Maria's 2nd 25th Birthday

My angel turned the big 5-0.  Had to find a great way to celebrate, so we invite our friends up to South Lake Tahoe, rented a house and had a whole lot of fun.

Our friends from northern and southern California who came to celebrate this great time.  Not pictured are Lori, Brian and Barry.

Alyssa and Nate spent two days in snowboard school.  We had planned for only one day, but they both loved it so much, they asked to go back the next day.

Nate had a blast, really likes snowboarding over skiing.  Instructor says he's really relaxed and able to handle the board really well.

The first day, Nate and Alyssa had a nearly private lesson as they were the only students in the class.  Their instructor, Rico, was popular.  The kids kept calling him Puerto Rico.

Nate showing the great form on the board.

I think what Nate likes most about boarding is that he can frequently get down and actually play in the snow.  It helps him have even more fun while on the mountain.

Nate and Rico with a big high 5 celebration after making it down the run.

The 4 story house we rented worked perfectly.  The kids took the very bottom floor and I brought the Wii for them to play with.  Between iPads, Wii, pool table & Nintendo DS the kids downstairs were fully entertained while the adults upstairs were able to party all night.

For dinner, the group went to a great local Tahoe restaurant called Capisce, that we had found recently on one of our earlier trips in the ski season.  The food was as usual phenomenal, made even better by the great company.  Want to give a shout out to the owners who were able to accommodate our very large and very loud party.  Thank you!    

A little hard to get everyone in the photo, small restaurant, large group, but aside from our photographer Barry we squeezed everyone in.

Love the photo here.  Mike D brought the bottle of wine, Brian getting ready to take a sip, but the look on Lori's face is priceless.

The girls group shot.

The skiing at heavenly may not be the best but the views sure are.

The Epic mix team has photo stops all over the mountain and we took advantage and got lot's of photos.

Maria and I enjoying the snow.

Heading up from the Nevada side onto the lifts as we enjoy our final day on the mountain.  Happy birthday my angel, hope you had a great time, we sure did!