SkYEEing

We headed up to Reno again to check out the snow once a year. You never know what you see regarding the weather... it's so unpredictable...

We headed to our usual resort, Mt Rose, to our usual spot in the lodge and snow play area. 

This was 2 years ago December...

This was 1 year ago December...

This was 10 months ago April...

This was a few weeks ago in February...

What a huge difference isn't it? We never know what we get until we get there! But we still had a great time!

This time we went up with our friends, Michael & Angela, and their kids Jessie, Brian & Rachel. We stayed one night at the Hampton Inn & Suites.

Now I try to travel 'light' but I admit, I do tend to overpack. I try to be prepared for any circumstance from a change in weather to swimming in the hotel pool to having to stay an extra night.  It's that Type A in me.

Our friends usually travel light... very light! One time Angela and Rachel shared a carry-on suitcase for a 5 day trip to the Grand Canyon! (My toiletries and necessities would fit a carry-on suitcase alone!) So I was afraid to be embarrassed by our one huge suitcase just for 'one' night but of course it did have everything for our whole family of four in it plus our ski clothing.

To my utmost surprise, our friends brought a little bit more than I had thought!

In their defense, they say they pack 'light' whenever they have to fly! But when they drive, they just dump their house into the car!

The weather was clear and warm even without the sun. But if you stand outside long enough, it gets quite cold!

Hannah opted out on skiing (did not want to take a lesson by herself) so she hung out at the lodge with me and Angela...

...while Emily skiied with her Daddy and...

.... Rachel

Jessie and Brian snowboarded... and Michael skiied

Mt Rose attracts many Asians (as you can see from this sign on each of the tables in the lodge). During the holiday season, many come and bring their own food.. cup of noodles, sandwiches, hot pots and rice cookers. Yep. I saw someone bring a rice cooker once!

After a full day in the snow, we headed to a new japanese restaurant that we had not tried yet...

They had an all-you-can-eat option for $24.99. Our Jessie, our honor-student-track-runner-health-conscious-senior, surprisingly decided to go for the all-you-can-eat-option (to the definite surprise of her mother). It wasn't the amount of food that she wanted to consume but the cost of it. She had calculated that it was more cost efficient to take advantage of the all-you-can-eat than to order a la carte the items she wanted to eat.

So she ate...

...and ate...

...and ate! She ate a total of 3 appetizers and 6 rolls! All coming out to $62!!! For only $24.99! What a great deal!

The restaurant has this cool 'call button' on the table that you press whenever you want to order more food.

Afterwards we headed down a few shops to get some yogurt... you got to have dessert on vacation right?

This cool yogurt place had a wall full of flavors plus on the other side was a wall full of toppings.

We rolled out of Reno quite full and happy the next morning!

Free Hotel

In Reno, we stayed at the Grand Sierra Resort again but this time it was free. Apparently there was a deal where you stay 2 nights and get 2 nights free with no minimum stay. So we stayed two nights and both nights were free... no resort fee... no taxes... nada any money! What a deal!

Our two queen bed room had these two chairs in it. They were new to us since the last time we were here they didn't have these types of chairs.

Hannah thought they were quite cool. When put together, they make a cozy little bed. Perfect for her! I had to pull her legs down before she lost all circulation in them.

Apparently the lobby was remodeled with new carpet and new furniture too.

Real Snow This Time

On spring break, we headed to Reno with our Lee friends to play in the snow one last time before the season ended.

This is what it looked like when we arrived at Mt. Rose Ski Resort.

This is what it looked like in December. They had to make their own snow.

Hannah did not want to ski this time around and instead she made her own snow slide on the mountain pictured above.

Emily and Matthew skied and snowboarded respectively. Emily didn't even take any lessons this time around.

Hannah made snow angels in the fresh powder...

... and played in the snow with Hope. They even built a fancy snowman (with the help of Grace)

Faith took a snowboarding lesson for the first time and then hit the slopes with her Daddy.

She's a natural! Check her out with her daddy! No fear!

The four musketeers

Emily towing Faith along. The resort was NOT crowded at all!

Now you might be wondering.. where the heck am I and Grace?

Well.. here I am holding a snowboard with my husband.

Here is Grace posing with her husband.

And here we are pretty much stuck babysitting taking loving care of our youngest daughters while the fathers have Father-Daughter time on the slopes. I also read a book while Grace watched four episodes of Burn Notice on the iPad.

Oh.. here is a picture of how crowded the Lodge was. This is the 2nd level where we usually plant ourselves in for the day. And NO, this wasn't taken at 8am.. it was taken at 11am!!

At the end of the day, Grace felt so cooped up inside that she wanted to do some sledding so they brought out their buttsleds and slid up and down the same mountain Hannah made her slide on.

While everyone was sledding up a storm, I sat in the car and finished reading my book, Delirium by Lauren Oliver. The night before Grace and I had our Girl-Date time. We went and watched The Hunger Games, while the fathers took the kids to the hotel arcade and got them ready for bed!

Oh the sacrifices you make for your family!

To Ski Or Not To Ski

We usually go to Mt Rose (the closest ski resort to our hotel) to ski. I really like their children's ski program: Rosebuds. They take the kids, suit them up (lessons include rentals) and take them out. I have been pleased with the instructors the girls have had. Hannah, especially has had a hard time doing unfamiliar things. It's that anxiety of hers. Skiing is one of them. Offering her a prize at the end of the lesson worked.

All the girls took lessons. Emily took private lessons with her cousin, Jordan while Hannah took private lessons with her cousin, Lauren (Jordan's sister).

Personally, I don't ski. I tried for the very first time two years ago and after the first 15 minutes into the lesson, I fell, something popped in my knee and I went down. My instructor asked me to get up. I couldn't. For the life of me, I really could not and was in total pain! So they called the first aid ski patrol and I got to ride down the hill on a sled/gurney with a snowmobile pulling me.  Very embarrassing for me since I do not like the attention. It's that introvert in me. Now, my knee hasn't been the same since. I think I tore something.. probably my ACL someone said and now it feels loosey-goosey. Skiing will not be on my 'things-to-do before I die' list. At least I tried.

This photo was taken by the Mt. Rose photographer and posted on their website. It was captioned "Lotsa Laughs".

Hannah's diligent skiing.

Santa was going up on the magic carpet behind Marissa, Jordan & Emily.

Emily watching Marissa come down the hill.

Marissa did an incredible job skiing for the very first time. She's a natural!

My brother-in-law, Ken, his wife (my sister) and their sons, Z and J.

Ken, Jordan, Emily and Matthew on the lift.

Hannah finished skiing after her lesson. She came out to play with her cousin, Timothy, in the snow.

Daniel didn't ski; instead he played his DS and chess in the lodge.

Emily showing her uncle and cousins her new birdie apps on my ipad. She was educating them about the birds in our backyard.

ONGOING CONTEST... remember I will enter your name with each comment you post on anything I've written through February 9 .Random winner will receive a BIG prize!

Biggest Little City in the World Revisited

During the winter break, we headed up for a snow vacation with some of my extended family: my sister, sister-in-law, my two cousins and their families.

We usually stay at the Grand Sierra Resort. They always have a great promotional deal before Christmas. Either a two night stay free.. no minimal stay requirements; or stay one night for $39 and get two nights free. We usually stay for three nights and pay less than $70 for the whole stay.

A pleasant surprise was meeting one of Hannah's classmate at the hotel. They were staying there also. We actually unexpectedly 'bumped' into a total of four families that were vacationing there.

Katelyn and Hannah stayed at the arcade until closing.

This December was the first for us that there wasn't snow. None whatsoever.  Zipo... Nada... No snow on the roads. It was such a smooth drive up that our cars didn't even get dirty.

This is what it looked like last year same time, same place.

December 2010

This is what it looked like this year, same time, same place.

December 2011

 Actually the resorts had man-made snow. We headed to Boreal to a snow park to play in for the afternoon.

My sister and me

Emily sledding...

Marissa sledding...

Hannah trying to make a snow angel.. the snow was too hard.

Marissa collecting pine cones.

Timothy did not like his gloves and played without them the whole time. Brave boy!

Zachy on a snow top.

My 'big man' Daniel with a very large snowball.

Joshua sans his snow gear heading to the lodge for lunch.

Timothy practicing his driving skills in the arcade at the lodge.

ONGOING CONTEST... remember I will enter your name with each comment you post on anything I've written through February 9 . Random winner will receive a prize!

To Be Continued...