse, outdoor theater, picnic area, playgrounds and barbecue area. The beach area, 350 feet frontage, is the finest to be found on the Russian River.

The whole family had a fabulous time hanging out with people we love, relaxing and putting daily stresses aside for a few days (the kids didn't even fight -except for on the trip home).
The highlight of the trip for me was watching Kenny set out up (and down) the river on a kayak - by himself [video at bottom of this post]. This just wasn't a one time occurrence; once Kenny felt the power (and solitude) of being in charge of his fate on the (slow moving) river, we couldn't keep him off the kayak. Hence, we nicknamed him Captain Kayak. In the mornings he would state, "I'm not going on the kayak today. (due to sore tummy muscles)" Only to later eat his words, and put in another long day pulling himself up and down the river (dodging swimmers, large canoes, large rocks hiding just under the surface of the water).
I suspect the fact that Kenny has been to this location on the river for seven years (July 2002 was our first visit) and has become a strong swimmer had a lot to do with his confidence level -- His independence was a true joy to see, as Kenny typically is a worry-wart and doesn't try new things hastily. It's just a little glimpse to the fact that one day he will be on his own (in his own metaphorical kayak) and controlling his own destiny (sigh - bittersweet).

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Other highlights: We left the typical OFRC roped beach area and headed up river a little bit to find a soft sandbar. We put in our beach chairs and sat in the water enjoying the "show" (canoers coming down the river and dumping over -- if we'd only had some Olympic-style number signs it'd have been perfect). Waching the Ghidossi family skim board along the shore, Katie making a cool sandfort (with help from her friends) on the hillside next to the river), nightly ice cream at the river store, getting to sleep in the private bedroom at the cabin instead of the loft), family dance, Piggy park, bike rides and long walks, and, of course, the annual OFRC Independence Parade.
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So now we are home and laying-low. The smoke from all the fires has polluted the air so badly we cannot go outside to play, swim nor garden. The a/c is on and the shades are down --- a fairly typical summer in Cameron Park.
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back to reality & feeling good about myself

I think I've finally recuperated from my mommies-only getaway this past weekend. Even though we were missing one of our "partners in crime" we really had a fabulous time. Skipping away with my dear girlfriends to a beautiful location (Capitola, Ca) without the responsibilities of parethood nor wifedom was the best prescription for a better me. We shopped, chatted, drank alcohol, took in the sites, ate yummy food, walked, talked, laughed, visited, stayed up late, snacked, joked, ate, ate, talked and laughed some more.

Even though I missed my kids and hubby bunches, it was lovely to truly get away from the daily grind of life and relax a little. It was hard to get back into the groove of being home (except my bed felt fabulous to sleep in); but now I am back to reality and feeling good about myself and where I am at in my life right now(and looking forward to the next time we can hang out together - if even for only a scrapbook night).

why I love my husband

This is why I love my husband --- He is willing to be late to work so he can rescue a baby bird!

At 8am I am in the kitchen making Rick's lunch. I see a skirmish taking place outside in the branches of our oak tree (we've been watching a robin couple sit, hatch and raise a baby). A scrub-jay is trying to attack the nest and the parents were fighting back. I run outside and find an acorn on the deck to throw at the jay. Rick tells me (through an open bathroom window) to throw a bucket at the tree (a bucket?); I ignore him. The jay has fled the scene and the robin parents have too. There on the ground is a mostly-feathered baby robin - alive.
Rick, dressed in his work clothes, comes out and assess how to best get the bird back in the nest. He gets our biggest ladder and sets up shop - the ladder is not really tall enough. I make him wrap the bird in a paper towel so he can stand at the tippy-top of the ladder, stretch to pull down the branch, and try to get the bird back in the nest. ... and off to work he goes. My husband has a tender heart - that's just one of the zillion reasons I love him.

Bird update: The bird fell out of the paper towel. Ken & I put it into a planter box. It was fascinating to see how the robin parents found their baby and have been happily feeding it worms, bugs, & berries every 20 minutes. ... now to just keep Oreo (our cat) away from the whole scene.

Another way to avoid housework

Yes! I have successfully found another way to avoid housework... my own blog! Besides whiling away my hours avoiding grown up responsibilities, I will also be able to capture some awesome memories of day-to-day life and share it with people who love me (and will, hopefully, pretend to be mildly interested).