Truckee, CA Vacation: Days 5 & 6

Thursday morning we were back up on the mountain.  This time we drove up ourselves so we weren't tied to the bus schedule and we could return our skis on our way home. 

We ended up getting to Northstar around 10:00.  We got all our gear from Alpine Club and headed up the gondola.  The line was much longer this day since we didn't get there as early as the day before.

Our plan was to let Evan go on the magic carpet for most of the day since Shawn and I didn't think we could help get him on and off the lift ourselves.  Shawn hooked up the kids bungee cords and very quickly we realized the ones we bought weren't nearly as good as the ones the ski school used.  Without them Evan wasn't able to keep his skis in a wedge shape and therefore stop himself when he needed to. 

Evan was super bummed to not be able to ski, but Shawn sat out with him and they enjoyed some hot chocolate while Em and I went and took a run down the big easy.  Em did well without the bungees, but she was definitely more cautious than she was the day before.  After 1 run, I asked her if she wanted to move on to the village run and she said she needed 1 more trip on the big easy.  So back in line we went for the lift.  Unfortunately for us, about 3/4 of the way on the lift, it stopped.  There were only 4 chairs in front of us, but we could see that something had broken at the top.  So we sat on the lift and sat and sat.  After about 30 minutes of just hanging out, a snowmobile showed up and someone came to finally fix it.  By now it was warm on the mountain. . .high 40's, low 50's and we were sweating just sitting in the sun.  We were so glad to get off the lift.  We made our run down and I noticed it was almost 11:30!  Steph, Lauren and Leah were coming to meet us all for lunch at 11:30, so we rode down the gondola to meet them for lunch at the Alpine Club.

After lunch and hanging out for a bit, I asked Em if she wanted to ski anymore and she said she was done.  Honestly I couldn't blame her.  We had changed out of our ski boots for lunch and the thought of putting them back on and lugging our skis all the way back of the gondola seemed a bit daunting, but I would have done it if she wanted to.

We ended up heading out around 2:00 and made a pit stop in Truckee to return our skis.

In hindsight, I wish I had booked the kids in ski school each day we went.  I think with the family lesson, the kids ended up on the lift and greens way sooner than they would have in ski school.  I think ski school would have taught the kids more basics and of course then Evan would have been able to ski each day.  You live and learn.  Next time!

We got back to the house and waited for the Hendricks clan to get home from Northstar.  Once they did, Steph and Luke ran out to return their skis while Shawn and I stayed back with the kids.  When they got home, Shawn and Luke took the kids to the clubhouse to go in the hot tub and for some kids club time. 

Friday morning we packed up and headed back to Reno.  We had such a great time visiting with the Hendricks and I hope it won't be another 5 years before we see them all again!  All of the kids got along so well that I hope there are more vacations together in our future.

I sure am missing this awesome view!

Had to take another picture with the bear in the Reno airport.

Quick layover in Vegas on our way home.  

So the night we flew home, we flew right over downtown.  I noticed it was all lit up in SWA colors.  I had no idea that Herb Keller had just died, but it was really cool to see.  Of course I wasn't prepared with my camera to take pictures, but here's a pic we found online showing how it was all lit up.  

Truckee, CA Vacation: Days 3 & 4

Day 3 was New Years Day.  We all slept in a bit after being up late the night before.  After getting ready, Shawn and Luke took all the kids sledding at the golf course in the neighborhood.  They all had a blast!

After some sledding, we headed over to downtown Truckee for lunch, shopping and to pick up our ski rentals.

That night Steph and Luke cooked up a super fancy New Year's dinner of steak and shrimp.  It was delicious!  They even surprised us by bringing the bottle of wine we passed out at our wedding.  Unfortunately, it's not one of those wines that really gets better with age.  Ha.

sparkling apple cider for the kids!

Each night Steph told the kids whoever fell asleep first would win a prize.  Well, that was no challenge for Evan.  As soon as that kid hits the pillow he's out!

Wednesday morning we were all up bright and early to go skiing! Steph and Luke get access to the Alpine Club that is up on the mountain.  One perk is that they stored all our skis for us which was super nice because we got to wear our cozy snow boots on the bus and then just change into our ski boots at the club.  I remembered how uncomfortable ski boots were, but gosh I had no idea how much work it would be to get your kids ski boots on and help them lug all their gear around.  Shawn and I were both sweating before we even left the Alpine Club. 

Shawn, Emily and Evan have never been skiing before and I had only been once before, 14 years ago.  Since we were all newbies, I decided to sign us all up for a full day family private lesson.  We rode the gondola up to mid mountain to meet our instructor.

We started the day on flat land.  Our instructor, Bob, showed us how to put our skis on and how to get comfortable moving in them.  After about 20-30 minutes, we were on to the magic carpet and the bunny slope.  Bob attached bungee cords to the front of both kids skis to help keep them in a wedge.  On this hill he taught us all how to stop.  After about 30-40 min. of practice on this hill, we moved on to one of the lifts and a green run called the Big Easy.  It was super packed this day.  Bob said it was the busiest he had seen it in the last year.  Luckily with us having a private lesson, we got to go in a special lift line and skip most of the lines.  Getting off the lift seemed to one of the more difficult tasks and something both Shawn and I fell on a few times.  Bob led us down the run and both kids did really well.  Evan wore a vest with a handle on the back of it, so if he ever fell, Bob could help him back up.  Em was by far our quickest learner.  She was a natural!  Both kids loved going fast.  We continued to ride this one lift over and over, but each time, Bob would change up the path going down and we would have to follow him. 

By lunch time Evan was really starting to fade and I got worried he might not make it all day.  Luckily after a quick lunch, he was re-energized and ready to go.  2 more quick trips on the big easy before Bob took us on a different green run, the village run.  The great thing about the village run was that it was super long and you didn't have to take a lift up. . you could take the gondola up.  Now that's my perfect scenario.  :)

We all made our way down the village run and the kids and I loved it.  Shawn had a little more difficulty on this one, so for the second run, just Bob, me and the kids went.  Em and I skiied down ourselves the whole way, while Evan needed a little assistance from Bob when he fell a couple times.

At the end of the first day, Evan finished up a level 1+, Em was a level 2 and I was a level 3.  Shawn's card didn't read, so I'm not sure what level he finished up.  We were planning on trying to ski on our own the next day, so we before we headed home for the day, we stopped at one of the stores and bought the bungees to put on the kids skis.  After dropping our skis back off at Alpine Club, we headed for the bus.

We took the bus back to Steph and Luke's house and Evan passed out.  Skiing all day wore him out!

Truckee, CA Vacation: Days 1 & 2

A while back, one of my besties, Stephanie, invited us to come out and stay with them in Truckee, CA over New Years.  The kids had been asking to go skiing for a while, so we jumped at the chance!  Instead of telling them right away though, we decided to make it a Christmas present from us and wait and tell them then.  The kids were super excited once they found out and I couldn't wait!

We left bright and early the Sunday after Christmas. . .6:15 am.  We flew into Reno, but had to make 1 stop and change planes in San Diego.  We arrived in Reno around 10:30 CA time and after grabbing our luggage, drove 30 min. or so over to Stephanie and Luke's in Truckee.
 

I had hoped the kids would sleep on the first leg, but about 45 min. into the flight, they turned the lights on to do drink service.  And with that, all hopes of sleeping went out the window.

Good thing SWA offers free checked bags!  We had 5 suitcases + 1 car seat bag.  

There was a little bit of snow at the house and lots of open land with huge pine trees.  Evan had an absolute blast exploring!!  After Luke cooked lunch, we headed over to the clubhouse they get access to and we spent some time catching up.  The kids went to the kids club and me, Shawn, Steph and Luke sat in the restaurant.  When the kids were done in the kids club, they took a dip in the hot tub before we all headed back to the house to have dinner.  It was a relaxing way to start our vacation!

That's Northstar in the back.  You can see some of the ski runs.

Luckily after staying up late on Sunday night, we had all adjusted to CA time by Monday morning.  We took our time getting ready that morning and then headed to Northstar early afternoon to let the kids ice skate and pick up our lift tickets for later in the week.  It was cold this day, so we put the kids in their snow gear. 

After spending a couple hours up at Northstar, we drove back to get ready for the New Year's Eve party that night.   The clubhouse provides babysitting for the kids on NYE, so we dropped them off and then took the bus back to Northstar.   Steph and Luke get access to the Alpine Club at Northstar and each year they throw a NYE party for it's members.  This year's theme was a beach party.  That's pretty tricky when it's 9 degrees outside and there's snow on the ground.  In the end Steph and I decided that we would wear sundresses to match the theme, but we needed to wear uggs in order to keep our feet warm.  Lots of other people had the exact same idea.  I'm definitely glad we went this route since they had fireworks outside and I don't think I would have been able to stand outside in sandals. 

The club went all out with the beach decor!  They had sand all over the floor, shells on the tables and all the food was beach themed.  We had a great time, but by 10:30 or so, the time change and getting up super early the previous day were starting to catch up to us.  Since we missed the early bus, we opted for an uber and picked the kids up around 11:30.  We made it back to the house just in time to celebrate at midnight with the kids.