Big Bear

Some of my favorite memories of childhood involve playing in and surviving the snow and cold of a Minnesota winter.  I always feel a little sad when I imagine my boys growing up here in San Diego without experiencing all the fun and challenges cold weather can bring.

However, I discovered this year that winter is just a brief road trip away, and I jumped at the chance to show the boys all the fun of the season. 

So we headed to Big Bear this week, for what will hopefully be an annual trip, making fun in the snow a regular part of the boys’ lives.  I became very excited as we hit about 6000 feet and saw the first snow on the ground.  When we reached the cabin we rented, the first thing we did was throw on all of our unmatching, ill-fitting, purchased on ebay and borrowed from friends snow gear and headed out.

There was a lot of snow, but it was rather hard.  Nevertheless, the boys were able to experience the challenge of walking in the snow.  They took plenty of spills, but took it all in stride.

They worked on their first snowman,

and then had to rush home when nature called, requiring a far more extensive process of undressing than had ever been experienced in San Diego. 

The highlight of the trip had to be our visit to the tubing hill and the Alpine slide.  The boys were little speed demons, laughing as we rushed down the big hill, spinning backwards as we went.  However, Lucas didn’t like the feeling of snow on his face, so he covered his entire face with his hands every time we went down the hill.  This only slightly muffled the sound of his laughter.

Both boys loved going on the Alpine slide with Daddy.  It was a little bobsled-like thing that required balance and good steering, so in everyone’s best interests, Mommy was disqualified from going.

After a long day of winter fun, the men celebrated by eating meat.

Our cabin was great.  We built fires and cuddled while we told stories.  Then the boys would go to sleep in the big king bed, giving them plenty of room to experiment with sleeping positions.

We also bought our own sled and discovered some great sledding hills around town.

We had a great time together, and I was so happy to share my love of winter with the boys.  They really seemed to enjoy the experience – so much so that Lucas told us he wanted to stay at the “little house” because he didn’t like our other house anymore.  We told him we had to go back, but that we’d be sure to come see the snow again.