New Year's in Tahoe

We celebrated New Year's this year with a week up in Lake Tahoe, staying at a fantastic cabin right on Donner Lake with Mike, Therese, Adam, and Rachel. We were just down the street from Grace and Alonzo's family place. Phil and Nikki also came up for a few days... Add 1 dog and 2 old college buddies / new colleagues to the mix (Bill & Chico), and you have quite a crew!

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The location was perfect, especially since it was so beautiful for most of the week. Spencer loved exploring the snow in the backyard, making forts, and throwing rocks in the lake... he even spotted a "reindeer" one morning down by the water. Not pictured is the jacuzzi under the deck, perfect for the apres-ski soak as the sun sets over Donner Pass.


We made use of the inside of the cabin as well, of course, with lots time playing with the kids, cooking/eating fantastic meals, and playing a couple of epic poker games, including a late-night game on New Year's Eve. We made it out for 2 dinners: the Truckee Diner one night and Moody's Bistro the other (Moody's had a jazz band that the kids loved dancing to, much to the chagrin of the other patrons!)



Ryan and Adam did get a couple of days in at Sugar Bowl, plus a couple of days cross-country skiing (much harder than Ryan remembers now that he's towing a 50 pound sled!). We also made it out sledding almost every day: Spencer loved falling off the sled and rolling down the hills, and Tyler seemed to be having a pretty good time as well.

Ryan was often up early with Spencer, but was rewarded on New Year's morning with a gorgeous sunrise over the lake. He and Spencer watched it from the dock-- the perfect way to start 2009!

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