Tahoe Family Reunion-Day 3

Friday was lake day. As I was bustling around the house getting our stuff gathered up to take to the lake I looked out my bedroom window and saw this guy! I got Beckett and we watched him for a few minutes until he headed toward the front of the house. We went on the front balcony and watched this deer plus two other companions eat from the front bushes. It was pretty cool. Beckett was fascinated.

The house we stayed at was in Truckee, just outside of Lake Tahoe. We drove about an hour to the other side of the lake because that's where we had reserved some water toys for the day. The drive was beautiful but there were a few scary spots with very little road on either side. I made Ian drive on the way back. Dad, Brad and Rick headed out early to stake out a spot on the shore. The rest of us trickled down there in the late morning. The jet ski and kayaks we had reserved ended up being quite a ways away from where we were situated, so the boys canceled the reservation. It worked out just fine though because there was a booth where you could rent kayaks and paddleboards right by us.

The lake was gorgeous and really pretty warm! The shore we were on had a long shallow area, which was perfect for all my non-swimmers. The beach filled up as the day went on, but we had a good spot. We brought a picnic lunch and all just ate whenever we wanted. We rented a kayak for a couple of hours. The Henshaw's rented one too and we all got to paddle around. Rick was awesome and took some of the kids out when us parents got tired. :)

Mom and Dad rented a paddleboard. It was SO fun! It was a little tricky to get up on the first time, but I really liked it and paddled out pretty far. The kids found rocks, dug in the sand, played in the water, and had a lot of fun together. Weston just told me today that it was his favorite day of the summer. The weather was perfect and we really just had a blast!

Jules and Mel were such troopers bringing their newborns out to the lake for the day. The babies spent most of the their time in the shade, but they each got their toes dipped in the lake too. Such cute little guys! I'm so glad we did a whole day at the lake.

By the time we got home that day it was dinner time. We were all tired and hungry, so after dinner we got everyone bathed and showered and put the kids to bed. The adults had a popcorn bar (all kinds of fun candy toppings for our popcorn) and watched a movie.

SUCH a GREAT DAY!

Tahoe Family Reunion-Day 2

Thursday was the official start to the family reunion since we were missing the Henshaw's on Wednesday. That morning we all bummed around in our jammies for awhile. Talia felt left out since we were all wearing our glasses so she had to go put on her sunglasses. Haha!

Ian and Rick took the kids on a little nature walk/hike while I showered and got ready for the day. They had fun even though they didn't really know where they were going. When they got back it was time for lunch. Then the Henshaw's arrived! Yay! They got to meet baby Wilson and got some real time with baby Dean.

That afternoon Dad helped us all put together balsa wood gliders and we had to fly them through a course he set up in the "woods" out behind the house. It was super fun. The boys got a little crazy with throwing their gliders around trees and had to rescue one from the roof of the house. It was a perfect all-ages activity. The prize for completing the course was a pack of sour strips candy. The kids all loved that. Talia got the sour sugar all over the place and somehow all over her entire face. She was a mess! :)

Dinner that night was a BBQ. Dad grilled burgers and hot dogs and brats. Yum! After dinner we had game night. Mom put together some really fun games. I think my favorite was family bingo. We filled in the bingo sheets with all of the names of our family (including Chloe and a couple repeats). We also played a game that involved lots of yelling, laughing and sitting on each others' laps. I can't explain it succinctly, but it was pretty fun. The noise kind of freaked Beckett out, so I sat most of that one out, but Dean loved all the noise and snoozed happily the whole time.

After we got the kids all to bed that night we finished watching Red and started Red 2. The boys spent many hours playing FIFA. Kicking back and hanging out was the best. :) I love my family!

Tahoe Family Reunion-Day 1

On Wednesday August 6th all of my siblings and my parents left our homes and started driving towards Lake Tahoe for our Olson Family Reunion. It was fun to keep track of each other as we drove. Brad and Mel left close to the same time as us and we randomly ran into each other at the same gas station stop just outside of Wendover. It was so fun to see them and it felt like it kicked off the party.

The drive felt very slow and long even though it was only 8ish hours. We had never driven the way we went though so there were no landmarks we knew to help us feel like we were getting closer. We kept trucking along though. The kids did great in the car hooked up to their screens. :) We stopped to play at McDonald's in Winnemucca and ran into Brad and Mel again. Yay! That was our last stop and then we made it to the awesome house we were all staying at in Truckee, CA.

Mom and Dad and Jules and Rick were already there. Brad and Mel got there just a little bit later. We had fun meeting baby Dean, catching up, and exploring the house. The kids loved snuggling another new baby cousin. Jules hammed it up and showed off the swing in the upstairs master bedroom. The kids got to hang out in the super cool upstairs loft playroom. There were tons of toys to keep them busy, which was good because it was rainy that day.

Dad and Jules and Rick hadn't met baby Wilson yet, so they got baby snuggles too. We had some good sister chatting and snuggle time too. That night Mom and Dad made taco salad for dinner. The kids got settled in their beds in the loft and went to sleep while the adults watched a movie and hung out. It was a good first day.