Oh what a beautiful morning...Oh what a beautiful day!

Sorry it has taken me a while to get the last part of our trip up.  I wound up getting a nasty case of Strep Throat on the way back to Portland & it took me a little bit to get back on my feet.  What a way to end the trip!  YUCK!

Any way, this is the 2nd to last day we spent on the lake.  The wind died down, the sun came up, the lake was glassy & we had a blast.

This year our house was located on an Eastern facing beach (usually we are on a Western facing beach) so we had a sunrise (& moonrise) view every day.  VERY NICE!

Erene is up bright & early harassing the other early risers like David & Fortune.... Not sure who's doing the harassing here...probably me.  I'm the one walking around brushing my teeth.  I seem to recall staying up way to late the night before & then Stella woke up way to early....didn't get much sleep, but for some reason I felt great at 7 am!  Must be the fresh mountain air & healing waters of Lake Tahoe.

All day we hung out on the dock & played....Even Stella got in on the action.  Here she is with Uncle Patrick for a morning dip.  Before....During...

After....She's a good sport.  The water in the lake is like 45 degrees this year, so ya can't really blame her for not being a HUGE fan.  She loved it once she was out though...

Erene, Sara, David & Inigo, doing the NYTimes Crossword puzzle & looking fabulous....as usual.

Xtina & I catching some rays...

Patrick hamming it up on the kayak...

Erene & Patrick & the dogs going out for a pleasure cruise...

So many watercraft, so little time.  Topher on the paddle board, Inigo, Davey & Patrick on the kayak.

Topher & Fortune heading over to the ladies' floating palace....

And the games begin....those dogs had soooo much fun!  Inigo & Fortune were very adept at jumping on & off the boats WHILE they were in motion.  They had a blast.  

Topher & Inigo...

They got so good at it, they didn't even need humans anymore.  They took the paddle board out on their own...


AWWWW...Stella hung out on the dock all day & we never heard a peep except for her cute little giggles!  She LOVES lake Tahoe.  
Don't even ask how Patrick got salsa all over his trunks....


Erene & Chris & the dogs going for a row....


As if the day couldn't get any better, lets just cap it off with a spectacular sunset....

& crazy lenticular cloud formations that look like the starship enterprise!

Topher was going crazy though because he knew those clouds meant amazing soaring.  He was eyeing them all day....

Best day ever!

Tahoe Fest 2009!!!

For the last 4 years a group of 12-16 of us have been gathering at Lake Tahoe for a sacred getaway of sorts. My sister Erene's birthday is Aug 30 & falls on or around the labor day weekend every year, so it is a perfect opportunity to use the holiday for some serious leisuring.

Burning Man coincides always with this event & some years Topher & I have cut our Tahoe trip short because of performance related appearances at the black rock desert. Last year we only had 1 or 2 days in Tahoe because we were performing for the burn with March Fourth. This year we are on maternity leave from the band, so are soaking up the high mountain experience in full effect.

Its our first year seeing everyone with our newest addition, so I'm sure we'll have our challenges to iron out & discover, but all in all, it should shape up real nice.

Its also our first year without our BFF's Devin, Sarah & Nevi Bailly. We miss them dearly. Its definitely not the same. But through the miracle of Skyping, we have been able to share experiences with them & touch base. Very thankful for that, but not as good as having them here to laugh with, eat with, swim & sun with & all around hang out & share with. We love you & miss you!!!!



Inigo in the car on the way from southern oregon. He looks pretty relaxed already...not sure he really needs a vacation.

We stayed at my parents house for a few days before we came down to the lake. Topher had to do some work in KFalls, Medford & Grants Pass, so I stayed at my parents while he worked for 3 days, then we headed south. The drive from Medford to Lake Tahoe is about 6.5 hours. With infant...10.5. YIKES!

We did hit a great steakhouse on the way though & went for a record number of stops to soothe the babe. Ironically, we were the first ones to arrive though, I guess the traffic from the bay (where everyone else was coming from) was that bad.

The next day we enjoyed the rock dock that is part of the property that we rented.



Stella went for her first swim in the lake. It is really cold though, so she didn't like it very much. But, she was pretty happy afterwards, so no harm done. She needed a bath anyway, LITTLE STINKER!



Topher catching some ZZZZ's on the rocks.



Auntie Sara with Stella....so cute.



Erene, my sistah! Happy 30th Birthday!!! WOOHOO!



The most beautiful water...



The view of Crystal Bay....



Chris & Fortune chillin after the morning swim.



Harkonnen burgers for dinner....with fresh Ancho Chiles from Mom's garden...& all the fixins a girl could ever dream of.



Rainen & Noah out on the deck rocking your favorite tunes like "Take My Breath Away" & "Wave of Mutilation".



Rainen & Heather & the Full Harvest Moon rising over the lake. So beautiful...



Tia Erene & Baby Stella dancing in their seats...David & Sara sharing a romantic moment in the moonlight in the background.



Erene was doing all these hilarious dance moves with Stella to Queen songs (another one bites the dust...etc...) & Stella was having so much fun that...



....she puked....



...right on Erene's foot. Take that! She recovered neatly & went right on back to dancing it up. This time a manage a tango with Erene & Heather was in order.



Yes that is the MOON over the lake, not the sun!



At some point in the night David Ultan aka Aquaman decided it would be a great idea to do some crawfishing in the night. All he had to do was wrap a headlamp in some saran wrap & get a swim buddy. Chris dawned a wetsuit & went for it.

I sure as heck was not going to go in that freezing bleep cold water in the night, but I sure would watch the entertainment & document for posterity's sake. I have to admit I did not expect the fishing excursion to be at all successful, but boy was I wrong....







I think the Tequila helped a little...



I can't believe how long he was in that water for. Chris was his "lightman" & he was wearing a wetsuit. David was in his skivvies the whole time... long enough to get a real nice midnight snack hooked up.



Mmmmmm crawfish....


I do have a question though. If you eat crawfish from a lake, are they still considered Seafood?

Visit from the 'rents

My parents came up to visit for my brother Davey's graduation.
Stella was happy...and so were they!



Eating with Papi Dave.



Hanging out with Nana Linda.



Mom picked a TON of vegetables from her garden & also brought up about 35 pounds of peaches. YUM. She brought heirloom tomatoes, peppers, carrots, zucchinis, lemon cucumbers, basil, chives....so much I thought there is no way we can eat all this before we leave on Monday. SO, I was inspired & I made summer marinara sauce from SCRATCH. Almost everything I used in the sauce came from Mom's garden. Except for the spicy italian sausage & the garlic & the pasta itself.





What a bounty! Davey & Xtina came over to help us eat it all.



I haven't made a spaghetti sauce from scratch from fresh vegetables in a while. It took FOREVER but it was amazing. Definitely worth the extra time & love. The creative process involved in the cooking made me want to paint & make art again....layering in the flavors & colors of vegetables is like crafting the palimpsest in a painting. You can't readily tell what is in the sauce from the beginning stages, but it builds the body of it & resonates through the dish...much like the early layers of a painting.



I made a Caprese salad too with the heirloom tomatoes & got some fresh mozzarella from the market. My favorite summer salad. I love summer eating. Such a harvest can only mean one thing though...autumn is right around the corner...Autumn I greet with mixed feelings. But, as they say, to everything there is a season, and all in all, this has been a great Summer!

Nana Cathy's Visit

Topher's mom Cathy came out for the weekend after his birthday. It was her first visit with Stella, but Inigo missed her too. Pretty comfy on the couch, all three!



We celebrated Topher & Cathy's birthdays with Sushi dinner & then a chocolate treat @ Pix Patisserie. YUM!



Stella loves her Nana Cathy!