Tahoe adventures

When we decided to move to St Louis, we agreed to spend a month every summer escaping the smothering humidity in California. We started our first annual trip with a bang during a July 4 weekend trip to Carnelian Bay with three of the families we miss the most.

We bought a long weekend at a huge house at the Restore Hetch Hetchy fundraising auction in 2013. The house is on the shore of Lake Tahoe in Carnelian Bay and sleeps 18. We were joined by the Haberlachs, Binkerts and Franklin-Colers.

Athena and Lila at the table.

We had some difficulties in the first few days with 17-month-old Helen fighting a bug of some kind. She was fussy and grouchy, the opposite of her normal smiley self. Early Friday morning her fever peaked at about 104.5 and Nathan took her to ER in Truckee. The doc there determined that she didn't need any meds and said she should have Tylenol and Motrin to keep her comfy and she would get over it. She got pregressively better in the next few days and was giving everyone smiles and giggles every hour she wasn't asleep.

Helen spent a lot of time laying like this on Daddy, and some times falling asleep on this couch.

Friday midday she got some healing Vitamin D in a canoe ride with Mom, Amity and Arthur.

She fell asleep bent over in the canoe shortly after this.

The Binkerts brought four different rafts and canoes; the Haberlacs and Franklin-Colers brought some too, and much time was spent floating and paddling around the bay.

Amity and Arthur on our little paddling outing. 

Sunset from our backyard.

Marc helped many of the kids cast some lines.

Could that boy be better-looking??

Soccer time.

Sweet girl feeling better.

 I suggested sharing the dinner-making duties, as we have during big Schrenk family gatherings for the past few years (there are 23 of us now!). Each family chose a night to make dinner. We had tacos, chicken pot pie with a vegetarian quiche, spghetti and meatballs, and chili.

After our experience in Lake of the Ozarks, Arthur had his heart set on jet skiing on Lake Tahoe (OK, I really wanted to do it, too!) Amity was nice enough to watch our littler kids so we could go on the outing.

Haberlachs (I think; we were flying)

Arthur and me on the jet ski.

Binkerts, before Nate dumped them.

In short, it was a great weekend in a spectacular setting with some of our best friends. We're so glad one of the other Restore Hetch Hetchy board members decided to donate it!