A family on the road living fulltime in an RV.

Tag: Holidays

Not All Birds Fly South: RVing in Lake Tahoe

Two and a half years ago if you would have asked me where I wanted to spend winter, I would have quickly said Florida, Southern California, or Arizona. Then I…

Two and a half years ago if you would have asked me where I wanted to spend winter, I would have quickly said Florida, Southern California, or Arizona. Then I spent a winter up in the in the mountains of Colorado and fell in love. Fell in love with snowboarding, the beauty of snowcapped mountains, the coziness of the RV, and, mostly, watching the boys passion and joy for snowboarding take off.

We spent last year in Florida waiting for Thing 3 to arrive. This year we were anxious to get back to mountains and prepared for a three part “Not All Birds Fly South” winter adventure.

IMG_2750PicMonkey Collage Tahoe Hike CA

Lake Tahoe, the second deepest lake in the United States, was the first stop of three.

family-tahoe-ca-new-years-15

new years eve 2015 tahoe ca

Being the exciting adventures we are, we kicked off the New Year with a family game about American history and a bottle sparkling cider. The questions were so hard and the facts so obscure that we could only answer a few of them. I think we’ll stick with Uno. It’s easier and takes up less space.

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Thing 1 2 Chairlift Tahoe CA

The boys were excited to explore the different ski resorts using our Epic Passes. They were also excited to be old enough to be dropped off at the mountain after school. This is what I’d call a fun way to get in PE!

PicMonkey Collage Garrett engaged

 

Brent’s brother, Garret, and his girlfriend, Kelly, came up for a few days. The boys and Brent went riding with them one day and Garret asked Kelly to marry him on top of the mountain. Classic “Go big or go home” Garret style.

rv tahoe ca rv tahoe valley campground ca

We had high hopes for lots of snow but no such luck. Aside from the night we drove in (of course!), the temperatures were unseasonably warm and not a single storm passed through during our two week stay.

Brent Thing 3 Tahoe Hike CA

With the warm weather winter hiking was extra fun. One evening, Brent and I hiked a bit on the Tahoe Rim Trail with Thing 3.

PicMonkey Collage Emerald Bay CA

Brent THing 3 Hike Eagle Falls CA

 

Thing 1 Eagle Falls CA

We enjoyed a family hike on Eagle Falls trail. The older boys complained at first, as is customary, but once we were on the trail they went up ahead of us and seemingly forgot we were watching them. It was pure joy seeing them talk and laugh together. These are the moments I wish I could tattoo on my heart.

Thing 1 Eagle Falls Tahoe CA

This guy’s smile has been melting my heart since 2000.

PicMonkey Collage Eagle Falls Hike CA IMG_2011

Truckee CA PicMonkey Collage Truckee CA

We spent and afternoon in Truckee meeting up and having pizza with an old college friend of mine.

Donner Lake CA1

Emigrant Musuem Truckee CA

PicMonkey Collage

After walking downtown Truckee, we headed over Donner Memorial State Park to learn about the Donner Party tragedy because, admit it, learning about people resorting to cannibalism to survive is fascinating.

Brent Thing 3 Instagram IG Lake Tahoe CA

It was a good two weeks and as much as we enjoy the snow, I have to admit I’d kinda like to see Tahoe in the summer and maybe we could swim in instead of walk on the lake!

Lake Tahoe at a Glance:

Where We Stayed:

RV Tahoe Valley CA

  • Tahoe Valley Campground–  The park was quiet (maybe because it’s off season), clean, and a great location within walking distance from stores and restaurants. It was about a 15 minutes drive to Heavenly Ski Resort.

The Highlights:

  • Snowboarding at Heavenly Ski Resort
  • Hiking Eagle Falls Trail in Emerald Bay State Park
  • Donner Memorial State Park
  • Downtown Truckee
  • Driving around the lake for the gorgeous views.

Where We Ate:

  • Best Pies Pizzaria in Truckee – We had the Best Pies Signature Pie and Pizzadilla. Both were really really good! The Pizzadilla is folded up like a quesadilla.
  • Blue Dog Pizza in South Lake Tahoe – I guess we like pizza. Not particularly memorable but certainly good.

Love and Laughter,
Jenn

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Christmas Before July – (Thing 3 Week 32)

My mommy is posting Christmas photos before July. It’s a miracle. It was my first Christmas. My big brother helped me open most of my presents. I got a piano,…

Christmas Collage 2014

My mommy is posting Christmas photos before July.
It’s a miracle.
PicMonkey Collage Christmas Mess CA 2014

It was my first Christmas.
My big brother helped me open most of my presents.

PicMonkey Collage Thing 3 Christmas morning 2014 ca

I got a piano, cars, a wooden zebra from my brother, and something called a rotary phone.
I’ve never seen anything like it.

BUT…
Thing 3 Trash Christmas 2014 CA

…my FAVORITE things were the boxes and paper.
All that paper!!!!!
I could have chewed on it all day.

PicMonkey Collage brent christmas 2014 ca

I wasn’t the only one who got presents. Daddy got coffee, pralines, and a Kindle.
(Daddy gets a little crazy for coffee.)

Thing 1 Christmas 2014 CA

My brothers kept opening cards with pieces of paper in them.
They guarded their paper like they do their computers.
Kinds selfish if you ask me. I just wanted to taste it.PicMonkey Collage Cat Unicorn Thing 2 Christmas CA 2014

My big brother did get this cool Evil Inflatable Unicorn Horn for Cats.
I’m not sure Meow Cow liked it all that much though.

PicMonkey Collage Crazy Christmas Pets CA 2014

He didn’t like his Santa Clause hat either but Nico didn’t really mind her antlers.
I wouldn’t have minded them either. They looked like they would be great to chew on.

PicMonkey Collage Pets Christmas CA 2014

Family Christmas 4 2014 CA

So apparently Christmas is AWESOME.
I can’t wait for the boxes and paper next year.

Love and Laughter,
Jenn

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Our 2nd Valentine’s Day in Orlando Florida

We didn’t plan it this way. It just so happened that we were in the same campground that we stayed at two years ago when we celebrated Valentine’s Day with other full…

We didn’t plan it this way. It just so happened that we were in the same campground that we stayed at two years ago when we celebrated Valentine’s Day with other full time RV families. The kids enjoyed exchanging Valentines and a scavenger hunt.

Vlanetines Day Balloon FLBuddies Valentines Day FLTeens Valentines Day FL Friends Valentines Day FLThing Two Valentines Day FL

 

Unicorn Valentines Day Box FL

We’ve been meeting all sorts of new people and enjoying reconnecting with “old” friends. The number of families here has at least doubled or possibly even tripled in the last two years.

The more the merrier!

Love and Laughter,
Jenn

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A Bittersweet Goodbye

The other day on our walk Brent and I saw blades of green grass bravely poking up through the ground where the snow had been waiting all winter. It’s amazing…

The other day on our walk Brent and I saw blades of green grass bravely poking up through the ground where the snow had been waiting all winter.

It’s amazing how fast the snow goes when it gets warm.

Kinda like life.

Heading up To Breck

It just seems like last week we drove up to our home in the mountains.

 We were uncertain and nervous of how we would handle wintering in the RV, would our California boys like snowboarding, and can we stay put for three months?

Leaving Breckenridge

Then, like the receding snow, the months passed, three became four, and we said a bittersweet goodbye to Breckenridge.

Empty Site Breckenridge

 And left behind a spot we called home for four and a half months.

A spot that will be filled with others who will make their own memories.

We came to the mountains to snowboard but left with so much more.

Christmas Morning 2012

We celebrated our first Christmas away from family and we survived by decorating the RV, making cookies and snowflakes,and visiting longtime dear friends.

Virginia Out of Hibernation

We were away the day our heater broke and had a scare with Virginia. We came home stone cold and frozen stiff little turtle. Thing Two (Virgina is his turtle.) and I sat on the couch sobbing hysterically crying trying to warm her little shell in our hands. I may or may not have prayed for her to come back to life. I mean if Jesus brought Lazarus back to life he can certainly revive a frozen box turtle.  😉 A few hours later she moved her legs. Shortly after that she said, “Enough already!” and went back into hiberation for a good 3 months. A few weeks ago she “woke up” and we’ve been enjoying her every day since.

In January, we enjoyed the International Snow Sculpture by day and night.

Hamster Snow Ball

There was plenty of fun for the kids in the snow.

Teva Review Colorado Trail Hiking with the Boys

The Colorado Trail ran nearby our campground where we could find a deeper solitude and an even more stunning view than the one out our window.

Jezebel and Thing One

Thing One got his first job walking a sweet dog named Jezebel. He referred to her owners as his “clients”.

And a million other moments of ordinary beauty and togetherness.

Fresh Powder Breckenridge

To top off an incredible winter God sent the powder fairy on our last day at the mountain.

Family on the Road

We came. We survived. We thrived.

(even in -20 degree weather) Jumping Nomads

And now we are moving on to the next adventure.

Love and Laughter,
Jenn

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