Seriously, I am not sure what to write or how to blog about the last 7 days.
We are all still in awe of these 7, amazing, quiet, family filled, fun filled, secluded, most peaceful, amazing days we have had.
It was PERFECT (that coming from a perfectionist, who is NEVER 100% happy or satisfied, says a LOT!)
This was the BEST Christmas our family has had!
The Place:
Sorenson's in Hope Valley near Tahoe.
Just amazing!
The Set-Up:
Disconnected from the world, you can't even find a clock or timer in the cabin, not to talk about any cyber-space, satellite or cable interruptions.
The New Traditions:
We celebrated Winter Solstice and with it added a few changes to our traditional Christmas routine.
The Weather:
Sunny and cold enough for the little snow to stay so we could enjoy it in so many ways ...
... everything!!!
We just had the most wonderful time and none of us wanted to leave this morning.
The Ls complained all the way back home (4 hours, not too bad) that they wanted to live there and Lulu kept telling us to "stop and turn around" and "don't listen to Jack (our Navi), he is a naughty boy and just makes us drive away from Tahoe!"
Tonight I'll post about The Place. So please come and follow me into "CZ Heaven"
Off we go ...
(mind you this is a Toyota 4Runner, SUV ... check out the luggage ...)
Guess who sneaked into the car to monitor and report the Ls behavior, while going on vacation, to the big guy ...
My boy Hyder, na-course :)
... packed to the MAX!!!
Arriving in "CZ Heaven"
Brrrr ... we quickly pulled out the WARM clothes since it was a chilly 42 F when we arrived.
The wheelbarrows are used to haul your "wee bit" of luggage to your cabin.
Then one must cross the romantic bridge ....
across the frozen stream (in which the Ls played just a few months earlier when we came up here the first time.)
And then you arrive at ...tadaaaahhh ...
Your Dream Cabin for Christmas!
The BEST part of the house ... the awesome Fire Place!!!
Oh so warm and cozy!
The family-hang-out-spot.
The Ls had their own space in the upstairs loft.
Here you can see the Princess Corner ;)
This place had a mattress for an additional sleep-area but we moved it so L could have her own Star Wars Corner...
Lego Line Up
The Master herself :)
Lulu peaking over from the Princess Corner
Look from the living area.
My FAVORITE part of the cabin, the views. From every window you saw nothing but ...
... trees, rocks, a frozen stream, more trees and the lovely snow blanket.
The kitchen window.
Side view.
Out of the door.
Across the stream.
Patio.
From behind the cabin village, hidden in the forrest.
Secluded and hidden from the noise of the world.
This about sums it up for "The Place".
For us this beats every 5 Star Luxury Hotel.
It was exactly what we were looking for and will be our family destination for years to come.
We were lucky enough to make friends with the owners and already told them we'll be "guests for life".
In fact we already booked the Sierra House for Christmas 2012, to make sure nobody will steal our hiding place for this very special time of the year.
I sure hope we can return before then for more family time, after the bank tank is no longer "running on fumes" ;)
It's all worth it!
L gave me every day a HUGE hug and said "Thank you mama for this trip. I love it!"
And Lulu told me every night "Can we live here mama? PLEASE!!!"
My wonderful husband could not check his email, respond to urgent calls or work on some data but instead read us stories, drew, worked on puzzles and hardly ever showed his nervous leg-shaking-thinggy ;) ... not that it annoys me or anything, NOOOO ... it just makes the whole table, no the whole house shake like an earthquake just hit Milpitas.
I could watch the stress melt away from his face and be replaced by relaxation, peace and happiness.
Just what we ALL needed.
Tomorrow I'll come back to write about "The Winter Solstice", our new Christmas tree tradition and all the other need things we (I) always wanted to do but never got around to it
... but now finally we did.
