Over the river and through the woods . . .

To Lake Tahoe we go.  Another car trip and we all know what that means . . . surprise balls!  These things are like crack for the children.  From the moment we got in the car they started begging for them.  With our car packed full of so much sh*t we actually worried that we would violate the weight limits on bridges, we set out for a Nelson family Christmas in Lake Tahoe (the Nelsons are Heather’s mother’s family – the one that has 11 of her 15 cousins who between them have 11 children (and several of them are not even married yet).  The adventures over the next 12 days will give the Griswolds a run for their money.

It wouldn’t be a Dugdale family vacation without a few lessons learned early:

1)      When you purchase a foam project for the children, make sure that it does not say “non-adhesive, glue required”.  Despite having outsmarted the project by bringing glue sticks for the children, it didn’t stick to the foam and there was A LOT of whining.  If I had just set their expectations low and not had any d@mn surprise balls in the first place, I wouldn’t have this problem.

Yes, everything is piled up to the children's eyeballs and the baby is in a cave in the back!

2)      When you are trying to help the baby put her seatbelt on, make sure that she doesn’t have a candy cane in her hand when you get close.  Otherwise, you will end up with a new hair embellishment that will become a permanent part of your new “do”.  Sh*t, Sh*t, Sh*t!  That really hurt to take out.

3)      When selecting your winter wonderland destination for Christmas, make sure you do it on a year when the cold air jetstream isn’t hanging out somewhere above Greenland!  Otherwise you will find yourself in that winter wonderland without one f*#&ing drop of snow.  There was literally no snow and not one drop in the forecast for the entire 12 days.  D@MNIT.  We schlepped all these ski clothes for nothing!!!  And, do you know how hard it is to entertain children in a snowy destination with no snow?!!!

Even though there's no snow, it's still f*#&ing freezing!

Two random recommendations if you’re heading up to Tahoe from San Diego:

1)      Stop in Moreno Valley at Portillo’s for dinner or lunch.  They have fantastic salads and beef sandwiches and their French fries are amazing!

        2)  Stay at the Ramada Limited in Bishop City about an hour outside Mammoth - $88 a night and we
              had a suite with a queen bed and two twins.  The kids had their own room that was off our room
              and had its own door and TV.  It was fantastic!