Lake Tahoe - Emerald Bay

This rainy, fall night seems as good a time as any to reminisce about our warm Tahoe trip again.  That, and I'm such a procrastinator.  I should really be working on creating five little Halloween costumes!  But, I'll just blog instead.

A highlight from our Tahoe trip this year was our hike to Emerald Bay!  If you've never been to Tahoe, you're missing out, and you are especially missing this beautiful part of the lake.  When I was a kid, we went several times, and we even swam to Fannette Island (I had to look that up!) and climbed to the historic tea house a few times.  It happens to be halfway between our West Shore and South Shore haunts, so we drive by this view at least a few times every summer.  And, as we whiz by, we always say, "Maybe we can do that with the girls next year.  Maybe they'll be ready for it."  What we were really wondering is if we would be ready for it.  There is a steep hike down to the lake from the highway.  It's only a mile, but it feels like 10 miles when you're hiking back up to the trail head.  We weren't sure we'd be able to make it if we needed to carry more than two of the girls.  

But, we were lucky this year!  Mop and Pop were up for the day trip, which meant two more sets of arms.  And, boy, did we end up needing them!

Isn't this view beautiful?

Of course, what kind of Stecher event would this be without a photo to document we were all there?

Everyone was enthusiastic for the walk down the hill to get to the lake!

When we arrived, we snagged a great little picnic spot and got right down to the business of playing and relaxing.

We weren't counting on a kayak set-up at the beach, but it was too fun to pass up!

Matt proceeded to take three round-trip journeys to the island -- one trip each with Megan, Bridget and Annie.  On each trip, they beached the kayak and hiked to the top of the island to the tea house.  The island was privately owned many, many years ago, and the millionairess who owned the mansion on the beach would regularly have her tea out on the island.  The girls loved this special tea house history, but loved rowing with Daddy to the island even more!

I couldn't let Matt take all four big girls, though, for the sake of his over-worked arms and, of course, my own curiosity.  So, when little Tessa's turn came around, she got to row with Mommy!

I can't say I relished this experience, though!  Motherhood has made me a big pansy!  The rocky hike to the top of the island was way more treacherous and slippery than I remembered, and I kept nonchalantly asking Tessa is she really wanted to climb all the way to the top.  Of course she did!  

One trip to the tea house was enough for me!  I was more than happy to get back to playing on the beach with the girls.

We couldn't play in the sand all day, though.  We had to face that hike back up the hill eventually!  The girls mobilized, and were energetic enough for a little while, especially during a waterfall break.

But, by the time we returned to the parking lot, every child except Megan was carried for a good length of time.  Mop was a trooper with Tessa on her back for most of the hike, and Matt had Annie and Bridget for a good chunk of time.  I had Mary with me :)

I really hope we can make this a yearly thing, and that Emerald Bay will become a special spot for the girls, too!

Academy of Sciences Stecher Field Trip

It's not often that we expose the girls to everything San Francisco has to offer.  I'm hanging my head in shame that we haven't even taken the kids to Alcatraz or to Pier 39, and Megan may be the only one who's traveled via cable car.  I guess we've been a little busy the last few years...but still.  All of it is so, so close to our house, and we just don't take advantage nearly enough.  Unless you count my solo trip with the three littles to Union Square to pick up my new iPhone 5 (!!).  But, that was more emergency than fun adventure ;)  And, I definitely looked like a tourist then, because, really, who has three kids in San Francisco?  No one.  Never mind five kids!

So, we were excited to explore the local haunts a little with a trip to the Academy of Sciences.  And, this trip as made even more exciting because we were able to go with five Stecher cousins, Aunt Stacy, and Grandma and Grandpa Stecher for a fun cousin field trip.  This museum is amazing, and right up Matt's alley.  I don't think he could help putting on his science teacher hat to make the experience a little more academic for everyone! 

    

Just five of the ten kids we wrangled that day...

Look, all seven of us!

Mary was trapped in her stroller for most of the day, but she was set loose for a few minutes when we saw the Academy's albino alligator, Claude!  Sorry, I neglected to take a picture of Claude because I was so focused on trying to make Mary walk again (to no avail!).

Speaking of strollers, we had a lot of stroller hi jinx going on!

We had a great time.  Maybe we should explore San Francisco a little more often ;)

These Three

My three little buddies at home while the older girls are at school:

 

This picture cracks me up :)
 Mary is a true princess in her carriage with her horses sisters pulling her from room to room!