the muscarellas take on lake tahoe!

when my mom married my stepdad back in 1998, i went from having 2 cousins to approximately one million. my step dad is a true italian and comes with the massive family to prove it. so about a year ago, some of the cousins started talking about a family reunion. and then somehow or another, we actually pulled it off!

so grandma and grandpa muscarella had 3 kids - mark, joe, and gigi. mark had 6 kids, joe had 10 kids, and gigi had 4 kids. my step dad belongs to mark and he grew up in new jersey. joe's 10 kids grew up in california and all still live there today. my mom and stepdad have been married since i was 9 years old - and until this trip - my mom, nor my sister and i, had ever met any of the california muscarellas!

after a  super long day of travel, i got into lake tahoe around midnight california time. momma picked me up in reno and when we finally got to the resort (lakeland village), my heart was so full to find my first cousins drinking around a bonfire. i hadn't seen a lot of them in a few years and i absolutely loved getting to spend a whole 5 days with them.

over the next 4 days we beached, drank (a lot), paddle boarded, cooked out, rented out a restaurant for our big party, gambled, swam in emerald bay, parasailed, and got to know the "westies." it was an amazing vacation and lake tahoe is easily one of the most beautiful places i've ever been. 

{my parents and i went out on a boat with a few of brian's cousins and drove over to emerald bay. it was so beautiful and brian said he couldn't pass up a chance to swim there. so before we knew it he had thrown himself into the water and scared my mom and i half to death. but getting to swim with him in one of the most beautiful bays in the world was truly special. there are a lot of things his stroke took away from him and from us, but his determination and spirit have never wavered. i am thankful.}

this was one of my all time favorite trips and i am so glad i was able to make it. hoping to make it out to california for easter next year for the annual muscarella easter bash!