The Salvateenies: Tahoe, 2013

The plan was to go up to Tahoe for the All Star Break. We'd drive up on Monday, meet up with Boppy who was up there and heading back down on Monday after greeting us, and then unpack and make our way out to a leisurely dinner after watching a bit of the Home Run Derby. Tuesday, we'd wake up at a vacation pace and decide whether we want to go to the Lake for a dip in the clear, cold water or over to the Visitors Center for a stroll through the flora and fauna of the High Sierra, then back to the cabin to see some of the All Star Game and dinner. Wednesday would be our most adventurous day, heading over the hill into Nevada to meet up with Joe's niece Andrea and her husband for lunch and then to the Reno Aces' ballpark for the AAA All Star Game. And Thursday we'd pack up and head home, refreshed and relaxed.

That was the plan.

We made it through the first few steps without incident. We left on Monday and drove to Livermore for a quick visit, then through Sacramento and onto Highway 50. From Folsom to the "Y" at South Lake Tahoe, we made seven different stops to retrieve items the kids had "dropped" and couldn't get to, but we still made it to the cabin by about 4:15/4:20 and chatted with Boppy for a bit before he had to hit the road and coast down the hill. The kids and I went out back to inflate and set up the wading pool so Daddy could watch Yoenis Cespedes crush the first round of the HR Derby.

A bunch of the toys took a rest after their long trip.

Max and Caroline man the hose.

Max making sure the water is getting into the pool.

Doesn't it look like she's asking, "You expect me to swim in THIS?"

And then we tried to leave for dinner. Caroline was THRILLED to be going to a restaurant. When I told her she could choose between spaghetti and pizza for dinner, she added, "And PIE!" I have no idea why she associates pie with restaurant eating, but it immediately sounded like a good idea. Sadly, her brothers were NOT interested. Luckily, Boppy had stocked the fridge with some chicken nuggets and grapes and we'd brought some other snacky food and we made it through that meal. They dug into a LazyTown DVD while I snuck out to do some additional shopping and soon enough it was time for bed.

The cabin has a large living room/dining room/kitchen area with a bedroom and bath downstairs and two additional bedrooms at the top of the steep staircase. Since the kids are not out of cribs yet and cannot be trusted alone in the dark around a staircase without a sturdy safety gate, we brought up three pack n play playpens to set up in the living room. This meant we had to set them up at bed time each night and break them back down in the morning, but we survived it last year and my spirits were still sort of high. But I'd apparently underestimated how attached they are to the things they sleep with (Max calls these his "stuff" and Daniel calls it his "toys"). I brought two items each, plus the Lazy Town dolls, but Daniel instantly realized that Carrot was missing. And while we're at it, where's Mickey Mouse? Monkey and Ribbit were simply NOT going to cut it. Caroline and Max seemed less concerned, but still a little upset.

We tried to re-create the bedtime routine as close as possible. We watched a Caillou DVD, then said "good night" to the TV and let everyone walk to their "fancy cribs". I lifted them each out of bed and over to the light switch to turn the light off and on, just like we do at home, and then we did hugs and kisses. Only for Daniel they were hugs and sobs. I have never felt his grip harder than it was as I had to wrench myself away to disappear into the back of the house so they could settle down. Of course, they didn't settle down. Daniel screamed and sobbed and ran around shaking his crib and threw his toys into Caroline's crib or onto the floor. And I, the one who was so strict sleep training them and would wait outside the door forcing myself not to go in, ended up sleeping on the floor outside his crib with my hand held up to the mesh like a prison visitor to the glass. I admit this to portray just how unsettled he was, but also to remind him, years later, that I slept on a cold, hard floor without a blanket or pillow while suffering from bursitis in my hip all because I love him. So no, Mr. 16-year old Daniel, you may not borrow the car until your room is cleaned!

At 6am, the early morning light flooded the room and everyone was awake. I have no idea how much I slept, but I know it didn't feel like much. Joe emerged from the bedroom bleary-eyed and we discussed the various merits of just packing it in and going home right then. But we didn't. I put the kids in their swim diapers and bathing suits to try out the pool around 9, but the morning sun hadn't reached the backyard early enough to warm the water and so we came back inside. This is when I discovered that swim diapers don't really contain pee - so I changed everyone's clothes, including my pants where the boys had been sitting on my lap, and we went out shopping.

Oh, did I forget to mention that at some point during the night the refrigerator died? It was still making all the noises of a functioning fridge, but there were three trays of water in the freezer and a particular "cooked shrimp" smell from the cooler that begged to differ. So we all packed into the car to buy an ice chest, a block of ice, and some dairy products to replace the milk, yogurt, and cheese it no longer seemed wise to eat.

The kids were over the moon to go shopping, even if Caroline had fallen asleep on our six-minute trip there, and as they entered KMart it was like they had actually entered the pearly gates. We found ourselves a cooler, some bug spray, a bunch of cold water, and two large dark brown blankets to pin up over the light curtains that let in too much light during Daniel's rough night. As we emerged from KMart, the crying began, "No go home! No go car!" so we just unloaded our purchases and walked down to the Starbucks around the corner of the shopping center to get coffee, tea, and 3 milks. We were definitely a sight. Luckily, people still think they're very cute and they still think we're brave for taking them out when they're crying. So we wandered all the way to the other end of the shopping center, and then back. They still didn't want to go, but they announced they wanted french fries. No fries to be had on our side of the street, so we loaded them kicking and screaming into the van and backtracked to Jack in the Box. Caroline fell asleep on the way.

We then ate french fries all the way back to the lake area and the Visitors Center (less packing, fewer costume changes required than the beach) and loaded up on sunblock. The kids were instantly engrossed in everything.

Well, everything except having their picture taken.

The Rainbow Trail at the Visitors Center takes you through all the different habitats of the High Sierra - meadow, watershed, dense forest, etc - with detailed educational signage. But most importantly, it is almost entirely paved and is wonderfully flat. So the kids were able to roam relatively free.

Max pointing out some interesting facts about the local grasses.

There was a blue jay in this bush somewhere. (Don't worry, I can't see him either.)

The kids stopped to look for froggies.

A boy scout who was also looking pointed out four frogs sleeping in the water. Can you see them?

Here, Caroline is pointing out a family of ducks on the creek.

Max loves birds, so he was pretty happy with our wildlife finds so far. It was a battle to keep him from dropping into the water to chase after the baby duckies!

Max and Caroline are impressed by the sign warning that there are deer in the area.

The really cool thing about this trail is the Stream Profile Chamber, a small dugout with a big glass wall allowing you to see underwater in the creek and spy some rainbow or brown trout in the summer months. Last year when we took the kids, there was a tour group in there that didn't seem too thrilled with three screeching toddlers. This year, we had the whole room to themselves, which was awesome because they were SOOO loud.

That's right - Caroline introduced herself to the fish. I'm most impressed that she introduced the rest of us as well.

After about twenty minutes visiting the fishies, we emerged into the sunlight and began our return leg. The kids took turns with "On your mark, get set, GO!" races up the path.

I don't know what Daniel was thinking here, but I love his expression.

About two hundred yards from the end of the path, Max stopped to poop. He chose the only part of the path with no benches in sight, but at least there was shade as he refused any attempt to move for the next fifteen minutes or so. Caroline was not excited about staying still, so she continued to run races between Daddy and me, sometimes getting Daniel to run with her.

Caroline was not interested in waiting.

Eventually, I had to carry Max to the end of the path, where we met an adorable small dog and Max magically forgot that he was upset.

Until it was time to get back in the car. We bribed the kids with the promise of ice cream, which meant we picked up a box of Drumsticks at Raley's when we stopped for dairy products and ice and ate them while we shopped.

Then it was back to the cabin and into the pool to clean off.

Caroline is the only one who got in the water.

This photo doesn't show it, but Max was actually having fun.

Then it was time for shivering, blue-lipped babies to take a warm up bath, get dressed, and head out to the restaurant. We ate really quickly and nobody gave us dirty looks for letting the kids play with iPod/Pad/Phones at the table. Daniel decided he really likes butter and Caroline ate shaved parmesan by the handful. We were delightful company, I'm sure. (Honestly, though, there was a table of six people who spent most of the time we were there recounting plots for episodes of "Full House" and discussing whether or not Joey was an uncle or just an "uncle" - I don't think they noticed us.)

The kids were exhausted when we came back and I was confident this meant they would fall asleep.

Hmm... after twenty minutes of screaming which seemed to wake all the neighborhood dogs, I let them get up and have snacks and run in circles. At 10:45, I put them back down and hid in the bedroom with my headphones and at 10:59, Daniel finally gave up. At about 3:04, he decided to give it another try. I came out to find that he'd wriggled out of his sleep sack and thrown his blanket and all his toys out of his crib and was standing there saying, "Mommy? I cold...." I covered him back up and gave him all his things and snuck back to the bedroom. Ten minutes later, I was back in the living room with both boys screaming. They both wanted out of their sleep sacks and cribs, so I settled into a recliner with a boy on each knee and they slept while I wondered why I hadn't thought to grab a blanket and marveled at how much they move when they sleep. And how heavy the are!

At 6:30, they were awake. At 6:45, they'd awoken Caroline. By 7, I'd given in and turned on the TV and started to slowly pack up their cribs and everything else. After our experience at the San Jose Giants last month, I was not going to attempt a two hour drive to an unfamiliar ballpark in 90+ degree weather on four hours' sleep. So instead, we packed up the car, cleaned out the dead fridge, put the trash out, and headed back down the mountain. We didn't even bother to get them dressed.

And after a full day in the car, Caroline couldn't wait to try out driving when we got home.