Lake Tahoe

Every summer, the Dease Family sets out on a vacation that we look forward to all year long. This year our destination was Lake Tahoe. 

The second we all pulled up to the cabin and opened the car doors, we were flooded with the fresh scent of pine that only the mountains can offer. 

The cabin was in a rural area, just a short drive from Kings Beach. We took lots of walks. 

And hikes around the neighborhood. 

The cabin was a perfect spot for us. Just look at this room! The cousins were so excited to sleep in these bunks. They stayed up way too late spying on the grownups and sneaking candy from the kitchen.

The cabin was so comfortable and made us all feel right at home.

One of the best parts was this huge deck in the back of the cabin that looked out to the lake. We watched the star filled sky at night here and spent much of our afternoon soaking up the sun and mountain breezes. 

One of the things the cousins looked forward to the most was horseback riding. (A very special treat from their Oma and Grampie)

Each of the bigs got their own horse, and went on an hour long trail ride. 

Taylor was too small for the trail ride, but she still got to ride a sweet horse named Little around the grounds. 

These two were SO happy! Emmerson couldn't stop talkng about their trail lead, Ashley and how that was exactly the job she wanted to do when she got older. 

Then of course, there were the days at the lake. The weather was perfect!

One of our favorite parts about the cabin that we stayed in, is that it came equipped with kayaks! We all took turns taking the two kayaks out on the lake. It was so relaxing and peaceful! This was one of my favorite parts of our trip.

There were tons of laughs and great memories shared. Thank you so much Mom and Dad for such an incredible vacation!

 

Lake Tahoe

Happy Day after the 4th of July, everyone! Did you all wake up as groggy as we did? We had back to back days of not getting the kids to bed until after 10:30! Donovan came down the stairs this morning with some serious bed head, crusty BBQ sauce mixed with dirt on his face, and the bottoms of his feet completely black. I would say those are all signs of a pretty awesome vacation. I am so sad that we are beginning to pack up today and head home tomorrow. 

Actually, true story, tomorrow marks our ten year wedding anniversary and we are spending it in the car with our entire bunch on a 8 (plus) hour car ride back home. If that doesn't say romance, I'm not sure what does. Ha! 

This trip has been AWESOME! I have seriously loved every second of it. One of our best highlights was getting up the mountain to Lake Tahoe. It's a fun family tradition and you just can't beat the gorgeous scenery that the mountains and the lake bring. 

This year the sweetest Grammie on the planet booked us a condo right by Zephyr Cove. The condos were in a picturesque location surrounded by green grass and trees and just steps away from the water. 

As soon as we parked the car, we headed straight out to the beach to check it out. 

Family selfie on the little dock in front of our condos. 

I pretty much wore Taylor for most of the trip. Poor thing barely made much of an appearance in our pictures except for the top of her head. 

On the first afternoon there Dustin and I took a drive over to the market and loaded up on all sorts of goodness. Since we were staying in such a nice place with a good sized kitchen to cook in, we took advantage of it and opted to have all of our meals in. I stuffed my face every night with Dustin's yummy grilled somethings... and the most delicious side salads.

 Day two brought us to good ol' Zephyr Cove. But this year it looked so different. Because of the crazy amount of rain/snow, the lake was so full and there was very little beach area to play at. The water was also pretty darn cold, but that didn't stop these two nuts from getting right in. 

 Surprise, surprise, munchkin and I cuddled the day away here. She rarely ever sleeps on me like this anymore though, so I had to take advantage of the sweetness. 

 The boys found a little bit of space to play catch. 

 I absolutely LOVE this picture of our three. Emmerson's booming personality shows for sure. Our poor girl actually got bitten by a big, yucky horse fly while we were sitting on the beach and she was grouchy for most of the day there, so I was happy to snag a picture of her silly face. 

Back at the condo, there were more walks, and more baby wearing. 

We went into town to walk around and get some ice cream. And for the first time ever, Dustin let the kids play mini golf in the center of the little shopping center. They ask every year and we always give them the ol' "We'll seeeeeee" which means no. Ha! They were delighted to spend a good chunk of time out here with their Dad. 

After another yummy dinner and a mellow night at the condo, the next morning it was already time to pack up and head back down the mountain. Here is Super Dad loading up the car. He's a pro by now I tell you. 

And we couldn't leave the Lake before pulling off to see our favorite trees in all of Lake Tahoe. 

And add some very important initials, too.