Operation Tahoe Accomplished

Greetings friends and family,

We are living it up in Sac town.  All of the toys Ouma and Oupa keep in their house are like new since the twins haven't been there in several months.  The foam letter squares were transformed into boxes which fit nicely on their heads.  Not so much mine, but I improvised for a few laughs.

Layla jumped in on the action too with her "me too" happy attitude.

We left the twins for an evening in the very capable hands of T.J. and Aimee.  We joined in the celebration for Megan's mom's birthday.  They sure know how to throw a party.  It's always top-notch quality for everything from the food to the video slideshow of Nancy's lifetime.  The back yard ambiance made for a nice background as well.

Fast forward a few days into our kid-less vacation.  It's been years since I felt so relaxed and calm.  There is a certain amount of peace that comes from sitting on the front porch of a cabin breathing fresh mountain air and gazing at the pine trees.  We limited our adventures down to one thing per day.  I didn't want to be an over achiever!  One of the days we hiked the Five Lakes trail.  We only made it half way through the 2.5 mile hike because it was very steep uphill.  We sat on a large rock overlooking the valley on both sides of us.  At one point I even laid down and stared up through the pine tree to the empty sky while holding hands with Kendra.  That was one of those special moments I'll never forget.  Not for what it contained, but for what it didn't contain.  No noises besides the breeze blowing through the trees, no distractions like TV or cell phones, no kids or responsibilities.  Life became very simple, very quickly.  Here's an idea of what were hiking through, but the steepness of the hill is not accurately portrayed.

Kendra took an interest in these two dead trees and gave her best imitation of them.

We were able to Skype with Ouma and Oupa and the twins a couple of times when we were in Tahoe.  They missed us, but we couldn't keep their attention very long for Skype because Ouma and Oupa's house is full of fun things for them.

Kendra signed them up for a week-long vacation bible school and it worked out very well.  While Kendra and I were in Tahoe, Ouma and Oupa got a break each morning from the twins.  They came home tired from having fun with their friends.  I picked them up on the last day.  Layla wasn't looking for me so she ran right by me, but Easton saw me and charged full speed as I braced for hug impact.    

One of their parting gifts from the week was a beach ball.  They turned them into yoga balls by rolling all around in the living room.  

Easton creatively put the two balls next to each other and body surfed across one to the other.  Such a smart boy.  He is an out of the box thinker, for sure.

I missed them so much and couldn't wait to see them.  I never want to be away from THEM, it's just that Kendra and I need the focused time to reconnect.  Is it selfish?  Yes.  Is it expensive?  Yes, if couple time is approached correctly by both husband and wife and if it is done at the proper frequency.  Is it worth it?  Absolutely.  I wouldn't trade my Kendra time for anything. 

See you soon!