Snow!!! We love the snow, and it's so rare we get to enjoy it. So we headed for a week during winter break to South Lake Tahoe Vacation Resort. After a long 12 hour drive which started at 2:30 am (we were crazy to think leaving that early would some how make the trip more bearable!) we were happy to arrive at our hotel which was located just down the street from Heavenly Ski resort and all the shops and restaurants in town. We couldn't check in yet so we got out of the car to stretch our legs and play in the snow!
We walked down to the lake and the view was beautiful but it was pretty cold so we couldn't stay out long.
The next day we headed to a park that the concierge told us about and enjoyed some snow ball fights! Ty loved the snow but hated getting in the snow clothes. :)
We brought a sled and everyone enjoyed some sledding. Ty wasn't too sure about it, he was happy to throw snow.
We rented skis for Tatum and also brought them to the park. At first she had a hard time standing up in them or moving at all...
but after only a few minutes and some practice, she was balancing by herself and slowly going down a small hill. That firmed up whether she could take a ski lesson. She was so excited!
Leanne flew in and met us at the hotel the night before. We were so excited she could join us because she was with us for our winter adventure in Mammoth last year so now it's tradition! :)
We found a bigger hill and everyone enjoyed a fast ride down.
with an extra push. :)
BFFs!
Ty wasn't too keen on the sled so he tried some bottom sledding, much slower. :)
My sweet mountain man. As much as he hated the suit, he loved all the snow and fun.
My favorite part was definitely the sled. :)
For lunch, we headed to the shopping center at the base of Heavenly ski resort. We were hoping to ride the gondola up to the sledding area but it was $36 a person for the ride up so we decided against that and enjoyed some drinks instead.
The next day was the first day on the mountain and we couldn't wait! This year I was trying skiing again. I learned to ski when I was 4 or so and skied all through high school. But when I got into college, I got into boarding and never looked back. After a bad spill last year I thought I should try skiing and wow, I LOVED it! I realized I should never have left skiing and now I'm a skier for good!
But Leanne and Garrett, the boarders, didn't mind hanging with a skier. And look at the mountain and the view!
Beautiful! We had to stop and admire the beauty often. And even though it hadn't snowed that week, Heavenly did a great job making snow, it was so powdery and perfect!
Mid day snack. We learned after all this that it's hard to go back on the mountain and have any quality time after a few of these.
We loved these chairs! They were all over and after skiing a few slopes, they'd call to us.
A little mountain modeling. :)
Only after a few more rides, we found ourselves down at another bar. Oh goodness!
Even though it hadn't snowed lately, the trees were still covered in snow and it was beautiful.
The next day on the mountain Lee and I decided two things. Our outfits would look cuter if we switched jackets, and no shots. :)
Tatum was super excited because it was her ski lesson day! She looked so cute in her gear!
When we picked her up at 4, she had a smile on for the camera but told us she'll never ski again. She said she fell a lot and some kids fell on her and made her cry. The only good thing out of the day was the snowmobile ride to a play area. Hmmm, I think we need to try again next year.
He's Tatum's ski coach, he said she's a natural and just needs to keep trying.
While we were all out on the slopes, Grandma and Ty were enjoying the hotel. There was a child care center open 9 to 5 and the hotel gave each kid a half hour free play every day. Grandma dropped Ty off for 2 hours that day and he had a blast. The staff loved him and even though Ty's been playing the guitar for a while now, the staff loved how he played their toy guitar and they couldn't wait to show off his abilities at the Mardi Gras celebration that evening. Here's Ty rocking out with the DJ, he loved it!
On Wednesday, Mom, Lee and I did a little shopping and then had to drop Lee off at her shuttle since she was heading home. And the rest of the day we enjoyed the warm indoor pool at the hotel and a walk to Chevy's for dinner. The next day Garrett and I met my cousin Stephen at Squaw Valley ski resort. It was a windy day and the snow was real icy, not my favorite. But it was fun to see Stephen!
On our last day, we ventured out of town to Virginia City, a small mining town.
It had lots of old shops and funny things to look at.
One of the shops had this sign on the door, it was closed of course. A slower kind of life. :)
This old miner and his donkey came by to say hi. The kids enjoyed feeding the donkey carrots.
Then, before heading home, we stopped at Emerald Bay and saw some beautiful scenery.
And the boys got some fun snow time in.
We said goodbye to Tahoe the next day and headed to Bishop where we stopped at this delicious Dutch bakery for lunch. They had ride on toys out front which the kids loved.
We had a wonderful week of family fun in the snow. This was our second week using our family's time share and we're sold! We can't wait to get one of our own and go on lots of fun family trips!
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