This is what happens when your kids discover SnapChat

The face swaps are HILARIOUS.

Tahoe 2016

This year we spent 10 days at Tahoe, rather than in multiple, shorter bursts.  We drove up the mountain in a caravan - I took the kids and Uncle drove the van, loaded with nearly everything we own.  We knew we were headed up to the cabin to find a non-operational refrigerator, so we had an ice chest in tow as well.  Successfully arrived at the cabin and unpacked, we headed out to Denny's for dinner - the kids love Denny's because they can order for themselves off the kids menu, selecting from kid-friendly meals and sides and had a great time.

Then we walked out into the parking lot and saw that the tire on the van was almost completely flat.

Great.

This means that Uncle probably drove up and over and into Tahoe on a seriously low tire.  Scary.

So he got up relatively early Friday morning and got the car towed to a tire shop nearby, where they didn't have the tire but they filled it enough to get it to the next shop, which only had two tires the right size, but that was enough to get us going again.

Meanwhile, we waited for the refrigerator repairman to come and tell us that the compressor was shot and would need to be replaced and that nothing was going to happen before Monday.  More ice for the ice chest!

Finally, we went out to the meadow for a walk.  I promptly twisted my ankle and Max and Daniel decided they were not happy outdoorsmen and wanted to go back to the cabin.  So we three limped back while Caroline and Uncle went to explore more, popping in briefly to change into creek-friendly clothing.

The sleeping arrangements for Tahoe are as follows - Caroline and Uncle sleep upstairs, he on the dusty, paper-thin mattress in the front bedroom and she on one of the three single beds in the back bedroom.  The boys and I sleep downstairs all crammed in to the king-sized bed.  At least this year I didn't sleep in the middle, where I am trapped, but made them trade off nights sleeping "next to Mommy".

Sunday was our first day at the beach.  We went in the early afternoon and sat in line for about twenty minutes as we waited to be allowed into the parking lot on a one out/one in policy.  We grabbed the first parking spot we saw meaning we were much closer to the front of the beach than we normally are.  The boys braved the water for a little bit, but they were a little more interested in playing in the sand and hanging out on the beach.  Caroline, of course was interested in both.

Max spent some time hanging out with Mommy (and ON Mommy)

Daniel contemplating beach life

Monday, the fridge repair guys came to collect the defective fridge and leave us a loaner (can you imagine? So awesome!)  And then we went to mini-golf.  This was our second year trying it and while we were incrementally more successful, we also did an 18-hole course and that may have been a *tad* too much for the five and a half year old attention span.  

And then we went back to Denny's for dinner, where everyone wanted to sit on Uncle's side of the table and I was chopped liver on the other side of the table.

One night we also went to Applebee's one night for dinner.  They also have a kids' menu - with STEAK on it, which Daniel was excited about.  Caroline insisted on wearing her new dress-up princess gown to dinner.  This had been purchased for her after an outing with Max and Uncle to see the movie "The Secret Life of Pets".  Daniel, who has decided he prefers to see movies at home on TV and does not like the movie theater, opted to go grocery shopping with me instead and thought it was AWESOME.  This may be a reflection of low expectations on his part or it may have something to do with being a triplet and not getting a lot of one-on-one time with Mommy.  

Caroline wore Uncle's sweatshirt as a bib when the time came to eat her chocolate lava cake.

Over the course of our ten days at Tahoe, we went to the beat at South Short three times and we spent one day at the beach up North in Incline Village with the kids' pre-school friends Brianna and Shannon to celebrate those girls' birthdays.  That beach boasted a rocky shore that was less conducive to running in the lake and the boys stuck to the inflatable boat they'd talked us into buying at Raley's. And then we spent the most time at the adjacent pool, playing in the deep end and wearing life vests.

My favorite part about taking the kids to Tahoe is how much they love it.  They asked for months when we were going to get to go.  When we got to the cabin, they climbed all over looking at everything anew and then Max announced that it was "the greatest place ever".  Many days while we were there were described as "the best day of my LIFE".  Which is not to say they weren't just as horrible at times as they are when they are home.  But they definitely enjoyed it and I enjoyed them enjoying it.

And then we came home and I needed a vacation.