First Week of Summer Vacation 2017

Well, it wasn't a full week.  I ended up working just one day.

Have I mentioned lately how much I love my job???

This first week was full of getting some things done... like planning our upcoming trip to NC... calling painters to get estimates on our house (exterior... so far it's really depressing so let's not talk about it anymore).  I've also spent some time at the beach letting the puppy stretch his legs etc.  Here's what happens after an hour or so at the dog beach:

HE SLEPT FOR THE REST OF THE DAY

SNUGGLING THE PILLOW???? 

OR CLAIMING IT AS HIS OWN???? 

I LOVE IT WHEN HE'S SO TIRED! 

But perhaps the MOST exciting thing of week 1 is: THE CELEBRITY GOLF TOURNAMENT.
Historically, I don't attend the golf tournament because there are so many people and to be perfectly honest: I don't recognize HALF of the celebrities and I don't like golf.

Anyway, I was interested in attending at least once to see what it's all about and in all honesty, since Justin Timberlake has joined the list of celebs, I've been a little more interested in going.  It's really not that I'm a big fan of is... but more that he is pretty much at the top of his game right now (career wise) and he's a pretty big celeb.  So, I was pretty stoked to at least see him.

So, Saturday was the day.  My friend Amy and I went to the tournament and I can honestly say that I had a great time!  Much better than I expected.  The golf course is BEAUTIFUL.  The weather was BEAUTIFUL.  The celebs are BEAUTIFUL!

Ok, ok... enough words... let get to the pictures:

LARRY THE CABLE GUY TEEING OFF.

RAY ROMANO 

KEVIN NEALON'S PRACTICE SWING

CRACKING JOKES WITH THE CROWD

SIR CHARLES BARKLEY

AMY AND I...
AND OUR SUMMER GLOW...
AND THE AMERICAN CENTURY CHAMPIONSHIP
SAILBOAT IN THE BACKGROUND. 

JEROME BETTIS... AKA THE BUS

IVAN RODRIGUEZ... THE "PUDGE"...
A FORMER MAJOR LEAGUE BASEBALL CATCHER.

I DIDN'T KNOW HIM BEFORE THE TOURNAMENT
BUT SEE THE WALKWAY HE'S PUTTING FROM?

AMY AND I WERE STANDING IN THAT EXACT SPOT
WHEN WE HEARD PEOPLE YELLING "FORE."

THE BALL LITERALLY ROLLED RIGHT BY OUR FEET. 

ROB RIGGLE

CABLE GUY AGAIN...

WE KEPT RUNNING IN TO HIM. 

THE PARTY ON THE 17TH HOLE... WITH TALLAC IN THE BACKGROUND. 

UP CLOSE WITH RAY ROMANO. 

EVERYBODY LOVES YOU RAY

SUPER DUPER UP CLOSE WITH KEVIN NEALON

AWESOME GUY!

ALFONSO RIBIERO (AKA CARLTON FROM THE
FRESH PRINCE) TAKING A SHOT AND SLINGING
SAND

"CARLTON" AGAIN...
JUST MISSING WILL SMITH. 

NOTICE ALL THE PEOPLE...

THEY ARE FOLLOWING JUSTIN TIMBERLAKE, STEPH CURRY,
AND TONY ROMO.

BUT LET'S BE HONEST... THEY ARE REALLY ALL FOLLOWING JT. 

SPEAKING OF JT...
HIS BALL LANDED ON THE GREEN RIGHT IN FRONT
OF US.  

I WON'T LIE... I GOT A LITTLE STARSTRUCK WITH
SEEING HIM. 

IF I WANTED TO BE KICKED OUT (AND
PROBABLY ARRESTED)...

I COULD'VE REACHED OUT AND TOUCHED HIM. 

AMY, MYSELF, AND JT'S BOOTY.

NOTICE MY TEETH LOOK A BIT FUNNY IN THIS
PICTURE... I GOT INVISALIGN BRACES!
MORE INFO TO COME ABOUT THAT... LATER. 

UMMM.... YEAH.... JT'S BOOTY.  

TONY ROMO AND STEPH CURRY. 

The 17th hole of the course is definitely the PARTY hole.  There's a dj... the beach full of spectators are right there... there's alcohol flowing freely.  And it's the million-dollar-hole-in-one, hole.  Anyway, most of the celebs tend to put on little shows at this hole.  We didn't get to see JT/Romo/Curry at the 17th hole... but here's a link to a little video clip of their shenanigans. 

https://sportsday.dallasnews.com/dallas-cowboys/cowboys/2017/07/15/tony-romo-steph-curry-justin-timberlake-combine-forces-golf-course-alley-oop-funny-selfie-day-2-ac-championship

It as a long day in the sun but SO much fun!  I'm pretty sure I'm going to try to make it back next year.  The crowds really weren't intolerable and I'm pretty sure we went on the busiest day of the tournament.  It's roughly the same time each year... and most of the same players return... so those of you who haven't visited us in Tahoe yet, will you come see us in Tahoe if you can also see Justin Timberlake???  

Anyway, my friend Amy and I always go out on Saturday night during celebrity golf week.  That's usually when the celebs come out and sometimes they will put on impromtu concerts or buy everyone in the audience a beer.  

Plus.. the people watching is LITERALLY EPIC.  

I snapped a few pics of the amazing sunset before heading out for the night with some girlfriends (thanks again for coming out LeeAnn... so happy I got see you too Rachel and D-Lowe). 

CHARLES BARKLEY THANKING EVERYONE...
FOR BASICALLY EVERYTHING.

YOU CAN TELL HE TOTALLY LOVES TAHOE.
AND TAHOE LOVES HIM. 

RAY ALLEN PLAYING DJ

Part of Charles Barkley's speech... not even sure if you can hear any of it honestly. But, notice the Corona's that everyone is drinking?  Yeah... Charles bought those.  

Later in the night, Jay Demarco from Rascal Flatts came out and did a little impromptu concert: 

Well, week 1 has been a BLAST!!!!!!  Not sure how week 2 could top it but I'm pretty sure that seeing my friends and family in NC will be WAY WAY WAY BETTER than being close to Justin Timberlake's booty.  Sorry Justin.  

Can not wait to see everyone!!!!  SEE YOU SOON!!!!!!! 

Projects and Adventures...

... and adventurous projects???  Whatever you want to call it, we took on several this weekend.

We took in several amazing sunsets.  We relaxed on the beach.  We got things done around the house.  I'd say that was a pretty successful weekend.

I LOVE THE REFLECTION

THE SUN SETS ON ANOTHER BEAUTIFUL DAY

PRETTY CLOUDS OVER OUR HOUSE

THE REFLECTIONS WERE AMAZING. 

DIFFERENT SUNSET...
DIFFERENT VANTAGE POINT.

AWESOME SHADOW

SOLITUDE AND BEAUTY. 

NOT A BAD PLACE TO SAY SOME PRAYERS. 

KIVA BEACH!  THERE'S ALMOST NO BEACH LEFT!
THE WATER LEVEL IS SOOO HIGH...
CREEKSIDE AND LAKESIDE. 

THIS IS WHAT KIVA LOOKED LIKE 2 YEARS AGO...
LOTS OF SAND!!!

AND HARDLY ANY SNOW LEFT ON MT. TALLAC. 

KIVA AGAIN... 2 YEARS AGO.  PLENTY OF BEACH.
NOT TRUE THIS YEAR THANKS TO ONE EPIC WINTER! 

PLENTY OF SNOW LEFT IN THE "CROSS" ON TALLAC. 

THAT'S A LITTLE STRIP OF SAND. 

NOT MUCH ROOM FOR LAYING A TOWEL DOWN FOR A NAP IN THE SUN. 

SWEET PUPPY. 

THE BOYS... STOMPING AROUND IN THE SHALLOW PART OF THE CREEK.
THIS WAS RECENTLY SANDY BEACH. 

THAT'S ALL THE BEACH THAT'S LEFT NOW.
CRAZY. 

CAN YOU SEE THE TAHOE LOBSTER???  AKA CRAWFISH. 

THE WATER WASN'T TOO BAD.
IT'S STARTING TO WARM UP AT LEAST. 

WHEN IT WAS TIME TO LEAVE, ZEPHYR GOT
BACK IN THE LAKE... MAYBE IN PROTEST? 

On the way home from Kiva, we made a quick stop at Kmart for a plastic pool for Z to use on the super hot days when the there's TOO many people hogging the beaches/lake. 

IT WAS SO CUTE TO SEE HIM IN THERE.
HE WOULD STEP IN... THEN STEP OUT.
HE HESITATED BUT EVENTUALLY SAT DOWN
IN IT. 

SEE THAT GATE AT THE END OF THE DECK???
THAT WAS WEEKEND PROJECT #1!

So a few weeks ago, I was casually perusing Craigslist and this lady ~10 minutes away was giving away a bunch of cedar wood.  There were all kinds of pieces... long, short, and even some 1x1's that matched the vertical pieces on our deck.  Long story short, I went and picked up all that wood (loaded my little Subaru up with every last piece she had).  Why not?  It's FREE!  

So, Mike tackled the gate project which had a few hiccups along the way but overall it turned out GREAT!!!!  And Zephyr LOVES that he can be off a leash and can still romp around on the deck.  It's just an outdoor room of our house.  

The big cedar planks we decided to use INSIDE by making an accent wall that will eventually have lots of coat hooks, etc. for storage.  

OUR SAD, PLAIN, BORING WALL BEFORE. 

DURING.

AFTER!!!
I LOVE LOVE LOVE IT!
CAN'T WAIT TO MAKE IT FUNCTIONAL! 

And what do you do when it's hot outside and you're covered in sawdust???? 

YOU SIT DOWN IN THE PUPPY POOL AND
DRINK A FROSTY COLD ONE! 

On a more serious note, we had a brutal reminder this past week that life is short.  

Do what you love.  

Do more of what makes you happy.  

LIVE your life... and LIVE IT WELL!  

Celebrating Freedom

We live in an amazing place that constantly reminds me (with wide open spaces and abundant nature) how blessed I am to live in a country with so much freedom.  I know we have our issues as a country but if you've ever traveled to other, less fortunate countries, you come to appreciate America, despite our issues.

And the only reason we have that freedom, is because of those brave men and women who fought for it.  Those men and women who left their families and many of whom gave their lives so that we could "do whatever we want to" on the 4th of July.  Thank you to all the brave men and women who have served, have fought, have died... and to those currently serving, fighting, or dying... and to every single member of their family who is being brave and strong in their absence. 

Speaking of freedom, here's a little glimpse at all the beautiful nature that surrounds us here in Tahoe (all of this is free of charge... it's just out there, waiting to be taken in):

 We went on a hike recently in Carson Pass which is pretty high in elevation. 

There was still PLENTY of snow.  So much snow that we actually changed our plans and turned around before making it to our "end destination." 

We were just tired of stomping through the snow.  

 Zephyr LOVED all the snow.  And it kept him cool on the hike. 

THERE WERE LOTS OF BEAUTIFUL WILDFLOWERS. 

AND STILL A PARTIALLY FROZEN POND AT THE TOP. 

ZEPHYR ENJOYED SMELLING THE FLOWERS

BEAUTIFUL SEQUOIAS

And here are a few videos of Zephyr having fun in the snow: 

For the fourth, we kept it pretty low key.  Mike worked.  I stayed around the house to avoid the crowds.  We went to a friends house for hamburgers and walked from their house to the beach to watch the fireworks.  It was great!  The long weekend was so nice but now, it's back to reality (at least for a few more days until my summer vacation starts... I love my job).