it was snow fun

This is a bit late to the blog, but better late than never. Plus it was pretty darn fun.

On Dec. 28, we drove up to the McAlister's cabin in Wrightwood with Kevin and Dawn and kids. On the way up, there was hardly any snow, even when we got near Mt. High. They make their own snow, and that was just about the only snow we saw until we made the turn that leads up to the cabin. Then there was some snow still on the ground. Luckily, where the cabin sits, there was plenty of slightly compacted snow. We were even able to drive in from the street, instead of leave the vans on the street. It was pretty cold that day. It seemed pretty close to 32-34 for most of the time we were there.

We got in, got the kids ready to play outside, started a fire in the cabin's fireplace, turned on the water (which had some issues that day, but we made due), and started having fun. Anna got the snow "toys" out, and...

We all began sliding down the hill.


Daddy and Tegan on the toboggan.

Jennan just got done with a slide.

Kevin, Ethan, and Aidan tuned around by the time they stopped.

Duncan sliding in a disc.

This is the view from the "top" of the hill, where we start sliding down. It's not very steep, so it's not a hard little walk.

Tegan in her favorite spot on the toboggan, and getting a free ride up the hill too. By the end of the day, she was walking up the hill with no problem.

Ethan getting a tow up the hill too, via mommy power.

Daddy and Jennan on a snow "boogie" board. I think we ended up in a bush during this ride.

Kevin and Dawn and kids.

Us. I think the two family shots were taken right before we headed in for lunch. So we did some more sliding afterward.

From the "top" you would normally stop sliding at about the driveway, because it's a long flat spot. But just on the other side of the driveway it slopes down. Every once in a while, you'd have enough momentum to get across the driveway, and go right down the other side to the next cabin's driveway. There also just so happened to be a small "ramp" down the second slope. The kids started just sliding from the driveway and over the ramp. There's Aidan just as he's going over the ramp.

Anna and the girls heading over the second slope. I don't remember if they started from the driveway or the top. That toboggan got the best distance of anything else we were riding, so it was really easy to go down both declines.

Hunter in mid-flight!

Hunter on his belly.

Here's Liam on the "snow go", which is what it says on it. Liam was a master at riding this thing. In the past, no one's been able to control it, but Liam figured it out. He could make turns, and avoid trees and bushes. He would go down pretty darn fast, but always kept his cool. He easily could go down both declines and even went past the cabin below us a few times. He had some long runs. Some of the other boys tried too, but none of them could do it like Liam could. Anna thinks he'll be good at snowboarding. Once, (by accident) he caught the ramp on the way down. He wasn't ready for that, and it "bucked" him off, and he landed pretty hard on the seat. I told him I thought it was awesome.

Near the end of the day, as we're all winding up our rides and just about to head inside to warm up and get ready to go, Liam remembers he hadn't made a snow angel yet...

And there's Tegan doing her one too.

It was a very fun day. The kids had a blast.

Snow Day

Last week, on the 30th of Dec., we went up to the McAlister family cabin, in Wrightwood, for a snow day. All those rainy days we had around Christmas were the same days it was snowing in the mountains. But by the 30th, the roads were dry and the snow was still thick.

The cabin is just around the corner from the Mountain High ski resort, so traffic getting in was really thick. But there's nothing you can do but be patient. The kids had a tougher time being patient when they can see snow, but we're not stopping to play in it.

Once we got to the cabin, (I think it was about 11am) there were some people playing in the snow in the entry way to the driveway. Not that we can drive on the drive way, it's covered in snow, but it made it a little awkward.

Anna's dad came out to meet us at the street with a toboggan to pull the kids on, over to the cabin. It's about a 40 yard walk. The trick was to walk in the previously made holes from someone else's steps, so you didn't sink in the 12 or so inches you would have otherwise with each step.

Once inside the cabin, Anna's mom was setting all the kids up with snow gear for playing in the snow. Snow bib pants, jackets, gloves, boots and even hats if they needed them. They have a bunch of all that stuff for snow days at the cabin for the grandkids. And we are glad they do.

Once the kids were set up to play in the snow, they were out the door. Grandpa showed them where they could slide down, and that's pretty much what they did for hours. They have a two person snow boogie-board that's super light, and it became Liam's favorite. He was on that thing for most of the day. Eventually everyone had a turn or two inside, for lunch, or the bathroom, or warm up, etc., but Liam did those things the least; to the amazement of everyone. We also worked on a snow fort, threw snow balls at each other, built snowmen, and all that other fun snow stuff.

Anna's parents had to head back to Pasadena for the evening, so they left before we did. At about 4:30-ish we made the boys come in the cabin. We ate some of the dinner we brought, watched Wall-E, and warmed by the fire, before loading up to go home. I think we left at around 7:30pm.

It was a really fun day. I think we ended up taking over 60 pictures that day, maxing out all of our memory chips. Speaking of pictures, here are some from that day...

Good times.