September 13, 2009

• Ack! It's been awhile since I posted ... which usually means I went on vacation ... and this time was no exception. We went to South Lake Tahoe with a few friends over Labor Day weekend.  But I'm getting ahead of myself ...

  The last weekend of August, on Friday (my weekend starts Friday 5:30pm), I went to Kathy's house for dessert and karaoke. I was horrible at singing, but it was fun! (At least for me, and likely at the expense of those around me.) On Saturday, we went to Dylan's for dinner and a swim playdate. Zachary probably swallowed gallons of water, trying to keep up with Dylan and Jessica. Every time he swims with them, he has to use the restroom more frequently than usual. On Sunday, we went to Kaylin's birthday party - Happy 2nd Birthday Kaylin!

   

  

  The week before Labor Day, we went to Zachary's school for a potluck barbecue. It was really hot that day - and there were a lot of kids running around. It reminded me to be grateful for my indoor/desk job. On Friday evening, Dana (and family) came over to celebrate my birthday. She gifted me a yummy smelling sugar scrub that she made with her mom's group, a throw blanket, a GAP gift card, and homemade ice cream. (I am pleased at how many of my friends can make ice cream. Very pleased.) We played games until close to  midnight ... and then the next morning, it was off to South Lake Tahoe! My friend Karen had wanted to organize a trip early August, but that weekend didn't work for any of us ... so I took her idea and tried for Labor Day weekend. Despite it being only ~2-3 weeks in advance, I got lucky - Karen, Melissa, and Rachel all had the weekend open. We rented a 4 bedroom vacation home, walking distance from the beach and a few minutes drive to the big casinos.

  

  My family was the first to arrive ... which made sense because we have a 5.30am alarm clock (aka Calie). Zachary was excited to snag what he thought was the coveted top bunk in the kids' room. That first day, we had a barbecue lunch, and then took the kids out for miniature golf. We also stopped by Reagan Beach ... all the kids loved making sand soup. Messy!

  

  Saturday evening was Girl's Night Out. Karen, Melissa, Rachel and I hit the Harrah's buffet (loved the prime rib!) and then went to see ABBAcadabra ... a live concert featuring ABBA songs. I was able to sing along to almost all the lyrics, thanks to my recent karaoke practice at Kathy's!

  

  After the concert, Karen treated me to my first ever alcoholic drink since I was pregnant with Calie. Whoo-hoo! (Actually ... z-z-z-z ... alcohol puts me to sleep, but that's not as exciting to blog about.) We danced at the bar while we waited for Vex to open. Vex was completely full and there was a huge line to get in.  The club had go-go dancers, and included a few minutes of acrobatics and a topless number.  I did feel a bit old because I wasn't dressed as trendy (or skimpy) as most of the 20-something crowd. On the plus side, I felt somewhat younger when I recognized a few songs (from Sophie and Eddie's wedding.)

  

  We got back home around 1-2am; I was exhausted and ready to chuck my stilettos into the lake. Of course, that night, Calie didn't sleep well at all (Argh!). Zachary slept fine in the top bunk though ... only he and Dylan made it through the night in the kids' room.

  Day 2 ... Sam and Melissa made us all breakfast ("payment" for getting the master bedroom). We had blueberry and banana pancakes, as well as bagel breakfast sandwiches. Then we packed up for a fun day at the beach (Camp Richardson.)

  

  The kids had a blast! Forget pricey toys - give a kid a bucket and shovel, some sand and water ... and they're occupied for hours. The adults basically just sat back and watched the kids entertain themselves.

   

  

  After snack/lunch, Zachary and Alex went paddle boating. According to James, it was very difficult to navigate - it wasn't until the end that they figured out how to position to kids vs adults.

   

  And here are some pictures of Calie in her fancy swimsuit. I really hope she can still fit into it next year!

    

  We got home mid-afternoon, and after some downtime, the guys went out for their night out. They went to the Harrah's buffet, while the girls stayed home and had dinner (thanks Karen!) with the kids. After dusk, we walked out to Reagan Beach to watch Labor Day fireworks. The kids oohed and ahhed over the fireworks, comparing them to "Saturn" and "jellyfish" and yelling out "That one was as big as Jupiter!"  It was fun to see the kids so excited... and it was awesome that we were walking distance from the beach. I totally associate going to see fireworks with traffic gridlock (and the smell of insect repellent, but I digress). The guys did come back to join us for the fireworks, but then went back out again for some gambling.

  

  Our last day of vacation was great too. Sam/Melissa opted out of sand activities and went on a nice family hike (which we'll have to do next time - Zachary actually asked about it on the drive home ... like his parents, he wants to 'do it all') The other 3 families went to the beach, where the kids made sand soup (again!) and tried to dig a mini lake (I admit it was my idea - I anticipated it taking a long time, so that I could sit back and relax). We all met up for a late lunch and by the time we were done, packed, and ready to go ... it was about 3pm.

  It worked great traveling with other families. And we totally maximized our time there with the early check-in, late check-out times. We hit a bit of traffic on the way home (2.5 hr drive instead of the 1.5 hrs it took to get there) but with Calie (and me) napping most of the way back, it was pretty painless. We got home before 6pm, so there was plenty of time to unpack, do laundry etc. and get ready for the work/school day ahead!

   

   

  This weekend was very low key in comparison. On Friday, I went out with my girlfriends for Thai food and a movie (Julie & Julia.) Saturday, we went to Ikea for a roll of easel paper and inexpensive wall art. Zachary played in their babysitting center for awhile, and we also had lunch in the cafeteria. Don't be fooled by their 99 cent kid's plate... it's not even enough food for a 13 month old. Maybe a Swedish 1 year old, but not my chunky American one! Afterwards, I took Zachary to a kids' gym open house, where he met up with 2 others kids from his Kindergarten class.

    

   

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