Last month, my mom and youngest sister (Lucy) flew to Reno to visit Dan, Nala, and I! It was one of the best weekends of my life. I was looking forward to this for months and am sad that it's over but excited to share our trip with you! First, a little clarification on the title of this blog post. In my immediate family, half of us have blue eyes and the other half have brown eyes so that's where our nickname comes from. In our family, my mom, Lucy, and I are known as the blue eyed girls. :)
My mom and Lucy had a direct flight to Reno leaving Chicago on the evening of Thursday, May 2nd. This also happened to be Lucy's 17th birthday! Their flight came in a little later than expected but Dan and I were there to greet them in the airport around 11 that night. On the way home, we drove through In n' Out for a late night dinner! A must have if you travel to the southwest.
We stayed up late catching up but eventually got a few hours of sleep before waking up for school the next morning! My mom and Lucy were set to volunteer in my classroom for the whole school day.
It was so special having my mom and sister meet my 19 first graders. My students were obsessed with them and still talk about them to this day. Lucy even had the chance to practice her teaching skills by reviewing the spelling words with the kids before our weekly test. My mom was in her element- back with students in a classroom and it was so cool to see. Both of them did several read alouds with my class.
On the way home, we got a picture of my mom outside of Reno's EATON location which is right down the road from my school. I pass it everyday while driving. For those who don't know, my mom works at an EATON location in Illinois.
That night, we reunited with Dan and took them along the riverwalk to downtown Reno. We hung out at the Row (the three connected casino resorts in downtown Reno). Our friend, Kylie, came along and got to meet my family which was amazing. They had a Cinco de Mayo celebration which was super fun! We even played some arcade games at Circus Circus and Dan won me a stuffed elephant!
The next morning we had a college tour scheduled for Lucy Lynn at the University of Nevada- Reno! It is wild to think that Lucy will be a senior in high school next year and is beginning to look at colleges. Dan is currently studying journalism as a graduate student here with a Peace Corps Coverdell Fellowship. He was able to show us around the journalism building and the graduate student lounge. Lucy is interested in studying journalism so this was extra special for her to see! Although my choice for Lucy is UNR, I know she will be very successful wherever she decides to go. :)
After the college tour, we grabbed some lunch from a local Mexican place and then drove up to Virginia City. Virginia City is a historic mining town with a wild west feel and reported hauntings. Dan and I have been up a couple times since moving to Reno so we knew that we wanted to take our family there when they visited. It was cold up there and even started to snow but we made the most of it! We took old time photos, got drinks at some saloons, went on a cave mining tour, and even a ghost tour. It was an amazing day spent with three of my favorite people. On the way home, we stopped at BJs for dinner and Lucy got a birthday pizookie and even had a waiter sing happy birthday to her in front of the whole restaurant!
On Sunday, May 5th, we waited until the snow stopped and then drove up to Lake Tahoe! I was so excited to show my mom and Lucy one of the most beautiful places I've ever been. We went to some of our favorite stops such as Sand Harbor and South Lake Tahoe. We went hiking and got to cross into California a few times too. We ate good food, went shopping for souvenirs, and of course had to take a picture of the Elvis statue for my dad! The rest of the night was spent relaxing at home watching Dance Moms which is the Blue Eyed Girls' favorite show.
Overall, this was the best weekend I could possibly have asked for. It was extremely special being able to show my mom and sister around the place I now call home. I'm so thankful for this weekend and cannot wait for them to visit again.
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