Adulting

First of all... adulting is hard.

Second of all... we've been doing A LOT of it lately.

So, it was really, really, REALLY amazing to have Mike's family in town to take care of us for a few days.  On THEIR vacation, they took amazing care of US (buying us meals... helping us around the house... etc).  It was amazing!

They arrived on Friday which just happened to be the day we signed all the paperwork to close on the house.  So, their arrival came at the MOST PERFECT time (partially because we could celebrate... and partially because it would keep my mind off of the major purchase we had just made).

Saturday we hit the ground running (ok... maybe not RUNNING... but more like scooting/walking... my mother-in-law had a boot on her foot after all).  But, let me tell you this: that boot did not slow her down ONE BIT!  She hiked and climbed rocks in it.  She went kayaking in it.  No stopping her.

Here's a recap in pictures:

On Saturday we visited Fallen Leaf Lake, Glen Alpine Falls, and Lily Lake.  

ANNE AND JOHN AT FALLEN LEAF LAKE

BRAVING THE ICY COLD WATER (FEET ONLY)

 We also visited Echo Lake. 

ECHO LAKE

ECHO LAKE

I WISH I HAD GOTTEN A PICTURE OF MY M-I-L STANDING ON TOP
OF A HUGE BOULDER JUST TO TAKE IN THIS VIEW (A ROCK WHICH
SHE CLIMBED IN THE BOOT OF COURSE)

WE WERE THERE TOO

 So, I had to head back to work for a few days and Mike showed his mom and John around Tahoe.  While they were out sightseeing and enjoying perfect temperatures... 

 ... I was dealing with triple digit temperatures in the valley where I work.  

Tuesday was my 31st birthday (and the day we officially closed on the house) and my sweet in-law's took us out to dinner at Artemis, a delicious Greek restaurant in town,  to celebrate! My MIL is amazing with a sewing machine and she made me this amazing bag:

IT EVEN SAYS: "GREAT THINGS NEVER CAME
FROM COMFORT ZONES."
WHICH COULD NOT BE MORE TRUE!!!!! 

SUNSET AFTER DINNER AT ARTEMIS

 In between sightseeing, they so very generously helped us around the house.  They helped us paint and clean!  They were amazing!  We can never repay them.  

Hopefully we didn't work them too hard and they will want to come visit us again. 

We tried to make sure there was plenty of time for fun... 

RIDING THE GONDOLA TO THE TOP OF THE MOUNTAIN

RIDING TAMARACK SKI LIFT

 Other highlights from the week that I don't have pictures of: 

SWIMMING in the lake!  That's right, we all got in.  We all went under the water... and we all had goosebumps because it's cold. 

We went paddleboarding/kayaking!  

We ordered pizza and ate it at "Top of the World." 

A SMOKEY SUNSET VIEW FROM TOP OF THE WORLD

NOT A BAD ENDING TO AN AWESOME WEEK!

Anne & John - THANKS SO MUCH FOR COMING TO VISIT US!!!!  We loved having you.  We can not possibly thank you enough for the help you gave us around the house.  And thank you, thank you, thank you again for all the delicious food all week!  It was so nice to have you both around and we really hope you won't wait another 4 years before visiting us again!