It Took a Village

We spent the past 3 days in Lake Tahoe for Doug's family reunion. It happens every five years in August. We missed the last one due to the delivery of our now 5 year old. Nate will forever be our calendar reminder!

I couldn't be more grateful for this past weekend. It was a relaxing, fun filled three days. I came home feeling refreshed, and even ready to tackle organizing our hall closet. (It must have been the fresh air.)

We stayed in a three bedroom condo in the Northstar Village ski resort. Both Doug and I fell in love with the Village and all the activities that we could do with the kids. We decided to make it an annual vacation every Summer, but extend our stay for the week. We still have a lot of activities to check off our "To-Do" list.

1. Swim - Check
2. Make Smore's at the Fire pit - Check
3. Eat pizza while watching a Summer concert - Check
4. Eat a churro (or 2-3) from the village vendor - Check
5. Hike
6. Mountain Bike (Maybe in 5-10 years)
7. Take the Gondola to the Ritz for a spa treatment. (Well, that's on MY to-do list.)
8. Roller skate in "Ice Rink" (On Nate's list)
9. Watch a movie under the stars
10. Rock Climb (Eternally on Jack's list.)

Doug's cousin Ginnie and her family stayed in the condo as well. Nate and Jack loved hanging out with Seve and baby Natalie. (Who by the way is a perfect baby.) Warning: Do not babysit her if you are thinking about having kids. She is not your typical baby. She NEVER once cried all weekend. You will feel lied to when your baby keeps you up at night with colic. You will spend time day dreaming about that baby you held who never made a peep. How do you order one of those???? Luckily for us, we already have two kids so we know the truth, and we know baby Natalie cannot trick us in to having a third! (In the words of Nathan....NICE TRY.)

  

One of the highlights of the weekend was the impromptu dance party in our living room. The boys were feeling the groove to the ever popular "Old McDonald Had a Farm". Then when the iPod broke, (or someone kicked it off the speaker) they held a think tank meeting to figure out the problem.

  

Some other notable events for the weekend:

  

• Nate playing catch with Doug's Aunt Cookie. He thought it was hilarious to throw a fast ball in a casual game of catch. His laughter was contagious. Sorry Aunt Cookie. Maybe his training will pay off in the big leagues one day.

•  A family BBQ at the beach, courtesy of Doug's Uncle Rick and his family. Nothing better than a traditional bbq on a beautiful beach!
• A family photo of 50+ people, all in the same shirt! (Nate wore his two days in a row, because of the number 3 on his back.)
•  Yummy dinners at the Galea's, and in the Village restaurant. My kids actually ate at both!
• Putting the kids to bed and staying up with Ginnie and Saxon, and a bottle of wine!

 It took a Village to bring on calm, laughter, and well behaved children. Since all three were achieved you can see why we want to make this our annual Summer vacation home!