Lake Tahoe

 Lake Tahoe is not far from us at all (just shy of three hours), so John thought it would be the perfect first year anniversary get away for our family. He found us a great little quaint place for us that allows dogs. It had a nice pool and spa, ice machine right next to our room (8 year olds LOVE that sort of thing!), Applebee's just across the parking lot and a giant bathtub with jets! It was perfect!

If you look close you can see our cutie lil Penny having a grand ol' time in the woods! 

You don't have to look hard to find ME though! Yikes!

We found this awesome shopping area right across the street from where we stayed that allowed dogs in almost every store! Penny was so excited she didn't know what to do with herself! 

In our room we had this ghetto-fabulous idea of filling the sink with ice to keep our drinks chilled. :) The little ice bucket just was not big enough for the three of us! Then we discovered the mini fridge...ha!

We hiked Eagle Falls and it was just beautiful! The hike was not very strenuous at all so I was able to make it without taking too many rest breaks. 

The fact that we forgot to bring bathing suits didn't stop this guy from having a blast!
 The water was very refreshing. 

Here is the huge tub with jets that Brandon adored! I got him all set up, adjusting the water temp and giving him soap, then left to go relax. A few minutes later I go in to check on him and all he says is
 "I think I got a little carried away!" Yeah, ya think?! Bubbles are just so fun. 

The next day, Brandon wanted to swim first thing in the morning. 

If you ask Brandon what the best part of the hotel was, we would probably say
"The free hot cocoa in the lobby!" My son LOVES hot chocolate...even in the super hot spa!

We had to try "The Best Milkshakes in Tahoe." They were just okay, not wonderful. But totally fulfilled my milkshake need!

We wanted to go the beach but soon realized that dogs were not allowed on any beach we found. :( That was the one bummer part of having our Penny with us. Instead we decided to explore a bit and happened upon this great place just off the road. We had it all to ourselves and loved it. Brandon found fish, made instruments out of rocks and sticks, collected some neat pebbles, swam for forever and just loved being in the water.

What a blast! We have deemed Tahoe our "go-to" place for a quick vacation! It is just so gorgeous with or without snow. I'm hoping we can go back this fall.