**WARNING - THIS IS A LONG ENTRY!!**
Naysan, Kian and I got to go to Lake Tahoe with my mom and Ray again this year. Ray's family has a long tradition of going there over the 4th of July holiday, and this is the second time we have been able to join them.
It is so beautiful there, and Kian, Naysan and I had so much fun, that I couldn't resist posting a lot of pictures, so this will be an extra long entry. I'll try to keep the captions short and sweet to make up for it....
Here we are flying to Reno, where Mom picked us up.
Kian enjoyed the flight on a whole different level than last year! We also learned that it's not a bad idea to book one of us next to him, and the other in the seat in front of him rather than all in the same row. That way, its one of us getting kicked in the back instead of an innocent bystander, PLUS we can trade off when one of us needs a break from tap dancing to keep the poor kid entertained. (He's not exactly patient about remaining strapped down in his seat for any length of time these days, and it takes a lot of energy and ingenuity to keep his mind off it.)
Here are Naysan and Kian on the tarmac in Reno in front of our sweet prop plane:
Once we made it to the condo in Incline Village, Lake Tahoe, we all got to stretch our legs. It felt great to step out of the car and breathe the fresh air!
Did I mention that it's beautiful?
One of Kian's favorite things to do anywhere is throw stuff in water and hear it go "plunk"! The
condo complex where we stayed has a stream that runs through it, and there is a nice little bridge that is perfectly situated for throwing stones and sticks into that stream.
Here Kian is with his daddy on the bridge. Notice the sticks and stones he is carrying....
After he had thrown everything he had gathered, he would run back to his little rock quarry by the barbeque to get another cache!
Of course, it's even more fun to actually go down to the stream and throw things into water up close.....
We had to hold him back or he would have gone wading in to the mud, shoes and all.
Down by the stream there are more sticks and pinecones to gather than stones....
It's all good, as long as it makes a splash!
Click here to see a movie of Kian having fun by the stream:
He could have kept doing this for HOURS. He was a happy boy!
The next day we went to this nice little beach in Incline Village called Burnt Cedar. It is set up for children and families to spend the day there, with pools, a cafe grill and a playground as well as the beach itself. Kian really enjoyed - you guessed it - throwing sand and stones in the water!
Here he is scoping his terrain for potential missiles...
Collecting his ammo....
And throwing!!
See the splash?? So gratifying!
Sigh.... I love this kid!
The water was on the icy side of brisk, but you'd never know it to look at all the kids wading and swimming.....
It was really cute to see all the daddies playing too. If you look closely, you can see there are several similar-looking pairs in these shots!
After Kian's core temperature finally dipped low enough to where he was ready to come out, we dried him off and fed him a snack by the playground area.
He really enjoyed going down the spiral slide!
After all the fun, he was definitely glad to back to the condo for a little milk and a rest.
The next day Naysan and I went on an outing while Kian took his nap and Mom watched him.
First we went on the same hike we'd taken last year with Brooke and Veda and Dutch. It was just as beautiful as we remembered, but a lot easier without 20 lbs of baby on my back!
This is what the trail looks like once you get onto it from the fire road:
And then the lake peeks through the trees.....
This is another lookout point. You can see there was still lots of snow on the mountains, even in July.
We really enjoyed our hike!
Afterward, we went to the Lone Eagle Grill at the Hyatt on the north shore for a special lunch - still just the two of us. We couldn't remember the last time we had been out for a meal by ourselves, so it was a special occasion for us to get to go on a "date".
The food was great, and so was the company. The view wasn't bad either!
Later that afternoon, we went back to Burnt Cedar Beach with Kian and his Grandmommie. This time we went to the pool! They have a special heated one for kids under 5. Kian wasn't too sure about it at first, but then we remembered we'd brought a ball that he could - yep, you guessed it again - throw in the water! As soon as he realized that, he had a blast.
"Plunk in the water, plunk!"
Kian really had a lot of fun on this vacation. He adored the beach, the playground and the pool, and he also had a great time just walking around the forest near our condo complex.
There was so much to see and explore!
He got to work on his climbing skills....
... his balance skills....
... and his throwing and running skills!
(click here for some pinecone throwing action)
(and click on both of the below for great footage of Kian laughing and running through the forest)
Best of all though, he got to spend lots of wonderful quality time with his mother, father and grandmother.
We had a great trip.
Thanks Mom and Ray!
(But it's always good to come back home again, too.)
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