Our 2016 Tahoe Getaway

If you've never been to South Lake Tahoe, you should--like really, truly.  Not only is the lake beautiful, the air refreshing, but the temperature surpasses bearable and sails right on down to blissful.   It's amazing we are just 3.5 hours from such an amazing place.

For someone who hasn't had the "Alderson Traveling Gene" turn on just yet, this was his best trip to date.  It wasn't complete until he had his pillow, blanket, 3 stuffed animals, and the Minions playing in the DVD.

A two-story, 5 bedroom cabin nestled in the trees was the perfect retreat.  It didn't take long after breakfast our first morning for the sticks to come off the wall and the blaming of geometry to follow.  Dad and Jimmy beat us every game, but we had fun losing.

Selfie with the cheering section.

After several lost games, we headed to the lake.  Riley and "da gurls" were SO excited. Riley kept asking if we were going to Jungle Beach...for those of you without toddlers, that is where Daniel Tiger lives (for those of you with toddlers who don't know who Daniel Tiger is, count yourself lucky).

I personally opted for full shade with my toes in the water.  

Someone else opted for a slightly more reclined destination where he could make friends with the chipmunks.

This guy.

 We were all a bit surprised as how shallow the water was for quite a ways out into the lake. 

The Stear Ladies.

When you're at the beach, you gotta have a motorcycle in one hand and peanut butter graham crackers in the other. Duh.

Riley was a bit nervous about the water, but with daddy nearby it was much more fun, except when daddy suggested they sit down in the water.

Beach snuggles are the greatest.

After a little gaming that night, we got to meet up with Dan's cousin Mary and her husband Tim, who also happened to be in South Lake Tahoe for the weekend.  We enjoyed some awesome dessert and enjoyed our time catching up.  I didn't think of it until the next day, but was bummed we didn't get a picture of us together.
 
The next day during nap time, Dan and I drove out to Fallen Leaf Lake.  We drove out to the lake on our honeymoon, it was fun to reminisce as we found our way back 6.5 years later.  It is still just as beautiful.

One of the really neat parts about this trip was the fact that we got to celebrate Riley's 3rd birthday there.  Before we left for our trip, my friend and co-worker, Sandee, told me about the Ridge Rider Roller Coaster, at the Heavenly Epic Discovery Park atop the mountain overlooking the lake.  It's  accessible only by gondola ride.  Grandma and Darrell decided to join us for the scenic gondola ride and even got to ride a few of the ski lifts to a few of the higher peaks.  Riley LOVED riding in "the balls." He situated himself on the bench so that he was "driving," and despite how it sounds....he was excited to go "to the HILL."  You can tell, even we were a little confused by where he was saying we were going, especially in such a nonchalant way. LOL.

Here we go!

Our Excited Driver.

 

I wish the picture did justice to the extreme steepness of the mountainside, but it doesn't.

Nearly to the Observation Deck.

It was chilly but the views were BREATHTAKING and we could see for miles.

 You can see the beach were we "swam" a couple days prior.  The shallow water is kind of tan at the very southern tip of the lake.  You can see the shelf where the water drops off and gets dramatically deeper.

We staggered our position in line. I rode with Riley and then got him back to daddy so he only had to wait 15 minutes to ride again instead of 90+ minutes.  It was one of our more brilliant ideas when roller coaster riding with a toddler during nap time.

Bye guys.  Happy Riding.

"Fun uh Cars!!!" He cried because he couldn't ride again.

 There were several other activities to do atop the mountain.  3 ropes courses, 2 zip lines, a cafe, a rock climbing wall, a summer tubing hill, the Ridge Rider, and 4 or so ski lifts to gain even grander views of the lake and surrounding areas.

On our way down, Riley insisted he have "sheaffe" for a co-pilot.

As if riding balls and cars weren't enough birthday fun, we had a party that night too.  Riley, got some really great gifts.  Happy Birthday Buddy!

Who knew a 3 year old would get THIS excited over clothes?

So I may have overdone it when it came to Riley's birthday dessert.  Frankly, I blame Pinterest, but no one was complaining when the smores and caramel churro cupcakes were served.

There were 13 of us, 4+ dozen cupcakes might have been a bit much.

Happy Birthday Buddy!!

When we weren't at the beach, or the casino (I won  $46.00, which wasn't bad considering I only played $20.  Thanks brother for reminding me how to play Craps), or visiting Dan's cousins who were also in Tahoe that weekend, or driving around sight-seeing some of the most beautiful areas the northstate has to offer, we were often in the "park" or the hot tub in the backyard.

There was a really awesome phenomenon that occurred at the cabin.  Almost every time someone sat in this recliner, snuggles shortly followed.

And these three. Oh my goodness, they were always giggling, always smiling, and often hugging.  Cousins are such a great gift and I'm so thankful Riley got to spend the weekend with "da gurls."

As we headed out of town, we hung back behind the rest of the caravan to say hello to Dan's Aunt and Uncle who got into town the night before for a family reunion.  It was kinda fun to go on an Alderson family trip and see 4 members of Dan's family too.  We also wanted to stop by the Driftwood Cafe.  It's a small diner downtown with some GREAT food. 

Someone had fun waiting for lunch to arrive, going over his letters with daddy.

Tahoe, we had a GREAT time with you this weekend.  Family. The Beach. The Casino. The Cabin. The Gondola Ride. The Roller Coaster. The food. The Stunning Scenery. The Amazing Weather. The Little Boy who Turned 3. The Memories.   Until Next Time...