Thursday, July 17, 2008

I lied...

...all that talk of staycations, and we went and snuck away for a real family vacation to Sacramento & Lake Tahoe.

Sorry in advance for yet another travelogue, but this is for our distant relatives who like to see zillions of photos!



1st Stop - Sacramento

You know ANY vacation is off to a great start when your first stop is Leatherby's - Home to the world's most delicious and destructive ice cream sundaes!

We did some serious damage here. Troy got his favorite...I think it's called something like Daddy Dave's Delicious Die-before-you're-sixty Diet Destroyer sundae.
He dreams of it in his sleep.



Jack's no dummy. He knows a good thing when he sees one!


and Troy's brother, Todd, is no dummy either. He knows the way to any two year old's heart is through a spoonful of ice cream. He has favorite uncle status now!

Things got a little sloppy.

Then it was off to the Great Grandparents' house for more sweets in the form of hugs and kisses!

2nd Stop - Lake Tahoe

Up the hill we went with my family to take advantage of the best deal in accomodations, EVER!
So good, that I am dedicating an entire post below this one that will reveal all the secrets to this deal!

We stayed at the Marriott Timber Lodge. It was gorgeous!

There we enjoyed the company of Papa and Grammy Sessions and my brother Garrett and his cute family.


Two days were spent at the beautiful Sand Point beach.

We jumped off rocks. Pictures are not yet available of my double back aerial twist, but here is Troy mid swan dive.

and my bro...

Grandparents rock! They watched the kids while we played like kids. Thank you!




We kayaked sans lifejackets. Again...please don't call CPS on us irresponsible parents.

Just a cute picture with not- so-cute sandy snot running out of his nose and onto his cookie.

At the end of the day we strolled back into our luxurious hotel looking like this...W.T. (or T.W. as the photo shows) Jack in only a diaper and lucy smooshed under piles of beach gear. Honestly, this pile is NOTHING compared to the amount of stuff we piled up on other days.

Look closely. There she is...the poor neglected child. Disclaimer: No limbs were lost in this transport.

I took some VERY, very romantic pictures of Garrett and Mindy on the dock.

Then I noticed my brother was revealing a little surprise for me. Way to ruin the moment with some crack!

To top off the trip, we took a gondola ride to the top of Heavenly Ski mountain. Beautiful and steep. Very steep.

We returned to a garden full of tomatoes! Do you want any?

*** Afore mentioned travel secret coming soon. I can only do so much in one day, people. ***

15 comments:

Berta said...

HOLY COW! . . .that was a great post - loved the pics of the fam. What a GREAT trip. Thanks for sharing.

sheena said...

ok I cannot get over poor lucy under all that stuff--oh well....she'll never remember.

you are such a super model!

The McLaws Clan said...

Wow, I can't believe a family member, that I'm even related too, does "Crack". What a redneck! It looks like you had a ton of fun at the Timberlodge in Tahoe. I can't believe that you didn't take advantage of me and my discounts there, if it was available. Those are the places that I can get discounts at. Well, maybe next time. We hope to come see you guys soon. We are having a boy in September so it may be later then we think, but it will be soon. We miss you guys!

Amy said...

Crack is whack!

Great pictures, it looks like you had a great time!

Unknown said...

I am almost in tears I am so jealous. You two look great & like you've lost weight both of you. I am so glad you got some family fun in!!!

ali said...

oh please jesse, who I am assuming is heather. we haven't lost weight. I just had to rummage through many photos to find the most flattering and attractive. don't worry....i'm still substantially proportioned!

Marie said...

I had to zoom in for the crack. I loved it!

You look so beautiful in all your photos. Please forget the travel secret and tell me your beauty secrets. How do you know how to look so gorgeous all the time?

I want to swim in freezing lake Tahoe too. I miss California!

Blackburns said...

I loved all the photos. How do you get 4 or more pictures to post in a square? You will have to tell me sometime. Glad you had fun. The high cost of traveling hasn't stopped us either. Its frustrating but we love to visit family.

kelly said...

Ok, I had tears streaming down my cheeks laughing at that crack! I don't know why, but that really struck a chord with me! SOOO FUNNY!

Your vacation looks fabulous, and you look HOT :).

Lori said...

I was cracking up (no pun intended) at the pictures of Garrett.

The ones of Lucy made me smile. (I am relieved that we aren't the only parents who have creatively packed around the baby for these types of excursions)

Loved the pictures! We go to Tahoe more than anyplace for a fun getaway.

Amy said...

I love each and every on of those photos and how do you get your bangs to swoop just so? Can't wait to talk to you. I got your message 6 hours too late. We went out on a DATE! We got our first real babysitter and everything.

Oler Family said...

What a fun trip!!! I love that you are doing W.T. backwards that just seals the W.T!! What a huge sundae...that would be worth the trip alone!!

Ben and Shara said...

Hey we just got back from Sugar Point. Which is very close to Heavenly ski resort. Where is the MArriot? and please do tell what the secret is??

Lori said...

I forgot to add that my favorite picture was Troy's swan dive. lol That was awesome!

SUMMER said...

Oh my! That is FUN FUN and I must say that I am jealous. We will still just be staycationing here the rest of the summer.. glad you had a great time and that Ice cream is the biggest thing I have ever seen.