Off to Big Bear, CA

A vacation to the mountains couldn’t come fast enough for us this summer.  We’re not super fond of triple-digit temps in Texas, so we always try to head north to escape the heat!

We vacationed with our dear friends and Marin’s best buddy, Oliver.  Unfortunately, we had to take separate flights so the entire day of traveling was spent with Marin asking, “Where’s my Oliver buddy?”  “When will I see my friend?”  “Are we there YET?”  *sigh*  She was great on both of our flights and insisted on meeting the pilot each time!

We met up with our friends at the airport in San Diego around 5 p.m., grabbed a few groceries, some dinner and headed for the mountains!  Woo-hoo!!!

Picnic at the Austin airport.

Fascinated with the airplanes and all of the action!

Finally, it’s OLIVER!!!  Such a sweet boy!

Ready for a long ride up the mountain!

Our first day in Big Bear we hit the local zoo—similar to the Austin Zoo where they take in injured or abandoned animals.  Nothing fancy, but it was solid toddler entertainment.

Checking out the snakes!

Massive brown bears!

A pack of wolves--I’ve never seen a pack of wolves in action (thankfully) other than on tv.  These guys were our favorites.  We howled at them, they howled back.  Wooo-woooo!  We howled again, they howled right back!  What a fun game!  A dog was walking on the outside of the wolves’ cage and it was amazing to see these creatures jump to action.  They all (maybe 10 wolves) flocked to the fence and started crouching down and following the dog.  Lucky for that dog, the fence was between him and the wolves otherwise he would have been lunch! 

Here’s Marin howling at the wolves--Look at those lips! 

Even the Daddies loved the zoo!  Ha. 

The next day, we went exploring on a trail that followed Big Bear Lake. 

Marin was excited to throw rocks every chance she got!

Little love…so sweet.

 

The next day we rode the Alpine Slides!  This was great fun for everyone!

I even broke the rules and went down one time—very, very slowly!

Jason and Marin coming down the mountain!

She loved it!

But I think she loved her post-Alpine Slide treat better!

 

Our last day in Big Bear we were all itching for a good hike.  So, we found a hike advertised in a flyer that was considered ‘easy’--about 2 miles long with a ‘champion’ tree at the end of the hike.  Sounded like a winner…The Champion Lodgepole Pine Trail.

Little did we know we had to drive to the top of the world to get to the trailhead.

And ultimately, we had to park the car and walk because the road to the trailhead became too rocky for our mini van rental.  There were some intense moments with Jason backing up over rocks near the edge of the cliff—but that’s a story we don’t want to relive!

Thank goodness for our Ergo carrier!  Marin napped nearly the whole hike. 

After an intense hour drive, a 45 minute hike, here’s the base of the ‘Champion’ tree.  A tree can’t be labeled a ‘champion’ until it’s over 400 years old (Who knew?) and this baby was 440 years old!  It was so huge we couldn’t get a picture of the whole tree in one frame.

It was 110 feet tall with a circumference of 20 feet!  Pretty amazing. 

Another opportunity to throw rocks on our hike!  Yea!

We saw this sign a little too late! 

I’m not sure that rental mini van will ever be the same, but what Hertz doesn’t know won’t hurt ‘em, right!?

We loved our time in Big Bear and will certainly try to go back again!  Next stop…San Diego!

Tiny Dancers

Marin and a couple of her friends are taking a 6-week summer session of tap and ballet at a little dance studio right down the street from where we live. 

This is her first experience doing a class sans mama.  The mamas watch through a smoke-glassed window, but nonetheless, she’s on her own. 

When I left her with her teacher, there were big crocodile tears…there was bawling…there was pleading…there was a steady steam of snot… and once I became brave and walked out of the room, there were about 5 more minutes of severe crying (by Marin—not me!) and then she was fine!  Whew.

By the end of the 45 minute class, our little ballerina was good as gold following directions, tapping, jumping, arabesque-ing, and having a ball.  Let’s see how it goes this week!

Getting ready to go and showing her Daddy how ‘fancy’ she looks!

Practicing a few moves!

Did I mention the BEST part about dance class is getting a sucker at the end??

Big Girl Bed

When your kid is a good sleeper and a great napper, who wants to disrupt a good thing much less a good night’s sleep?  Not us.  We envisioned an over-tired toddler screaming all night and us lugging her back to bed 100 times before she finally collapsed to sleep, so we were very hesitant to make the switch.

We talked LOTS about the ‘Big Girl Bed’ before we made the switch and tried to get Marin excited about it.  Finally when the time came, she handled the switch beautifully.  The first night was flawless with a bit of whimpering at the door, the second night she climbed out of her bed and banged her head on the wall and got a fat lip, the third night, she learned her lesson and stayed in bed all night and slept like a champ!  THANK YOU, JESUS (and Serta)!

Good-bye, crib!

Hello, big girl bed!

Springtime on the Farm

It was a perfect day to head out to Crowe’s Nest Farm!  This is an amazing farm that is set up solely for the purpose of educating city-slicker kids (and adults!) about life on a farm.  Marin had a blast and the Wizard got schooled on the differences between a goat and a donkey!   Ha!

Checking out the turtles.

Our BFFs, the Balagias & Mimi!

A barking toad…

These girls are so sweet together.

A milking demonstration with Jersey, the cow…  Apparently, most kids visiting the farm think milk comes from H.E.B.!

This brought back lots of memories for me of growing up on a dairy farm.

‘Bruce’ the buffalo was a force to be reckoned with!  He refused to share his lunch with the other buffalos.

A pretty little pony with blue eyes.

Marin loved the chickens! 

The peacocks had a very loud call that surprised the girls.

These city-slickers were tuckered out after a morning at the farm!  Hopefully we’ll make it back this fall for the pumpkin festival and more fun on the farm!