Two Videos from the cruise, the first as we were leaving port. The 2nd many days later, last night at sea:
V I D E O: (if you’re looking for Grace, look for the tiniest kid out dancing, she’s right in the thick of it, even tough she’s only half the size of the other kids!
We decided to take Grace out for her first stay in a Hotel, and what better place to go than Lake Tahoe.
It was great fun, -with an afternoon full of sight-seeing, then an evening of sillyness, including a pijama party. The next day some fun at the lake. Oh, and you’ll see a few trips to Starbucks for hot chocolate too.
We took a trip to Virginia City and rode the pumpkin train. It was good fun …but you’ll see in the video Grace was a tad tired. This is the same train that Grace and Dad rode a few months back, but today they had a pumpkin theme -as well as many people on the train. Probably the most fun were the trips through the tunnel.
And what fun. First was breakfast at Hash House A GO-GO, then to the Hack4Reno, then to the Memorial Park. This is where the real fun of the day was -Grace came up on a pack of kids that were much bigger/older but they took good care of her and were so very nice to her. Grace is really developing her social skills and in this video you’ll see how well she goes about “playing with the big kids”
VIDEO:
After this fun it was a coffee break, then back to Hack4Reno where Grace had fun before we eventually headed home.
Grace was part of the fun when mom and dad did a BBQ for some riders at Honey Lake. But the big surprise was when Grace saw her friend Jerry, who was delivering a beautiful present from his daughter Claire. Claire and Grace have taken a real fondness to each other. Here are pictures of Grade posing with her new dress:
Click Image To See More Pictures Of Grace and her New Dress
And here is a cool video that Claire’s dad took with his phone:
Grace has really got speedy on her two feet and she LOVES to run. She also has a ton of energy so it’s a pretty amazing combination when she sets out. Today we went to the park and she went for nearly 1/2hour of non-stop action. A portion of it we captured on this video:
After the NV Museum of Art, Grace went to “Kids Day” at Sparks Marina. It was crazy fun with a full assortment of people. Grace was eager to do activities that she’s not ready for ..thankfully some older kids helped her along, but mom and dad were a bit nervous as Grace attemtpted some things with much bigger kids aggressively playing all around her.
Grace went back to art class. Many will remember she did this before her first birthday, that day was quite the adventure (here). Today was great fun as well and Grace spent some of the time with a very funny boy named Micah. He’s in many of the pictures.
Big thanks to Lisa K and the Nevada Museum Of Art ….These child events are like one big fun factory. We took a lot of pictures, -click on image below to see them:
Grace was not in the best of niceness this evening, but she did set a record for riding her tryicycle! She’s been spoiled with mom/dad always eager to push her …but tonight she did very well going solo! No doubt the start of some new-found fun. Although, I’m not sure Grace was all that impressed with herself, she made the fun of riding a tricycle seem more like a chore! We’ll see what tomorrow brings!
10years since the tragic events of 9/11 ….Grace & Dad decided to take a rural road trip and hit some tiny towns …a good way to see some real home-town America and reflect. We hope that Grace never see’s such and attack on USA soil in her lifetime.
We headed north hitting towns so small many are not even on a map -as we zig-zagged off and on hwy 395. We stopped and played at tiny rural parks as we took many leisurely breaks. Eventually we headed on (dirt) backroads toward the Black Rock Desert -where we had an applesauce snack at the IBA memorial. Grace has been here a few times before -including with her friend Eric. Then, out to get silly on the playa -Grace LOVES the playa and nothing warms her dad’s heart more as he loves the playa too.
Eventually into Gerlach -which was the biggest town that stopped at on this day. They all know Grace at Bruno’s and she got the VIP treatment as usual. Know one knows Dad’s name anymore, they just refer to him as “Grace’s Dad”.
Below is a primitive but fun video that shows Grace’s spunk and appreciation for the playa:
Weekend of the Reno Air Balloons and mom had a crazy idea: Why don’t we all get up real early and go to Nana & Papa’s house to watch the balloons! Well we managed to do exactly that, mom and dad up before 5am (yes on a Saturday) and Grace up shortly after. Before 6am we were at Nana and Papa’s and it was still dark!! From their back yard we watched it slowly become light as the balloons lifted off. Often times the balloons come right toward/over the house, so close it’s as if you can touch them, but this year the winds would take the balloons the other direction. Grace had plenty of room to play and run around and even an episode of playing “Dr/Patient” was caught on video. After the balloons we went home and then a trip to the grocery store via the stroller.
Saturday night we had a late dinner at our favorite place: Murrieta’s. Always good fun.
Sunday morning we hit McDonald’s for a simple breakfast and then to Rock Park …where Grace rode her bike and played along the Truckee River. It was a great day of fun.