Tahoe Scenery

Tahoe is an incredibly beautiful place. We were very near the recent burn area, and it was quite sad to see the charred landscape. There were places just down the hill from where we were staying where homes had burned completely down - only chimneys were standing - and right across the street would be an untouched home. On the top of the hill where we stayed, you couldn't even tell there had been a fire.

One day we took a drive to a nearby overlook on a ridge, and here is what you could see:

One side of the ridge was completely burned, and the other side (not pictured) was completely fine. However, things are already starting to sprout again! Near the overlook, we lucked into finding a very beautiful little lake with canoes.

And, yes, we did have him in a life jacket when we were actually out on the water. But we didn't go far out with him because we were insistent that he sit in our laps, and he was insistent that he sit and paddle the boat all by himself.

Wedding Festivities

Wasn't it a beautiful spot for a wedding?!

The bride and groom at rehearsal.
Here comes the bride!
What do you figure they are talking about?

See the Kimbro blog for pics of the men getting pretty. Oh, and for the record, when Carter saw the three of them in their tuxes on the way out, he pointed at them and burst out laughing. I'm not sure what that was about...

Ah, how weddings inspire romance...There were happy couples everywhere!

Tahoe Fun

Oh, where to start with posting about our trip? I'll begin at the beginning of the week, before the wedding festivities really got into full swing.

Early last week we shared a cabin with the Kimbros and tried to make the most of the Tahoe scenery and terrific weather!

Eleanor, Rachel and I took a paddle boat out on the lake.

Eleanor and Carter played in a pool in our front yard.

We took a hike at Echo Lake.

Carter took a motorboat out for a spin.

He was actually very well behaved on this otherwise adults-only boat excursion. The only rough patch was when Thomas and I both jumped into the water. Carter was very disturbed - he didn't know where his parents disappeared to!

The boys on the beach.
This was perhaps the only extended period of time when all the kids were still and quiet at the same time (other than when the DVDs were on - apparently Carter enjoys Blues Clues)!

We're Back

It's a bit later, and we're a bit more tired than we'd hoped (Carter slept very little in transit today), but it's good to be home. Given the hour, I'm not going to try to post anything about our trip tonight. You'll have to wait until later in the week. If you need a sneak preview, check out Rachel's speedy posts about the trip!

Tahoe Bound

We are off to Lake Tahoe at the crack of dawn for a week of fun culminating in Stubbie and Shannon's wedding. We are very much looking forward to the week, but are dreading tomorrow's travel 12+ hours of travel with a very energetic toddler who recently discovered that it is fun to exercise his lungs by screaming for long stretches... We can't wait to be there!

We'll be disconnected from the interweb, so there won't be any new posts until next week. If you need to reach us, cell phone is the way. We'll post lots of pictures when we return. The trip should be good blogging fodder for at least a week.

Cat Fun

We visited Patrick and Kirstin's cute new apartment today. Carter mostly enjoyed playing with the kitties, and playing with the kitties toys!

Carter's Commercial

If Carter were to star in a commercial, it would probably be something like this...

Beach Party

This morning we got Carter all dressed up for the beach party at his school today. Doesn't he look cute? Too bad the party was yesterday...

Lessons Learned

Here's what we learned today:

1- Thomas does not like organ meat. Other meat, he likes, but organ meat... not so much. At least, not organ meat from a hen - even when it is cooked delicious, gourmet style. (However, Thomas did enjoy the other 10 dishes in our 9 course tasting menu. Yes, you did read that right. We had 11 dishes at our 9 course dinner this evening...)

2- Carter does like Backyardigans band aids. His babysitter brought some to him when she came over tonight, and he wouldn't let go of the box. (They were from his amazing babysitter, who remebered from her one prior visit that he enjoyed the Backyardigans.)

3- Carter is the best baby ever. His babysitter says so. And we agree.

SUCCESS!

After years of searching, the holy grail of cooking has been found in NYC..

That's right, in Park Slope even. It's a little beat up, and there were only 5 cans left, but we know where to get it. It is NOT with the other stewed tomatoes like one might expect, it's in the ethnic food aisle, just to keep you on your toes.

Many thanks to everyone who has supported our habit over the past several years by sending, bringing, toting, buying, and generally supplying our Rotel needs. It does not go unappreciated.

Now let the Fiesta begin!