The End of Summer

This summer has been a fun one for us and I'm sad to see it come to an end.  We didn't go on any big trips this year but we still loved going to Lake Tahoe, the Bay Area, and spent lots of time soaking up the sun by the pool.  I've been slacking on my blogging lately but here are some pictures of my favorite things we did during the last few weeks of summer.

In the beginning of August Scott's brother, Adam, and his wife, Amanda, came to visit us.  They were only here for a couple days but we were able to fit in two of our favorite places: Lake Tahoe and San Francisco.  We took them to our favorite beach, Sand Harbor, and they got to try paddle boarding for the first time.  The waves were pretty big for the lake, which made it harder to balance on the paddle board, but we still had fun taking turns pushing it around the lake.  It was such a beautiful, relaxing day.

When we got back from the beach, we headed out to "Hot August Nights", a classic car show in Reno.  The boys had fun looking at all the classic cars (I made Scott pose by my favorite, the classic mini cooper).

At the end of August we went to the Rib Cook Off, where we were able to sample tasty ribs from bbq places all over the country.  Usually we don't eat much at the Rib Cook Off because the ribs are so expensive.  This year was different because Scott's work got us a VIP table and we had ALL YOU CAN EAT ribs!  I don't even like ribs that much but I still had 2 plates and left in a food coma.   

In September, we went to my favorite big event in Reno called the Hot Air Balloon Races.  About 90 hot air balloons fill up and launch at the same time to "race" to different targets.  Not many things can get me out of bed at 6 am on a Saturday but the Hot Air Balloon Races are definitely worth it.

We ended our last weekend of summer with a little hike around Donner Lake.  It was beautiful and sunny, until about half way through when it started to rain and hail.  At least it was still pretty warm though and we hid under a tree until it passed.

The statue to show how high the snow was when the Donner Party came though the pass.  The winters here can be brutal but it's so beautiful during summer.  

The start to the hike by Donner Lake

Trying to hike up a massive boulder on the trail

Hiding out under a tree until the rain and hail stopped 

I'm sad to see the summer go but I am excited for fall!  Next weekend we're taking a weekend trip to the apple orchards in California.  I can't wait to go apple picking and eat fresh apple pie.  Hope you all had a fun-filled summer too!