A Day of Fun On the Truckee River

Yesterday was another fun day of adventure here in Lake Tahoe!

We rented bikes from a cute little shop in Tahoe City, and took the day to ride along the Truckee River trail! The weather was perfect and the views were so beautiful.

At first, we figured out that we had taken a wrong turn because we were not by the river. So when we finally decided to turn around and go back by the river, we were by the most quaint and peaceful little outdoor church.

The pews were all lined up outside underneath the canopy of tall trees, and the church was open, so Gavin HAD to go exploring...

Can you see him in the window up there??

There he is!

After Gavin climbed down and we found our way back to the correct trail alongside the river, we stopped a few times to play in the water.

The water was very cold, but that didn't stop Gavin from taking his shoes off and crossing over!

It also did not stop little Kesslyn from trying to cross over either! But unfortunately, she slipped and fell into the freezing cold water up to her shoulders! She was SO SAD!!!

One good thing that came out of that little slip and fall though was a great lesson for Kesslyn about how she could do hard things!

I told Kesslyn how extremely proud I was of her and how brave she was because usually Kesslyn is our little worry wart, and today she had set all her fears aside and attempted to cross the river with her brother and sister. She didn't even hesitate!

When she fell into the water she was obviously upset because the water was so cold, but we talked her through it, and she decided that she could still try to cross the river as long as her brother and sister would help her. :)

And she did it!

I told her I was so proud of her and that she COULD do hard things, and that she is SO BRAVE!!!

From here on out Kesslyn can always remember this little experience and remember how she was able to overcome her fears and succeed at something that was hard.

She was SO happy to be able to be across the river with Gavin and Kambriella!

She was also SO happy that I happened to have an extra shirt tied around my waist so that she could take off her soaking wet one and put on something that was warm and dry. ;)

We hung Kesslyn's wet shirt across Clint's handlebars and told her that while we were riding that the wind would help dry her off pretty quick. And it did!

We saw some of the most amazing views while we were out riding along the trail...

Lots of fun places to see and explore...

We eventually made our way all the way down to the Olympic park where the winter Olympics were held back in the 1960's.

It was a pretty cool feeling when we came around the bend and saw those familiar symbols...it felt patriotic!

There was alittle playground there that we took a break at before heading back up the trail the way we had come to get back to where we needed to return our bikes.

When we got back to Tahoe City we took a few more pictures on this beautiful bridge...

It was absolutely beautiful, and I had such an extreme sense of gratitude for all of these wonderful experiences that I have been able to have with my family!

Kesslyn was such a trooper, and such a good little riding buddy to have on the tag-along!

I kept telling her over and over what a great team we made. :)

She agreed.;)

After we turned in our bikes, we stopped in the Tahoe Dave's beach shop and let each of the kids pick out something to keep. Kesslyn found a small St. Christophers surfing necklace just like Gavin and Kambriella's and she was so happy because she LOVES being just like her big brothers and sisters!

By this time it was after 4:00 and we were all starving because we rode right straight through lunch time! We asked the lady at the shop what place she would recommend for dinner and she told us The Bridge Tender, so that's where we went!

We had wings and garlic fries for appetizers, and all kinds of deliciousness for our dinner too!

That place was SO YUMMY! (Or was it just because we were all starving??  ;)

There was a nice lady that saw us struggling to take our own picture outside the restaurant, so she offered to take one for us. :) 

The Bridge Tender was a good one!

After having such a late lunch/early dinner, we were left with plenty of time to go back to the lodge for some more evening fun!

We worked out in the gym, and played a few games of pool.

(I beat Clint!!! ;)

We swam in the pool and soaked in the hot tub.

Clint and Gavin compared their muscles...;) ;) ;)

It was just such a really good day. I cannot even begin to describe how full of gratitude my heart feels...especially because there are so many people that I love that are going through so many hard things right now...I tell Clint all the time how grateful I am, and we pray everyday for all of those people that we love that are dealing with their own struggles...

We are very blessed, and I feel so lucky to be a part of this sweet family and to share this celestial mortal experience with each one of them. 

Thank you Heavenly Father for all of the experiences that make up each day, where we learn and grow with the amazing people that we love!

Memorial Day In Tahoe

Yesterday was a great Memorial Day here in Lake Tahoe!

 After spending a good part of our morning in our condo talking with our favorite missionary, Elder Trickett, we went out to the swimming pool to play, relax, and get some sun.

Today Dallin shared with us the tragic news of one of the missionaries in his mission, Elder Card who was killed in a bus accident that was hit by a semi. All of the missionaries had just gotten done serving in the temple when they got on buses to go home. Dallin was on the bus before the one that was hit...

It was such a sad story, but one that you cannot deny that God is in charge...We are praying for Elder Card's family, and for all of the missionaries, both in Dallin's mission and throughout the world.

After we all spent some time playing in the pool and sitting in the hot tub, we went into the pool house where we all did a little physical challenges in the weights room. Clint and Gavin also played a game of pool and ping pong. (Gavin won both games;).

Then we all went inside to get cleaned up, and we drove into the nearest town which is called King's Beach, where we had some yummy lunch. I loved sitting out on the patio surrounded by all of the tall trees! It is SO beautiful here!

Then we decided to go on an adventure and go exploring! We drove to Tahoe City and parked the car and walked the streets there. We walked through a local thrift shop, and then found our way to Poppy's for some ice~cream!

We walked through more shops and ended up down by the Lake!

There were some really neat monuments and historical landmarks to see while we were there too...

We threw some rocks down by the lake, and saw this really neat bear statue that was made out of coins!!! It was so cool!

By the time we were done walking around it was about time for all of the shops to close, and so we headed over to the grocery store to pick up a few things we needed, and then headed back to the lodge. We went down to the candy store and bought ourselves some treats for the movie we were going to watch!

The lodge we are staying at has a private theater that you can reserve for your family, and so that's what we did! We watched The Hobbit Desolation of Smaug on our own private big screen! It was SO COOL!

All in all it was a really fun day, and I'm just so grateful to be here with my family that I love so much! Sometimes it feels weird to have only half of our children with us, but I am grateful for the good things that my adult children are doing and how they are growing their own families and getting to experience all of the joys that come with that stage of life. I feel so blessed to have these opportunities with my children that are still under my wing, and I want to make the most of each day, and so that is what we are going to do!

 

Summer Is Here!

Guess what??? Summer is HERE!!!!!!!

Gavin, Kambriella, and Kesslyn all had their last day of school on Friday! (But only because I am letting them miss the last week of school, since they don't really do anything anyways...and we are taking our family vacation this year this week and going to Lake Tahoe!)

Look at these cute kids and how they have grown!

Above, Kesslyn's first day of 2nd grade, and below, Kesslyn's last day of 2nd grade!

Kambriella's 1st day of 8th grade...

...and her last day of 8th grade!

Kambriella's friend Kayla also came over on the last day of school to walk to the bus with her. ;)

And here is the biggest change! Gavin's first day of 11th grade...

..and (close to) Gavin's last day of 11th grade!

Gavin grew from a boy to a man this year! :)

These sweet kids are resilient and strong and I'm so excited that Summer is HERE!!!!!

On Saturday morning we loaded up our car (including the kids ;) and headed out of town. We passed the Salt flats, drove through Reno, and ended up at Lake Tahoe California!

It was about a nine hour drive, and once we got there we checked into the Northstar Lodge where we would be staying, and headed out to go see a concert that Clint really wanted to go see.

The concert was an all male a cappella country group named Home Free that was so fun to listen to! They had some crazy talent!!

Gavin and Kambriella were excited since it was a fun atmosphere, and they loved hearing the 2nd base singer rattle the room with how low he could sing! Also their beat boxer that gave them all the percussion sounds through his mouth was insane! SO talented!

They also got a kick out of watching the grandma in front of us that was rocking out in her chair...;)

Sunday was a beautiful and relaxing day. 

We slept in a little and then attended church at the King's Beach ward which was so tiny, but so full of the spirit!

I love that our church is the same everywhere we go, and that we feel a kinship to our brothers and sisters everywhere. After we got home from church we ate lunch, took a nap, and then decided to go and explore the resort that we were staying at.

They have a free gondola that you can ride all day everyday, as many times as you want, and so we hopped on it and took a ride to the top of the mountain.

Once we were at the top we walked around exploring and found lots of fun...

The trees are so big and beautiful and so are the pine cones!!!

At the top of the mountain was also the Ritz Carlton Lodge where we played bocce ball and horseshoes. You could walk onto the ski slopes up there if you wanted (although the skiing is closed for the season.)

I love how you can see everything so well from up in the gondola...all of the trees and all of the ski trails...

Once we were back down at the bottom of the mountain we explored the Northstar Lodge where we are staying...

They have a huge firepit that we warmed up at, and where you can also do smores if you want to...

They have their own little village with restaurants and shops too.

We had fun walking around and exploring the area.

We walked and talked and took lots of pictures before we headed back to our place where we had made a yummy dinner of BBQ ribs, ranch potatoes, corn, watermelon, and strawberries. We were all starving and it was SO yummy!

After we cleaned up dinner, we sat out on the patio by the fireplace and played some games together. It was a little chilly outside, but it was also so peaceful and beautiful. We loved listening to the birds sing to us while we played our games. It was a cozy night.

After that we went inside and watched a movie before we went to bed. I also filled up the giant soaker tub and took a nice hot relaxing bath. It was a nice Sabbath day and a great way to begin our week here in Lake Tahoe.

Today is also Memorial Day, and my sister Tiffany sent me this picture of my brother Kelly's grave. I have been thinking alot about my dad and Clint's mom too...we sure honor and love these people that we miss, especially those that served us in the military like my sweet Dad...

Happy Memorial Day!