Best In Snow

January brought about many things...inspiration for knitting, soups and stews, cozy quilts, a visit from Val, and a trip to Tahoe. Mason's first trip to the snow. What could be more winter or January than that? Mason, Val, and I arrived in Tahoe expecting freezing cold temperatures, but were pleasantly surprised. It was January 18th and it had been cold, single digit cold. Luckily for us, it was cold, but more of a Sacramento cold, than a Tahoe cold. We unpacked and settled in for an evening of movie watching, a.k.a. Val and Jen's naptime. After sleeping through our movie, it was time for bed.

Friday morning the adventures began. Mason and I walked as Val went for a run. It was such an amazing day out. Warm enough for Mason in his bear suit.


He hung out in the Bjorn as we walked and snuggled in for a nap as Mom misunderstood the directions and took us on an unplanned detour throughout Incline Village. The plan was to walk along the lake and end up meeting Val at Starbucks. Between the beautiful view, the amazing fences (more on that in a moment) and not realizing exactly where I was supposed to turn, I was distracted and lost track of the time.

Ever since the Winnebago fiasco, I notice fences everywhere.



It's like when you are going to buy a car and all you notice on the road is that car you want, or when you are re-roofing your house in the blazing heat of the Sacramento summer and all you see are rooftops and crazy roofers melting on tar papered rooftops as they work during the hottest part of the day. Okay, maybe you relate to the car thing more, but you get the idea. Now, for me, it is fences here, fences there, fences, fences, everywhere!


In Tahoe, the fences are quite a sight to see. Beautiful ones are in abundance so many a photo were taken.



After I snapped out of my fence-nosis, I realized I probably had been gone a while and should maybe think about motoring over to meet Val at the Starbucks. Misunderstanding the directions, I turned back to head to the coffee shop. At the time, I didn't know I was misunderstanding it all. That realization wouldn't come until the next evening's walk...I knew where the coffee shop was, I just didn't know there was a faster way to get there. So we walked and walked and walked. When I arrived I asked if they remembered a "Val" coming in for coffee. They looked at me like I was crazy. I thought, Val is an uncommon name, I didn't think it was that weird of a question until I realized that they didn't ask for your name when you order at that Starbucks. Feeling a bit silly we headed back home to find our "Famous Val".

Friday evening brought Mark, Leslie, Garrett, Abigail, and Josh for dinner. We enjoyed a home cooked meal and a few too many warm, homemade oatmeal cookies. We all headed to bed with full bellies and visions of snowmen dancing in our heads. (Cheerleader snowmen according to Abigail.)

Saturday morning. Snow Day. Well, the warmer temperatures were perfect for outdoor adventures with a 3 month old, yet not so perfect for an abundance of snow. We wished Val well as she went in search of skiing and after many a minute reorganizing and wrestling with all the carseats, set off with The Wriston Clan in search of a snow park. We we all piled in and ended up on the Mount Rose Highway with a beautiful view and a great spot for sledding and snowman building.



The snow was a bit icy, but that would not stop them. They worked as a team to build the snowman.



Mason was more interested in eating than icy snowmen, so we hung out in the car for a bit and watched all the action.




After his lunch, he was ready for the white stuff. Here he is, of course mom thinks he is indeed the winner of the title



"Best in Snow!"



Family Photo







There were a lot of "firsts" for Mason that weekend including his first slide.



We look forward to many more visits to Tahoe in the future. Until then, we shall enjoy its beauty in pictures.