Our First Family (of 4) Vacation

We had the awesome opportunity last week to have a cabin in Tahoe for FREE!!! Our friends, the Castellanos, offered to have us along on their trip this weekend, but we had to decline because we had a wedding today. Michaela explained that it was her family's cabin (it belongs to her grandmother) and she offered to call her grandma to ask if we could come on our own at no charge. I was thrilled she even thought to ask, but words could not express the joy I had when she called back and said it was all ours!
Unfortunately, Alex could only get off two day so it was a very quick trip, but one we will not forget and one I am sure I will continue to enjoy -even in just reflection.
The weather was not the greatest -it was quite cold (the day time highs were in the upper 40s/low 50s) and it rained on and off for most of our time at the lake. But we made the most of it and had a really amazing time just being a family and loving each other and relaxing.
I got to get up early, have some coffee and some quiet time with God. It was soooooo nice!!! And Alex got to sleep in every morning (something that I know pleased him!). The cabin was stocked with all the things we could need -the freezer even had Ben & Jerry's ice cream in it!!! The whole time I was fully aware that we were being beautifully blessed.
On our way up to Tahoe we took the scenic drive up 395. It was breath-takingly-beautiful! The hills were still green and there was snow on all the major mountain peeks. GORGEOUS!!! And we made a fun stop at the ghost town, Bodie. What fun! I want to return just for the sake of photographing for hours!
I need to download my camera's memory card still, but here are a few family photos and a few sceenic ones from our trip. I will add more soon. ENJOY!!!


This first image I took while walking around Bodie:


This image I got while we were driving:

Alex got this next landscape on our way back from Bodie. Isn't it GORGEOUS?! (Remember to click on any of the images to see them much larger -this is one you will want to view much larger!)


Katelyn & me in Bodie (I love all the textures there!):

The next three are all in Bodie:






Lake Tahoe pictures:



Our last day! The weather got MUCH nicer, but sadly we didn't have the time to enjoy it very much.