TRAVEL

Road trippin’ with the family

Time spent with family is the most precious thing in the world to me. We are so lucky to have part of our family close by that can watch Piper grow with us, help out in last minute situations, and even vacation with us! Pat and I took an extended weekend from work, went on a 4-day road trip with Piper, and met up with some family along the way.

California is such a beautiful place. I feel so fortunate to live here. Driving through the state never gets old. The scenery is amazing; sometimes I forget to take a minute to look and enjoy the redwood trees, ocean, and lakes, even the sky. CA has it all!

Friday morning we set out on our adventure. We left around 11am and Piper was asleep by 11:25—hurray! We drove until she woke up shortly after hitting some traffic (she always wakes up when the car stops, ever since she was a tiny baby.) Stopped in Auburn, CA for lunch and meet up with my brother and sister-in-law, Piper’s Aunt Julie and Uncle/God Father Shaun. Auburn is such a cute little town right along side the highway. After lunch we pressed on until we made it to our first destination, Reno NV.

In Reno, we stayed at the Grand Sierra Resort in a three-bedroom suite with Shaun and Julie, my other sister and brother-in-law, Meg and Garrett and their three adorable children, Donnobahain (9), Reilly (5), and Allanah (3). This hotel has it all! For the kids (and adults) there is a go-kart track, gigantic swimming pool, volley ball court, sand ‘beach’, bowling, a movie theater…the list goes on and on. There is a nightclub, endless gambling and a Spa for adults. The boys took advantage of the casino Friday night and the girls, myself included, took advantage of the spa on Saturday morning. I have to say I think it was the best massage I’ve ever had! We all had a great time. It was so nice to switch off playing with the kids and get some time to relax.

After a relaxing morning massage and some time at the pool with everyone, we headed out a couple more hours to the town of Fallon, NV for a family wedding. The wedding was beautiful. It started out a little nerve racking with a windstorm blowing all the decorations over, but the weather cleared quickly and it ended up being a perfect night. Piper had so much fun with all her cousins on the dance floor. She stole the show! I swear she danced for three hours straight. It was the cutest thing I have ever seen and my favorite part of our entire trip!

Piper is such a happy little girl, always smiling. She thrives on positive energy. When everyone around her is happy she beams with an excitement I can’t even put into words. Seeing her dance, smile, and laugh with so much confidence makes being her mommy the most rewarding position imaginable.

Sunday morning after breakfast we set out yet again. This time just the three of us headed to South Lake Tahoe. It is so beautiful in Tahoe! We visited a good friend, stayed the night at the Monte Blue Hotel, swam in their amazing indoor grotto (did I mention Piper LOVES to swim!) and had a nice relaxing day.

Monday morning we went to the lake where I was amazed how shallow the water was, Piper could stand for what looked like a mile out (exaggeration, but it was really far) and she is only 31″ tall. The lake was the perfect end to our family trip. Collecting lake shells, digging holes in the sand, and playing in the water, we had an amazing time as a family. I live for the moments the three of us spend together, whether it is on a trip or in our living room, family time is my peace.