Life of An Oates: Big Bear

The day after Christmas we packed up and headed for Big Bear to spend the weekend with the Nydams at their cabin. What would usually take 1 1/2 hours tops to get there ended up taking us 5 hours. We took the 38 up and on the long stretch towards the turn to Forest Falls, traffic was stopped. It took us over 3 hours to go 8.5 miles! I got out and walked CoCo 2 times and people were getting out of their vehicles to talk to other people. Just past Angeles Oaks there was a CHP chain check. Since we had 4 wheel drive we got through just fine. It wasn't snowing, but there was some snow and ice on the road. It was slow going from that point, but it wasn't stop and go. Everyone and their mother decided to make the best of the great weather and tons of snow. Anyway, we made it and all in all everyone (5 kids and the dog) did very well. Thank Goodness for the DVD player and snacks in the car.

We had a GREAT time! We relaxed, played games, ate, played in the snow, watched the dogs (we took CoCo & the Nydams had Duke there), chatted around the fire while the the kids (and the adults) all loved playig Wii and DS. All together there were 5 Jim Nydams, 4 Jack Nydams, 7 Oates, 2 friends, 2 dogs and 1 cat, which made for a wonderful time!

James, Jacob and Sarah all went snowboarding on Saturday and had a great time. The kids all enjoyed playing in the snow and it was nice to be able to play a bit and then come back inside and warm up before playing again. We went sledding on a near by hill and the kids had a blast.

I took a million pictures, so I made a bunch of collages! Each kiddo has their own collage.

As you can tell by Zach's cheeks it was freezing cold (California speaking) On Saturday it didn't get above 32 degrees, but that didn't stop him! He had so much fun. I'm not sure which he enjoyed more, the snow or playing Wii...made for a perfect weekend for him!

Gracie was counting down the days until she and her Dad could go snowboarding together...not quite like she had planned I guess. She woke up not wanting to go, but we convinced her and she got ready and was excited that is until she realized how cold it was outside. When they left for the slopes it was 9 degrees and they ended up standing in line for about an hour, outside in the shade. They didn't even make it to get her rentals before James called saying she was too cold! Maybe we'll try next year. Anyway, she had a blast sledding and playing in the cabin.

Hoper cracks me up! We didn't have any boots for her, but there were a pair of rain boots at the cabin that were about 3 sizes too big, but they ended up fitting over her shoes, so it worked. She ended up pretty wet and cold, but she wore what she wanted and still had a good time!

Grady had a blast! He was our built in entertainment. The first day he loved the snow, well until we went sledding and the second day he liked sledding until he got cold. After that he was just done!