In the Pines

Greetings friends and family,

I love Easton and Layla more than words can describe.  However, Kendra and I are on a kid-free vacation in Tahoe and it's marvelous.  Only one time in more than 4 years we've been away from the twins together on vacation for more than a night.  The previous time was in Hawaii, which had its own stresses of long flights and desired for sight-seeing adventures.  Not so this time!  We drove 90 minutes and have been doing as little as possible ever since the truck was parked.  The cabin (a.k.a. chalet) has plenty of space and all the amenities one could hope for including a hot tub on the back deck.  Here is the view of the tall pines from our front porch.

Sitting peacefully focused only on ourselves and each other is nothing short of amazing.  When we drove away from Ouma and Oupa's house for our alone-time vacation I turned to Kendra and said, "Hello, my name is Bronson.  I'm looking forward to getting to know you."

Our biggest accomplishment was agreeing on which Starbucks frappuccino flavor to share.

We were both so lackadaisical that it was difficult to find a place for lunch.  Then we saw people dining on top of a roof with a view of Lake Tahoe.  Shut up and take my money!  Freshies was tasty, but the most satisfying part of our meal was not having to tell anyone to eat as well as holding hands and eye contact with Kendra for more than just a few seconds before tending to the twins.

We slept in until 11:00 AM and didn't leave the house until 2:00 PM.  I can't remember the last time we did that.  I was happy to find out the cabin has an internet connection.  Sure makes planning easier instead of pulling out the ancient Yellow Pages phone book and thumbing through pages of useless ads.  We shopped around for a good kayak rental place and mapped out the location of the best beach.  Turns out they are one in the same.  We ended up at Round Hill Pines Beach where we launched a two-hour kayak adventure along the shorelines.

Some of the lake houses, I mean lake mansions, are incredible.  We spent part of the trip asking, "I wonder what that family does to afford such an awesome summer home?"  We were content to just float by though.  winds were light, crowds were few, and the peaceful feeling of floating on the water with Kendra made the whole trip worthwhile.

Our muscles were sore, but we had enough strength to lay out a towel on the sand and soak in some sun.  We haven't talked as much as I expected we would, but there's nothing wrong with the lack of conversation. We are relishing the quiet time and lack of responsibility.  Just laying together on the sand holding hands is extraordinarily valuable.  Sometimes there is nothing that needs to be said and from what I found, sometimes words can mess up an enjoyable moment.  A local goose came waddling up the beach and found some bread crumbs buried in the sand within arms-length of Kendra.  I took a picture of the goose between us and it turned out really well considering I was not able to see the framing of the self-portrait.  If I thought ahead we would have made duck faces with out lips sticking out just so I could truly label this picture "duck duck goose".

This 4-day real vacation of alone time with Kendra provided the kind of moments we'll reflect on when life is crazy and remember how easy-going it can be.  As I type this on the front porch, a rabbit is hopping by nibbling grass a few feet from me and the only noise I hear is the breeze whistling through the pine trees.  I'm already looking forward to our next vacation... whenever might be.

Time away from work and kids and daily life is as good as the hype, but occasionally I look at pictures of Easton and Layla and wonder what they are up to now with Ouma and Oupa.  Can't wait to see them again tomorrow.

See you soon!