Trip to Reno

Pod had meetings in Phoenix early last month, so we decided to invite ourselves to Rob and Anna's and meet up in Reno.  Mamo came to California and spent a couple days with us in Oceanside.  Then she flew with Ever and me to Reno.  Pod met us there.  Jim had to work, so he missed out.

We got in on Wednesday afternoon, March 12.  Rob and Anna fed us buffalo burgers for dinner, and then we went to the school for Lucy, Tucker and Anders's strings concert.  It was fun to watch the kids perform.

It was a late night for Dolly, and she was so tired.

Anders requested frozen yogurt afterward, and his wish was granted, much to Dolly's (and my) delight.

Thursday Mamo graciously agreed to watch Ever so I could go skiing with Pod and Udon.  It was a beautiful day, and we had a lovely time.  I haven't been skiing in years.  I was the caboose the entire day.  Rob has gotten really good and fast over the years, and Pod is amazing, too.  After four hours of skiing, my legs were pretty tired.  Pod acted like he was totally fine and wanted to keep going, which I found really confusing.  Am I really more out of shape than Pod, who is going on 70 and never exercises?

Friday was Clarice's birthday.  Udon, Pod, Mamo, Ever, and I went to Virginia City in the morning.  It's a fun old mining town near Reno.  We did a $5 trolley ride that was really informative.  We learned about the very-popular "lady of the night" who had a huge funeral, with a procession involving something like 1,000 miners and lots of other people (I think including mayors and other VIPs).  The firemen of the town wanted her buried in their section of the cemetery, but the women wouldn't allow it; they insisted she be buried across town.  That didn't stop everybody from turning out for the occasion.  The trolley driver also told us a story a guy who had his house moved to Virginia City right next to his rival's house, vowing his rival would never feel the breeze, see the sun, etc.  The houses are practically on top of each other, and the roofs actually overlap.  The last story I remember is about Comstock Lode.  Two guys discovered a silver vein in Virginia City.  Henry Comstock told them he owned the land so he figured it would be fair if they split it three ways.  Then Comstock started telling people he discovered it, and it became known as Comstock Lode.  Turns out Comstock didn't own any land in the area; he was just a con artist who became incredibly rich through fraud.  Anyway, the trolley ride made the town a lot more interesting.  We never would've known all the trivia otherwise. 

We walked around a bit and ended up going by a hobo-looking fellow who invited us to pet his donkey, Beatrice.  I was a little wary, thinking the homeless guy was probably dirty, and his donkey was probably dirty, and who knew if it was safe to touch her?  I let Dolly pet her anyway.  Later, we saw the man and his donkey again, this time from across the street.  Rob:  "There's the miner."  Me:  "Miner?"  Rob (laughing):  "What - did you think he was a homeless guy or something?"  According to Rob, he was dressed in character garb.  Oops.  I still think he looked more homeless and less miner. 

We took a peek inside the Catholic church, which was beautiful.  There was a friendly lady there who told us some interesting things that I have forgotten.  Udon, Ever, me, Mamo, and a dumpster, with the church in the background:

We wanted to take a tour of a mine (the entrance to which is at the back of a saloon - go figure) but ended up running out of time.  We need to do it next time, except next time will be in August when it will be like 125 degrees down there.  We'll see. 

Friday afternoon Clara had some friends over for a party.  She had very kindly invited Ever to participate, and Ever was sooo excited about it.  Unfortunately I put Ever to bed when we got back from Virginia City, and she tried to sleep through the whole party.  I finally woke her up during the piñata portion.  She was sad to be awakened:

But she cheered up by "Happy Birthday" and got to enjoy a cupcake and watch the present-opening, so I think she sufficiently participated.

  

Clara requested Olive Garden for dinner.  Rob had a gift card to Macaroni Grill, so we convinced her that we should go there instead.  Unfortunately, the Mac Grill gift card had expired.  The good news is that under California law, gift cards can't expire, so Rob sent me home with it.  Back at the ranch, Clara opened her family presents under Ever's supervision.

Then we sang again and enjoyed cake and ice cream. 

The big people played Vicious Gin after the kiddies went to bed. 

Saturday the kids had a music class in the morning, and then we went up to Tahoe.  I tried to take a picture on my phone at the lookout but couldn't see anything in the brightness.  Just got this weird shot of the edge:

Ever inexplicably pulled her pants down and thought she was pretty funny:

The original plan had been to drive around the lake, but we ended up just staying at Sand Harbor.  The day was perfect.  The boys, Rob, and I threw the football around, and I worked on my spiral.  Ever played happily at the edge of the water (which was freezing, but she didn't seem to mind).



It was peaceful and perfect.  We went out to dinner again that night.  I think there was more Vicious Gin, too. 

Sunday we went for a walk in the morning.  I'm not sure if these pictures were taken Sunday or another day.  There were a few walks.

I love the location of Rob and Anna's house.  There are trails out the back door.  You can walk to a little creek, to a park, or to the kids' school.  There's also a wide, paved path through the beautiful neighborhood.  You've got the mountains on one side and the valley below on the other.  Pretty nice. 

Sunday morning, the boys built a cool Lego man:

We took some family photos before church, in honor of Tucker's priesthood ordination that day.  

I stayed home from church with Dolly so she could take a nap.  She'd been up late a bunch of days in a row and had missed some naps, and I wanted to get her back on track a little bit.  (We changed her crib into a toddler bed a few days before we went to Reno because started climbing out.  In Reno she didn't want to be left alone in the room, wanted me to go to bed at the same time, etc.  I had a heck of a time getting her to bed every night, and I couldn't let her cry it out very well because she wasn't trapped in a crib.  Once, between her going potty multiple times and her not wanting me to leave, it took about two hours to get her down.  Insanity!)  So Sunday she ended up taking a three-hour nap, and I felt good about my decision to let her sleep.  We were going to go to Tahoe for a picnic after church, but it was too windy.  We walked to the park instead and had a grand time, except I felt a little sick after Pod spun me around on the spinny thing.  (Motion sickness is one of the many new ailments I'm experiencing in my old age.)

Anna made a yummy dinner that night, and we sat around and chatted for a while after the kiddies went to bed. 

I woke up super-early Monday morning because it sounded as if hurricane-force winds were going to blow the house down.  The wind had died down by normal wake-up time.  Ever and I were supposed to fly out that morning, but our flight was canceled because of weather.  (Wind a few hours earlier?)  We were rebooked on a late-afternoon flight.  Anna took Mamo and Papo to the airport midday, and then we had a nice visit while Ever napped. 

The Reno airport was a dream, and we had a little extra time.  We stopped at a little play area meant to resemble a mine.

It was fun to see Rob and Anna's beautiful new home and spend time with the family.  Ever sure loves the cousins.  (The Clara obsession continues.)  I didn't really get a chance to enjoy the ping pong table, but the boys and Pod played.  Pod is the reigning champion.  He and Tucker played one of the first nights we were there.  The next day, Mamo said to Tucker, "I hear you gave Papa a run for his money last night."  Tucker answered, "Then somebody lied."  I thought that was a very cute and humble response.  Apparently Pod had beaten him 21-4 or something like that.  Love our family!  Thanks to Rob and Anna for hosting us.