Getaway

The night before we left on our vacation, Eric and I had the chance to spend the night up at Tahoe.  That's right.  A whole evening with my husband and no little toddlers.  It was my first time away from the boys over night.  The timing was a little bit chaotic with trying to leave the next morning for vacation but I tried to relax once I was up there and just embrace the time with Eric.

I dropped the boys off in the morning with their Grammy and then dropped off the dogs with a family from church.  I came home to do some more packing and it was ridiculously quiet in the house.  I managed to get more done in 1.5 hours than I think I had gotten done in the previous two days.  The boys had gotten me a gift certificate to get my nails done (I am pretty sure their papa helped with that) for our wedding anniversary.  I tend to hold on to gift certificates for a long time but figured I should enjoy my time without the kids so I booked an appointment for a mani/pedi.  It just felt nice to have pretty toes and nails.  I forgot to take a picture of them all fancied up though.  Oh well.  I was just amazed that I had actually had manicured nails.  After that I drove up to the hotel to meet up with Eric.  He was already up there for a mining conference and I was excited to be able to join in for an evening.  There was a dinner and reception at a local, well known golf course called Edgewood.  Basically we just talked and mingled with other people attending the conference.  We would hear about what they did for their companies and then Eric would talk about what he does for his.  There were lots of other spouses and significant others there so it was a nice mix of non-business conversation as well.

On the charter bus headed to Edgewood for the dinner and reception.

Whistle.  Look at that good looking man.

There was so much food and it was all amazing.

Edgewood

  

I love him.

 

I would love to say that I slept soundly not having the little guys with us but alas I had a really hard time sleeping.  The last several months have been really hard with the sleep issue and since it was not my normal environment, it made it even more difficult.  The aesthetics of the hotel room were lovely but unfortunately it was really noisy so I had to use my trusty ear plugs.  I think that since we were leaving on vacation the next morning my mind was distracted with what I had packed, what we still needed to pack, getting the truck packed in the morning, etc.  We woke up in the morning and went to the breakfast buffet that the conference held and did some more mingling and networking.  Then we were off to pick up the boys from their Grammy and Grampa's house.  The boys did just fine and I know they were spoiled rotten while they were there. 

I think Tahoe was a good fit for our first night away from the boys.  It was so close by that I think knowing we could be back within a half hour allowed me to relax more.  The boys were just shy of eighteen months and were fully weaned. I think those were important milestones for me as a mama as well.  I am definitely thankful we got to have that time away together. 

Labor Day Weekend with Family

My dad and stepmom came to visit for Labor Day weekend.  We decided that it would be fun to spend another Saturday up at Tahoe.  It was windier that day so the boys were not as excited about being in the water.  It was still a nice sunny day however and as always the scenery in Tahoe was beautiful.

My parents had not been up to visit since the boys' birthday in March.  It was great having a three day weekend together because of the holiday.  It was still pretty hot during the day time so it really limited what we could do with the boys outside.  One night we went to a local park in the evening to let the boys run around and we also went to the capitol in Carson City and walked the grounds.  The boys simply love being outside and want to be around grass and trees.  Abraham can be pretty effusive with his "go, go, go!"

The entire weekend I was having a major blond moment because I kept leaving our DSLR at home.  Thank goodness for cell phone cameras!  All of the following pics are from my phone and several are Instagrams.  If any blog followers are on Instagram, please feel free to look me up.  My user name is clayfornoblepurpose.

It is always hard to say good-bye to family and after this most recent visit I think it was especially hard.  We had such a relaxing pleasant weekend and the boys are at an age where they attach easily to people. It was sweet seeing how they each loved being with their Grandpa Sid and Grandma Anne.

 

Tahoe and Family Fun

Hey all!  We have been on vacation for the last week. I have lots of vacation fun to write about but first I wanted to share about the end of summer fun we have been having.  We made the most of the end of summer and made a couple more trips to Tahoe.  We actually went two Saturdays in a row, once with Eric's family and then with my family when they were over Labor Day weekend.

Our trip in late August was a nice warm day and the boys loved being in the water.  They had so much fun splashing but we had to pull them out after a little while because that alpine water is still really chilly.

Mama and Abraham

Grammy with Winston, Papa with Abraham and Auntie Alicia

Auntie and Abraham

Abraham sipping on his drink and chillin' in his chair.

"Hey bubbas, can you look at Grampa?  He is trying to take a picture of you."

They love being buried in the sand.

Winston

Papa and Abraham

Papa and Winston

Abraham enjoying a cookie.

Mama and the Bubbas.

Abraham (left) and Winston.

Winston checking out his belly.

More mama and Abraham

 

We love that the boys are at an age where they really enjoy activities. I definitely look forward to more beach trips next summer.

Four Years

Photo Credit- Bobby Earle Photography

This past week my love and I celebrated four years of covenant marriage.  Every year when our anniversary rolls around it brings back a flood of memories.  I had to look through some wedding photos of course.

Since our anniversary was on a weekday, it was a normal workday for Eric and a normal day at home for me and the boys.  I did make Eric's favorite  meal for dinner however and we had a nice evening at home.  We exchanged gifts, talked about memories from our special day and where the Lord has brought us in the last four years. 

Keep back ladies!  He is all mine!

Our little romantic dinner after we put the boys down to bed. The angle is a little crooked because the camera was set on the kitchen counter with a potholder.  We are fancy like that.  Also notice my keen fashion sense in my velour sweat suit.

Celebrating our wedding anniversary over the weekend coincided with another special date from our past.  On August, 18, 2007, I was in Gardnerville visiting Eric and meeting his family for the first time.  He took me on a dinner cruise that night and told me that he loved me.  He said it was a promise for the future and had really thought about what it meant to tell that to me.

M.S. Dixie II dinner cruise--August 18, 2007.

First dance as man and wife.  We married just shy of a year of that dinner cruise moment. Photo Credit- Bobby Earle

We got to have a great day out together on Saturday celebrating two special days in our history.  A&W were left in the very capable care of their grammy and grampa.  We drove up to Tahoe, had a coffee and walked around the shops and acted like tourists.  Later we drove back down the hill and had dinner at one of our favorite local restaurants.  Again it brought a wave of nostalgia because we had a gift certificate for that restaurant that had been given to us by a dear friend of Eric's that passed away two years ago this month.  His widow had given us the gift certificates after Monty had passed due to a directive given to her.  Eric's friend Monty had wanted to thank Eric for helping him and his wife go to that same restaurant to celebrate their last anniversary before he passed away. His widow told us that if Eric had an issue with it then he would just have to take it up with Monty in heaven. Monty was in a wheel chair at the time of their last anniversary and Eric had helped get him all situated in the corner booth so that he and his wife could have their nice quiet evening together.  As providence would have it, when we arrived they sat us in the exact same booth.  We did not mention it was our anniversary or request a corner booth but that was how it worked out. Eric naturally felt a little overwhelmed when that happened and we discussed how it was all good memories that were bringing on the emotions. 

Our traditional "we are going somewhere" pic.

I love him.

This was our best anniversary yet.  We had so much to rejoice in--our beautiful boys, Eric's new job, my ability to stay at home with A&W, loving friendships and family and the list could go on and on.  Last year we were very new parents and still overwhelmed with adjusting to life with two babies.  We are loving this stage though and are so excited for the years to come.  I can only imagine what God could do in our lives in forty years.  He truly delights in giving His children good things and we praise Him for it. 

Day at Tahoe

We had a lovely day at Tahoe over the weekend.  This past week, Eric and I discussed how the summer was flying by and how we had not spent a day at the lake yet.  It was the boys' first time playing in the sand and water there.  Eric's family joined us as well and it was a great outing.  The weather was perfect with the temperature being about 80 degrees (which is about 15-20 degrees cooler than the valley where we live) and the wind very mild.

We are loving this age and how interactive the boys are.  It is a wonderful as a parent to see your children experiencing new things and to be so excited about everything around them.  Hopefully this trip will not the last before the summer is over.  Enjoy the pics.

Cascade Lake

We had a busy weekend with a graduation and birthday party.  The boys had so much fun yesterday afternoon that they completely skipped their afternoon nap.  Fortunately there were no melt downs but I am not thinking I want to over extend them like that too frequently.

Today was much less frenetic and we got to enjoy the great outdoors.  It was windy yesterday but today was nice and warm.  After church we headed up to Cascade Lake which is right near Lake Tahoe.  Our friends' landlords have a small cabin on the lake and we were invited to spend the afternoon there. Eric's parents' also came and we had a nice family day.  Since there is only access to the lake through the landowners, it was quiet and peaceful.  It was absolutely beautiful and serene.  I am amazed at how we can drive such short distances and feel so far from the rest of civilization and in the middle of raw nature.  The boys LOVE being outside and were all about playing in the dirt.  Abraham and Winston are becoming such big boys learning to walk and exploring everything around them.  Our little guys actually turned fifteen months old today so I will be doing their monthly post this week. 

For now enjoy some pictures of the fun.  I will also post some cell phone pics later this week.

The adorable little cabin.  Eric is on the balcony with Abraham.

A sweet little rock pier in front of the cabin.

Winston was having a high old time digging around in the dirt.

 

Mr. Abraham was such a wiggle worm that it was hard to get a decent pic of him.

I thought this was funny because it looked like a cigar.  It was a little pine stick.  Eh, it's good for his immune system, right?

Walking around and digging in the decomposed granite.