Adventures of Natalie & Mark: Reno

Claire's husband Robert had to go to Naval Officers training for 6 weeks this summer. Emerson and I drove to Reno to keep Calvin and Claire some company and pick them up to come back to Idaho for my Grandma's 80th birthday.

My car ride buddy - he did really well on the drive. He was very excited because Mark surprised him with a new DVD player that went on the back of the seat. He kept saying "Mom! Dad got me a new TV!"

Reno Children's Museum

They had an adorable water area that was the "Truckee River"

They had a great "Outdoor adventure" area where they had a tent set up and it looked like you were in the woods. Emerson put on his hiking backpack and played camping

Climbing in the "Cloud." He did get stuck at the very top when his shoe got stuck and fell off. Luckily Auntie Claire climbed up and rescued him.

Reno Food Truck festival. Emerson loved it

We had delicious lemonade and thai food.

Calvin also loved the chicken satay

Emerson really really wanted to ride on a little train that goes through the park. We had to get exact change so we waited until after it we ate but by the time we got back it had broken down... I distracted him with a hand dipped chocolate ice cream.

This foodie gives food truck friday a thumbs up!

It was a blast spending time with Claire Bear and adorable Calvin.

Love these boys together

The park next to Claire's house does a farm day, where local farms bring animals for kids to see. As you can imagine, Emerson loved it. The animal owners were all very surprised at Emerson as he knew what most animals were and would calmly go over and pet and see them.

This baby sheep "George" was his favorite. Calvin loved it also

The highlight for this boy was getting to ride the pony "Buttercup". When we first went over the horses I asked Emerson if he wanted to ride one and did not want to. They were a little big and he was just a little nervous. He then saw buttercup, the small pony in the back and got a little braver. After watching a little girl take a ride, he was super excited and asked if he could ride the "small one".

He tried In-N-Out and was a major major fan! He loved his hamburger and almost demolished a whole one. He said mom I like the "tomato and sauce on it."

I tried to get a picture of this cute kid before church.... didn't happen

He struggled napping a little at Claire's and ended up passing out on the couch right after church.

Lake Tahoe!

Both of these boys loved the lake. The water was a little cold but Emerson loved to venture out and look for baby fish. He spent almost 30 minutes trying to catch baby trout