We had many discussions about going to Tahoe this year. With the attic project, we seemed to be running out of time very fast. It was decided to not go to the snow…but, I wasn’t sure I was happy with that decision. Therefore, a bit more discussions and we decided to squeeze in Tahoe and make the most of it. The plan was to leave on Monday morning. I was out doing our Shanghai buying when Jim called to say he and Emersyn decided we are leaving tonight. We threw things in the car and left an hour later. The drive was fast on a Sunday evening.

We arrived at the house at 11:00pm. The girls grabbed the sleds and started sledding down the stairs. They only took time to find gloves after their hands were too cold. They had a blast sledding while we unpacked the car.

Eleri was eating the fresh snow!

After midnight, I called the girls in from the fun. Eleri still needed to find ski gear for the next day. Since we packed in less than an hour, I just threw the ski gear that I thought might fit in the bag. Now, we had to determine what actually fit. Of course, the pair she wore two years ago no longer fit. She wore this pair one day and then Emersyn broke her leg and we drove home. Good thing Jennifer gave me a pair of Sophie’s old ski pants as they fit perfectly. An old ski jacket of Emersyn’s was another perfect fit. We checked the closet for the ski helmets to find the one she wore last time – the head is not growing as fast these days. She was set to go off with Dad the next morning!

Monday morning, Jim was up early as he wanted to be at the slopes at 8am. They needed to rent ski equipment and it is best to get there before the crowds. I helped Eleri get all geared up.

Jim and Eleri had a great day skiing. The weather was in the 30’s with the sun shinning. Eleri skied all day until around 3pm. At that time, Jim feed her a hot dog and a hot chocolate.

Emersyn was not skiing since she had surgery this past summer. Terri, Grandma, Grandpa, Emersyn and I went to Tahoe City to do a little shopping. We decided to take Grandma & Grandpa to the Nevada border to do a little gambling. We shopped in new places along the way which was fun.

We had dinner at home followed by smores! The girls love roasting everyone’s marshmallow.

It was New Year’s Eve, but only the girls, Terri and I stayed up to watch the ball drop.

Tuesday morning and New Year’s Day. Eleri did not want to ski as she wanted to play in the snow. Jim had made the sled run down the side of the house last night. Jim took off to ski by himself. He hasn’t had a full day of black ski runs since Emersyn was born twelve years ago. In addition, he reported the slopes were empty. He skied down the run and was able to get on the lift with no lines. He skied until 3pm at which time he was exhausted.

Eleri was ready to go out to the snow by 10am. She put on her gear and grabbed the sled to hit the snow. She did not want to wait for Emersyn. Emersyn had to find ski gear, yet. Of course, Emersyn’s pants did not fit. So I gave her mine. My pants probably don’t fit anyway as they are over 10 years old…I have put on a few pounds in the past 10 years. About the time we had Emersyn dressed, Eleri popped back in. She had snow down her back. I button up her ski jacket the proper way to keep the snow out and she skipped back out the door. Terri went out to play with the girls while Grandma and I cleaned the house.

The girls came in around 2pm for lunch. After feeding the girls, we packed the car. By the time Jim arrived at the house, we were about ready to drive down the mountain. We did hit terrible traffic coming out of Tahoe City all the way down the mountain. It took us 3 hours to go what is normally 1.5 hours. We arrived at Auburn to grab In & Out dinner and for Jim to get on a conference call.

It was a quick trip, but everyone was glad we went to play in the snow.