Thanksgiving in Lake Tahoe

We hope all of you had a restful Thanksgiving with friends and family! Since I'm not allowed to fly, and Kauai is on hold until after baby #2 is born, we splurged on 8 days in Tahoe over the break -- the longest time our little family has spent in one location other than our home.... ever! We rented a lovely, spacious cabin in Tahoe City (north Lake Tahoe) and had the pleasure of Grandma Kathy's company. Our days were spent reading, napping, taking walks, playing with Ronan, going for short drives, and eating. Our evenings were filled with cooking, more eating, and sitting by the fire. What a relaxing time! C and I even had a nice dinner out (a date night - wow!) at Plumpjack in Squaw. Weather was chilly - 30s and 40s - but no snow. We'll have to take Roni up sometime next year to build a snowman, and (dare I say) try out some skiing or snowboarding. :-)


In front of our rental cabin


Daddy and Fireman on the porch


Reading Harry Potter in the den, with dining room and kitchen in the background


The gorgeous kitchen






Strolling Tahoe City on an unusually warm day


What could be more picturesque than a playground by the shore of beautiful Lake Tahoe?! Ronan was very happy.


Grandma Kathy, Christian, and Ro


Brrrr.... back to the chilly days! This is Ronan "driving" the "lawn mower" in front of our cabin. We think it was really a portable snowplow.


More scenic shots of the mountains around Tahoe


Grandma Kathy with Emerald Bay in the background


Ronan still tries to wrestle the camera away from us every chance he gets, and his mischievous look in this shot shows how happy he is that he won. We save many of the pics he takes so that we can show him later on! They're quite funny since they show the perspective of someone 3 feet off the ground, with varying degrees of blurriness.


Mama and shutterbug Ro


This is a picture that Ronan took of his Grandma Kathy! It's cute!


Our adorable one in his new winter wear


More playground fun




There was a a truck moving sand from one beach location to another, which was, of course, completely enthralling for the Ronan.






Rolling dough for Christmas cookies!


Family pic on a cold, cold day


Ronan got the opportunity to sit in his very first, REAL fire engine! Talk about dreams come true. There was a very friendly fireman named Fireman Holm who let Ronan climb into the driver's seat, play with the buttons and steering wheel, and check out all the cool hoses and knobs on the side of the fire engine. He even got a free little fireman's hat to add to his collection. From this point on, ANYTIME was a great time for Fireman Time!!!


Gen and Mom Kathy in front of our little Thanksgiving feast. We had everything from a roast turkey to sausage stuffing to pumpkin pie. Mmmmm.


Another of Ronan's shots. This is him looking up at a sign that he can't see and the trees beyond.


Ronan took a LOT of pics while riding in the backseat of the car. Most were of the car roof, his shoes, or the back of his Daddy's and Popo's heads. He learned to turn the camera around for some frighteningly close close-ups.... This is one of the more recognizable shots. :-)


A funny "artistic" shot that Ronan took of Mama reading in the den....


Here is my big 7-month-pregnant belly and Christian's worried, "oh no, are we really having another kid?" expression. Haha! I love this pic. :-)


Happy