Birthday Getaway: Reno & Tahoe

Joe and I have a tradition of doing a joint birthday getaway ever since 2012 (our first birthday together). The only exception was 2015 when I was less than one month postpartum. Here's a little walk down memory lane:

2012: Vegas (pre kids - bottom right)

2013: Santa Barbara (bottom middle)

2014: San Francisco (top right)

2016: Pinecrest (top middle)

2017: Reno/Tahoe (left)

As you can see, aside from 2012 when we didn't have kids, this was our first kid free birthday trip in a lonnnng time. Much overdue, you could say. Reno has been on our bucket list since we moved to Sacramento so that was the first stop on our getaway, followed by North Tahoe the next morning. 

We got to Reno around 10:30 in the morning and explored the "biggest little city" while killing time until we could check into our hotel. We lost some money gambled for a bit, hit up a buffet complete with mimosas, walked along the river, and gambled a bit more. Our hotel was called Whitney Peak and it's one of the few non-smoking, non-gambling hotels in the city, which I highly recommend if cigarette smoke is not your thing. We settled in and caught up on Game of Thrones (we're already behind again - #parentlife). Then it was off for dinner and a show. We ate more sushi than two people should possible be able to eat. I'm talking SIX rolls...and not small ones either. It may be awhile before we eat sushi again, but it was so, so worth it. Afterward we saw Cirque Le Noir, which is an acrobatic show with former Cirque du Soleil members. I think Joe said "Wow!" about a million times and I bit off all my nails, so definitely a must-see if you're in Reno. Afterward we wandered around sipping margaritas and trying our luck at the slot machines one more time (spoiler alert: we're not lucky). Even though she took most of our money, Reno was the perfect start to our birthday weekend. Scroll down for part two, Lake Tahoe.

Sunday morning we checked out bright and early and headed down to North Lake Tahoe (about 40 minutes away) for a kayaking adventure. I haven't spent much time in North Lake Tahoe, but after our visit I can already promise we'll be back. It is easily one of the most beautiful places I've ever been, and I'm counting Hawaii in that assessment. The water was the most beautiful clear turquoise right along the shore, and a deep dark blue that let you see all the way to the bottom of the lake further out. Being surrounded by pine trees, and snow capped mountains in the distance...it was too pretty to put into words and these pictures don't do it justice. Expert tip: get there early because the parking lot fills up fast in the summer and then you have to take a shuttle (thankfully we got a spot). We explored the rocky areas near the beach for a bit and then we got our kayak and paddled up the shore until we came to the wise conclusion that it was much easier to just let the lake take us where it wanted while we relaxed with our feet in the water, taking in all the sights. After a few hours and a very awkward capri sunburn on the bottom third of my legs we headed back to shore and reality. The only consolation to leaving was that we've already decided we'll be back with the kids. I could easily have spent a week right there at that beach and I know the kids will love it just as much. 

Thanks for following along on our birthday adventures! I have a feeling next year's will top them all since we'll be going to Germany for my sister's wedding. 

Declan's Birthday Weekend in Lassen Volcanic National Park

Declan is TWO!! And in true second child fashion he didn't get a giant birthday party, or a Disney trip like a certain four year old, instead he got a lake weekend getaway with just the four of us. I know it sounds like he got jipped, but there was water to splash in and that's pretty much his favorite thing in the whole world. Bonus points that he got Mack (from the movie Cars) and his day was made. 

We went to Lake Almanor, a new to us spot right next to Lassen Volcanic National Park. These pictures can't do justice to just how beautiful it was. We swam in the lake with bald eagles soaring overhead. We had an impromptu snowball fight while we were hiking near a secluded mountain stream. We saw hot springs, gorgeous sunsets, and several deer. The boys woke up excited to go swimming each morning and went to sleep exhausted at night. It was the perfect summer getaway and the perfect way to celebrate our little two year old.

We love you Decks!

Monterey Weekend Getaway

Hoping you're all experiencing a much healthier week than we are over here. Puking, coughing, fevers, the works. We're going through tissues and oj like it's our job and spending most of our time snuggling on the couch while watching Pixar movies. The extra snuggles are pretty much the best and only good thing about sick babies.

In between extra loads of laundry and rotating babies curled up on my lap I decided to take a trip down memory lane to a more pleasant, healthy time. Allllllll the way back to...this weekend ;)

My parents graciously offered to watch the kiddos (before they realized we were bringing the plague along with them) and Joe swept me away for a weekend to Reno. 

Wait, what? 

Well that was the original plan until the skies opened up and rained for weeks on end. It has seriously been almost nonstop rain for about a month now. Which means snow in the mountains. And since we don't have snow chains and didn't feel like driving through a blizzard we made a last minute change of plans and headed to the coast instead. Monterey to be exact.

First of all, let's appreciate how beautiful the drive was. It was about two hours from my parents' house to Monterey and somehow there was almost no civilization along the route. Just lots of gorgeous scenery and very unpredictable weather.

We got to Monterey in time for a late lunch and headed to the wharf for some amazing seafood and scenery.

Even though it looks like nice clear blue skies in those pictures a mini storm rolled in while we were eating and it was gray and drizzly when we walked out. We weren't gonna let it rain on our parade so we just grabbed an umbrella and wandered around the wharf enjoying the gorgeous views and looking for sea otters.

I was determined to see a sea otter after we just coincidentally happened to come across one in the river at UC Davis a few weeks ago and they're the cutest things ever. Every time I saw anything floating in the water I'd exclaim "Is that a sea otter??" Oh no...just a buoy. Or a duck. Or driftwood. Or seaweed. And then, FINALLY, as we were walking back to the car it was a real actual sea otter floating around right by the restaurant we'd had lunch at. We ran over to get closer pictures but it turns out we didn't have to rush because the cute little guy was just floating around trying to crack open shells on his chest for a lonnnng time.

After that dose of super cuteness we checked into our hotel, did a bit of shopping, and just relaxed watching Planet Earth and playing scrabble slam for a bit before heading out for dinner. Super exciting, I know, but getting to watch non-cartoons is a novelty when you're a parent.

Taking normal photos is not one of our specialties.

Sunday was also gray and drizzly but we stopped by the beach anyway. It was secluded and gorgeous with crashing blue waves and flowery sand dunes. Perfect beach weather if you ask me. We also drove through Cal State Monterey, which had some gorgeous views but was too rainy and spread out to walk through.

After that it was time to go home and see our babies, who were already well on their way to being sick by that point. But first Joe had to humor me and stop at several lookout points along the way. So many gorgeous views and so little time. Also, I should probably point out that we got really lucky with our timing because as of today a lot of those roads are flooded. This rain has been brutal and I hope all my California friends are family are staying safe and dry. 

Back to reality: