The Adventures of Jake and Allie

Happy August and Happy 12 year Anniversary to us!

What a sweet surprise that Stan (aka Dan) & Dorothy had called the restaurant to make a very lovely contribution to our anniversary dinner. Thank you both so much!

We were SO ready for our vacation to Lake Tahoe and it was so fun having Ash, Anita, Mila and Kira join us!

We've arrived!

No clue what is happening here!

The drive from Reno to Tahoe!

Ramati dinner Thursday night!

Many faces of Jake!

Photo credit: Jake

Heading off to go up the mountain to Heavenly Ski Resort!

Kira loves Jake and I think Jake loves that Kira doesn't talk

(or sing) as much as Allie!

On the way up the mountain!

I guess we like our black Nike's.
Thanks, Uncle Phil (Knight, not Sacks)

The breathtaking view from the first observation stop!

Bad attempt at a family picture!

Our one and only group shot!

These two!

On the state line on top of the mountain!

Ash, Alex and Jake took the chair lifts pictured below to get even higher up!

Jake up at the top!

We got a babysitter that night (and the next) and started the evening by accidentally crashing a closed party at a bar. We had a couple of drinks there, had a ton of excellent sushi and then hit the casinos. Since our hotel was across pracitcally on the state line between California and Nevada, Casinos abound! Alex and Anita were particularly excited about this. Ash and I just wanted to have another drink. But I did win $30 from $1 on the slots! Big time!

New Sunglasses!

First taste of the beach!

Friday was supposed to be our first beach day but when we got to Zephyr Cove we decided to take a ride on this old time paddle boat to tour the lake. It was beautiful scenery but with so many people it's probably the only thing I would have skipped or done differently on our trip.

The views were amazing!

The drinks were strong!

And the company was great!

Getting a little sun!

The view of Emerald Bay!

No surprise Allie and Mila made a friend and took over the stage!

After the boat, we headed back to the hotel for some downtime and we decided to walk around a bit. Jake and Alex were in line for ice cream for an eternity and we were happy to not be waiting in-line.

Allie wanted to do the bungee-cord jump thing but was skeptical at first. But then, of course she loved it! She even went a second time the next day!

Now we're getting the hang of it!

Back to the lake for probably my favorite day!

The "Baywatch" shots!

Kira loved it too!

We rented a boat and spent a glorious afternoon on the lake!

Here we go!

Captain Ash!

My peeps!

Wind-blown Mila

Love this picture of Anita!

Next up...Captain Alex!

Jake and Allie both jumped right in! Jake hopped out quickly and said it was way too cold but Allie loved it and wouldn't get out!

Their perfect way to end a great day! Ours was with a babysitter an amazing steak and killer bottle of red!

On Monday, the Chitre/Tulsiani 4 headed to San Francisco to visit their new nephew and we headed out for another day of adventure!

Jake really wanted to try fishing so we went to the Tahoe Trout Farm where they make it really easy to catch something! I got one and then Alex and Jake caught one. I'm still wondering how I ended up having the job of baiting the hooks!

We even watched the fish get cleaned and he showed us the fish heart! The kids thought that was so cool/gross!! We were able to take one fish to go and there was a restaurant nearby that would prepare the fish for you and Allie's choice for fish two was that it be donated to the baby bears at the zoo!

Next up, back to the beach! Allie and I had some girl time in the lake and Alex and Jake went up in the air!

Off they go...

and up they go!

That night Jake and I enjoyed our morning catch!

The next morning, we left Tahoe and headed to Reno with a stop in Carson City and the Nevada State Museum which was as exciting as this big book!

We stopped at the Reno Children's Museum before heading to our hotel. It was really nice but we were really ready to chill out for a bit and Alex may have mentioned that there was a whole arcade at the hotel that they were excited to get to!

The kids loved the arcade almost as much as Alex loved

the grown up arcade (read: Casino) upstairs!

We got back to Austin in time for "Meet the Teachers" on Friday for both kiddos.

Allie was so excited to be a Mustang, she was drawing pictures for days before meeting Ms. Leslie and Mr. Travis! Here Ms. Leslie is checking out one of her creations. So far we absolutely LOVE the Mustangs and all the buzz on Ms. Leslie is true!

Of course, BFFs coordinate their outfits!

Next up: Hill Elementary and meeting Jake's awesome

3rd grade teacher, Ms. Hoffner.

First Day of School! First day of 3rd grade and first day of Pre-K and last first day at ECP!

Jake's alternate pose! Clearly, too cool for school!

Our first drop-off was Jake! He's so excited for 3rd grade. His teachers are Ms. Hoffner (homeroom and language arts and social studies) and Ms. Monreal (math & science). They've both been teaching for about four years and seem super nice and fun!

Starting off the morning with Ms. Hoffner!

Allie didn't want to leave Jake until she realized it was time to go to her school!

She walked right in (after visiting her teacher from last year, Ms. Judi) and was ready to go!

As if anyone was worried, Allie is doing just fine in her class! I walked in to pick her up during the first week of school and found her on her throne as the queen directing a bunch of boys as her guards on their next move.

After a successful first week of school, we walked for breakfast tacos on Saturday morning! What could be more Austin than that!

Soccer shopping but this time for Allie! She starts soccer in September with the Pink Popsicles and Coach Daddy!It is going to be too cute for words!

Jake and Allie in ball form. :)

A little impromptu reading nook!

More PlayStation playdates!

Sunday evening dinner at Hat Creek with our peeps!

These girls...Red, White & Adorable!

Great vacation and a great back-to-school makes for a great month!

July was fun and fast!

This scene was quite common as we've changed up the play room to be a little older for Jake. Also, this couch faces a giant tv on the wall that is attached to a play station. Jake is a happy boy!

While Jake & Dylan played, we enjoyed having his parents for shabbat dinner.

It's still really hot here but whenever I can, I love being in our backyard. I can't wait for Fall to really break it in!

Happy 4th of July!

Allie & Penelope joined me for the neighborhood parade!

We found a few friends, loved waving the flag and finding the candy from the parade floats!

After the parade, we met Jake and Alex back at Penelope's house for some pool time. Always love hanging out with these favorites!

Cupcakes & a hose to wash them off!

Great picture of the dad's but somehow we forgot to take a picture with the girls!

Bestie time at the park!

That same weekend we went to see Secret Lives of Pets with the kiddos. They loved it!

More playstation-ing! Friends and new neighbors Alex and his sister Brooke came to play while mom packed for the move!

This girl! She decided that pink bear needed to have a naming ceremony for baby bear!

First sports injury for our little sport! He was playing goalie during a soccer game and injured his pinky! Nothing was broken and with the help of a little tape, healed itself. He loved looking at his bones and thought that was pretty cool!

We had an uncharacteristically unplanned weekend and it was lovely! We headed to an almost empty pool at the JCC and followed up our afternoon with a sweet treat!

#stud

Sweet Caroline's Snowshack has some pretty great Sno-cones!

Jake thought his tongue was pretty colorful

but Allie definietly wins this one!

A hair-cut for Allie turned into a mini spa day for my mini-me!

We had a super nice Friday night with 3/4 of the Riemers over for Shabbat. It was so sweet to see Jake & Jacob who have been friends since they were 3 playing together.