Going Home

We woke to snow! It was snowing so much, we decided we'd better skip going to church with the Corcorans and head on home while we could still get out. After a lot of slipping and sliding, we finally made it onto a paved highway. Our drive home was full of crazy weather. After the snow, we drove through heavy rain and two hailstorms. Quite the adventure with loads of fun memories.

Twain Harte

This morning, Loni and I watched a herd of deer leap past the cabin, disappearing into the nearby woods. Loni excitedly said, "They're going to see Santa!" HaHa!

In the early afternoon, we drove to our sledding spot, with the Corcoran's joining us. Today was colder and windier than the previous day. After exhausting ourselves and almost devouring an entire jumbo bag of Cadbury mini chocolate eggs, we ordered some pizza and had a party back at the cabin. Then our friends went on their way while we stayed in Twain Harte. Kirsten and I explored an old fashioned Pharmacy shop that had the BEST fabric selection. We easily spent an hour looking through it all. We finally settled on a couple of prints that Kirsten has a project in mind for. 

For dinner, we ate at The Rock, which is located in the quaint town. The food was delicious and everyone (including picky Loni) was happy with their dinner. After the little one's had taken baths and put to bed, Steven, Kirsten, David, and I continued watching Stranger Things (a Netlix series). It's a scary and suspenseful show, so when the lights in the cabin began to flicker and fade, then brighten, we were a little freaked out. 

This area is supposed to get snow tonight and tomorrow, so we will have to keep a close eye on the situation. We don't want to get snowed in.

Cork Haven

A couple of weeks ago, I told the family that for my birthday I wanted us all to drive to Lake Tahoe for the weekend to play in the snow and go sledding. Last week David and I began searching for an available cabin to rent. It was at this time, our friends, the Corcorans, invited us to stay in their cabin for free which is located in Twain Harte. We jumped on this offer and scrambled to be ready to go this next day (a week earlier than planned). 

A year ago, our friends moved to Sonora, so we were all excited to see them again. On our first day, our family found a fun sledding hill eight miles up the mountain from where we were staying. I quickly learned that sledding is exhausting fun. after a couple of hours, we were all wiped out. In the evening, we went to the Corcoran's temporary home for dinner. It was fun catching up with the family. Loni and Lena, Daveo and Daisy, and Kirsten and Emma picked up from where they left off as if they'd never been apart. Once night fell, we all drove a couple of miles to get a tour of the Corocoran's dream house that is under construction. Outside on their property, we built a mini-bonfire and chatted the evening away. 

Explorers

We felt like explorers today. Some of the older kids jumped in the Ranger with David and I to test the ponds' state of frozeness. The Beaver Pond was the only one solid enough to feel slightly comfortable walking on it. Even then, we stayed close to the banks where the ice was thicker. Every time someone ventured farther, the ice sent warning sounds in the form of cracking. Why is it fun to do scary things? Lesson learned from this: Walking on water takes a lot of faith even if it is frozen.

In the evening we watched a snow storm blow through the mountains, giving us all enough snow to build a legit snowman and have a decent snowball fight. 

First Snow

Shortly after waking up, it began to snow. Although it was only a light dusting, there was enough to dance in and make a mini snowman.

Dave-o threw up before eating breakfast. We couldn't tell if it was because he was hungry, or his calories were low, or if he had a stomach flu. Nightmares of a past reunion flashed before my eyes. I quarantined Dave-o and gave him my Kindle to watch Netflix while we waited it out. He never threw up again, but had a bad headache. I made sure he ate and drank and rested the remainder of the day.

In the afternoon, David and I took Loni on the Ranger to explore the mountainside and cut fallen trees that were blocking the road. I really don't see too much of the rest of the family as they are usually at the Shaws hanging out with their cousins.

Do you Want to Build a Snowman

We finally had a free weekend to go play in the snow. It's a race against the quickly melting snow.

We usually get a hotel in Auburn, but I asked David to get one right next to the slopes so that I had a place to take Loni for a nap or down time. However, we learned that checkout time at the Boreal Inn was at 11am. There goes that idea. We all spent Friday playing in the snow that surrounded the Inn. Dave-o took the high ground and loved sneaking up on Steven and David with snowballs. For dinner, we ate at a delicious Pizzeria in Truckee. 

Sleep didn't come to many of us. The Inn wasn't exactly the nicest accommodations. Plus, Dave-o was very restless. By 10am, Kirsten and Steven were on the slopes and David and I were with the younger two getting them outfitted for sledding. I quickly noticed the signs of Dave-o not feeling well. He was paler than normal, nauseous, and zapped of any energy. He couldn't even walk back to the car with me. I laid him down and David got the rest of the kids. We decided to head home because this was the worst we had seen Dave-o. I wanted to get him to a hospital. However, and couple of hours into our drive, he began to perk up and began to eat and drink. By the time we got home, he was normal Dave-o again. Only two more days till his doctor's appointment.