Beautiful Lake Tahoe

So I know what you are thinking...ANOTHER trip?  And what I'm thinking is...can we go AGAIN?

Even though we just spent a long weekend in Jenner, we decided we needed to get away and spent 5 days in Tahoe City.  It was absolutely gorgeous.  I mean, the lake, the house we rented, the weather, it was all gorgeous.

We rented a house just north of Tahoe City.  The house had access to a private beach, which we took full advantage of.  We were there in the middle of the week so we pretty much had the beach to ourselves.  Rare for us who usually go to the coast to enjoy some beach time which is normally packed full of people, regardless of the day of the week.

(That's Lydia in the baby carrier)

Ella had received a kite as a present the week prior to our vacation, and boy did she have fun flying it on the beach.  It only took one time of her letting go with it in the air to figure out not to do that.  Luckily it hadn't gotten too high yet and I was able to chase it down the beach.  She had a blast and was flying it all by herself in no time.

We invited my parents up to enjoy the house with us and spend some time with the girls, which the girls LOVED.  And Dan and I managed to get another bike ride in.  I was pretty scared when we left that i wasn't going to make it far because of the altitude, but we made it all the way to Squaw and back, 18 miles round trip.  Not too bad, I say!

The house was perfect for us, it was HUGE.  It had four bedrooms, three bathrooms, an amazing kitchen with TWO dishwashers (who knew what a luxury that is??), a play area filled with toys, books and puzzles in the loft, and a landscaped backyard.  What more could we ask?  Oh yeah, I know, WHEN CAN WE COME BACK?

Summer Fun

Summer has officially started in the Blomquist household!  We have been busy visiting with friends, swimming, going to festivals and hanging around the house...

Last weekend, my college friends Nikki and Michelle came up with Michelle's daughter Corinne (20 months) for a visit.  Elanor had a blast with Corinne showing her all her toys.  Corinne particularly liked the princess tea set and play kitchen.  I think being a princess is just about what every little girl likes to pretend to be.  In between toys, we tried to have the girls pose for a photo. With two toddlers, that's almost impossible...but i think we got a good one.

Nikki and Michelle then left to visit some other friends in the area, but on Monday, we met up with them again and went to Danville to see another college friend, Giana, and her two daughters Adelina (20 months) and Maven (5 weeks).  When we thought getting two kids to pose for a picture was difficult we had no idea what was in store for us when we would try five kids.  Needless to say, that didn't happen, but we did get a nice shot of the three big girls...Ella, Corinne and Adelina.

It was a scorching 95 degrees here yesterday, and so we set up the pool for Elanor for the second time this year.  She had a blast playing putting every single toy she has in the pool with her.  We even put her slide into the pool and what a blast that was.  It's so funny to see her say, "I'm gonna do it", "no, I'm  getting down", "i'm gonna do it", etc.  This normally went on about 4 or 5 times until she actually did go down the slide...She was excited each time she did it, but then got nervous for the next time...so cute!

We tried sticking Lydia's feet into the pool...she was not a fan.  But she really liked watching her big sister from her Daddy's lap...

And we took Elanor to her first parade at the Fairfax Festival.  OK, so Fairfax is an interesting town, we love it, but it is definately quirky.  They have this made up "holiday" that they celebrate every year with the Fairfax festival.  Actually, I don't know if they consider it a holiday, but everyone walks around for 2 days saying "happy festival".  That makes me think it's a made up holiday...I mean, the only ever times you do that is when you say "Happy Easter", or "Merry Christmas"...

Anyways, back to Elanor, she loved the parade!  She got so excited to see each float.  We also went to see a children's singer who was performing at the festival, Tim Cain.  OH MY GOSH.  Who cries from watching their daughter dance, sing and have so much fun...well...apparently I do!  I have never seen Elanor interact with other children (stranger children) like she did at this performance.  She was dancing and singing on stage without us up there!  She was running around with the other kids!  It was amazing...

Writing this makes me realize how busy we have been lately.  Ella got her first big girl bed last week!!  In preparation for the new bed, she got to pick out her own new big girl sheets and bedspread...guess what she picked out...no surprises there.  And yes, they are actually bigger than she is.

Since Ella got a new bed, Lydia got the crib set up for when we are ready for her to leave the bassinet.  Although she is still sleeping in the bassinet, she did manage to take her first nap in the crib.  Doesn't she look so peaceful.

And the most difficult part of the last week has been me going back to work.  OK, so I'm not actually back to work full time, but I am working 1 day a week to help out now.  Actually, I look forward to the interactions and conversations with adults, even if it is about work, but it is so hard to leave the girls in the morning.  This is a picture of us at daycare on Lydia's first day.  Elanor really liked having her sister there, Lydia slept most of the time, so I guess I shouldn't be too sad.  But man, no matter how well you know the people (we love you Jodi & Claire), its hard to leave the girls.

And dropping Lydia off for the first time had me in a nostalgic mood, so i dressed Lydia up in the same outfit as an old picture of Elanor.  Can you tell which is Lydia (12 weeks) and which is Elanor (16 weeks)?