Months ago, while talking with my Temecula neighbor, Caylie, we realized that she would be in Tahoe when we weren't so we offered her our cabin. Having our cozy accommodations, she was able to include not only her two little girls, but her parents and brother, as well. The whole family joined her on her important trip to our little town.

Caylie is the widow of Firefighter-Paramedic Andy Valenta who passed away from melanoma at the age of 33. Andy left behind these two little girls, that were only 2 and 4 at the time. His death was determined to be occupational-related. With cancer being the leading cause of death amongst firefighters, Caylie recognized the lack of cancer screenings happening in most fire departments and wanted to make a change. She knew it was just a matter of time before another firefighter died from skin cancer. She channeled her grief and formed the Andy Valenta Melanoma Foundation where her team brings specialists to the fire stations and this weekend she happened to have a screening scheduled at South Lake Tahoe Fire Station #3.
This was a first Sierra visit for most of Caylie's family so I'm so delighted that they were able do something so vital while still having a fantastic time together as a family.