Our Second Annual Trip to Big Bear

If a picture is worth a thousand words, then here are many thousand words worth.

We went up to the mountains east of Los Angeles, about a 2 1/2 drive under normal conditions.  Nothing was normal about our conditions.  The fastest way up there was closed due to a portion of the road sliding off the mountain back in December from all of the rain.  We took the scenic route which was about 3 hours.   

We went with 2 other families.  Last year there were 4, but this year one family had to opt out.  We found a new house this year.  It worked out well but wasn't quite as luxurious.  And we found it funny that there was no dining table...but there was a pool table.  To get to the hot tub we had to walk out to the street and under the carport!  

Each pair or part of a pair got to go skiing or snowboarding each day.  The other adults would stay behind to watch the kids.  The first day it was just nice weather with snow already on the ground.  The second day it snowed all day.  It was beautiful!  This was the day that John and I went skiing.  John rented a snowboard this year due to his boot breaking on the first day for him.  He was actually pretty good due to his newest hobby of surfing.  Yes, he really is becoming a Californian!

I, on the other hand am not a very practiced skier.  I basically ski with my "breaks" on, leaving me with very sore thighs after about 5 minutes.  Once I got over that and decided to just be sore and live in the moment, I had a great time!  John and I were almost at the same level with him boarding.

We had delicious dinners each night, each family taking turns to cook.  We had more food than we could have ever needed for 3 nights!

Chasey and Emilie (pictured at the way top left together) definitely acted like sisters and were constantly picking on one another!  It was kind of funny day one but by day four, they were making us crazy.  It is a blessing that they feel so close with each other.  At one point they snuck a box of fiddle faddle and were eating it; neither of them having eaten popcorn before.  They are a bit mischievous when together!  Have to watch out for them!!

We were very thankful for this little getaway.  It's always nice to have a vacation to look forward to.  It took us almost 4 hours to get home as chains were required and people were driving slower.  It was a little nerve wracking at times as we'd come to a dead stop and sit for 15 minutes not knowing what was happening ahead of us.  We were so happy to be home and out of the car.

We couldn't have asked for a better weekend or better friends to be enjoying the mountains with!

Until next year, thanks for the snow and the memories!!