CA Trip Part III: Lake Arrowhead

Tuesday morning we left Long Beach and headed up to Lake Arrowhead for the remainder of the week.  Of course, as soon as we arrived we had to go down to the lake to swim.  I kid you not, we spent more time in our swim suits than clothes for this trip!!  Ha!

 Burnt Mill Bay was first up.

 My brother, Andrew, lives in Big Bear (which is a bit further up the mountain)...so he came down to hang with us which is always good fun!

 Wednesday morning we went for a ride, and when you ride in Lake Arrowhead it's either up or down...flat roads do not exist!  And the last climb to the cabin nearly kills me every time!

And then we hit up Tavern Bay for the afternoon!

 Haley loves floating in her tube.

 Morgan absolutely loves fishing, but she has yet to catch a fish.

Thursday we headed up to Big Bear for the day (for more lake time of course) and so Morgan could fish with her Uncle Andrew.

But alas...still no fish.  Darn it.

 Morgan heading out with Ryan and Andrew...and of course Haley is out there in her tube.

Friday we decided not to go to the beach (I know...What???) and do our traditional hike to the village for ice cream.  I did this hike tons as a kid, so it's always fun to do it with my children.  It won't be long and I bet Haley and Morgan will be doing it by themselves.  

And then Saturday it was back on the road for home.

So side story:

On the way to CA we stopped into Peggy Sues for a bathroom break and to let the kids run around.  Peggy Sues is a restaurant/gift shop right outside Barstow, CA...so we were in the homestretch of the drive. When we arrived in Long Beach we realized that Piper had left her beloved Hippy (a stuffed Hippopotamus) at Peggy Sues.  Oh my, the devastation that ensued...poor Piper was so heartbroken.  I quickly called Peggy Sues and explained that we had just been there a couple hours prior and please could someone see if my daughter's Hippy was left on a picnic table.  The woman I was talking to was happy to look for him and low and behold she found Hippy!!  Just like we suspected he was left on a table.  She said she would keep him safe until our return trip a week later.  So...you better believe our first stop out of CA was Peggy Sues, and sure enough, they had Hippy safe and sound!!

 Piper was thrilled.

Happy Day!

 Pool side hotel room in St. George for no extra charge!

Happy Day indeed!

 7 layer bean dip with chips for dinner!

We're easy to please.

And more swimming!!

We got home Sunday afternoon...tired and happy.

Ryan and I even had time for quick ride!

Now, it's been back to reality and of course lots of summer craziness.

Have a great weekend ya'll!

Lake Arrowhead: Days 5 and 6

It just so happens that Ryan's older brother also has a home in Big Bear (they live in Temecula) and happened to be up there at the same time as us.  So we were pretty excited to spend the day with them since we haven't seen them in a few years.  They have two kids as well, so it was nice to have all the cousins hang out together.  We spent the day boating on Big Bear lake and pulling the kids in the raft.  Now, my girls have never been in a boat (with the exceptions of canoes and kayaks) so this really blew their minds...and the raft!!  Oh my, they were overjoyed!  Even Piper and Rory took part in the raft.

 Oh, and it just so happened to be our 16th wedding anniversary on this day!

Just for the record.

They beached the boat at a really nice spot for the kids to run around and to have lunch.

 Ryan's brother, Richard and his wife, Kelly.  Yes, two Kelly Barretts in the family.

All the cousins!

I just love their kids...they are so polite and kind and even though they are teenagers they didn't mind having all my kids hang on them (my kids adore them and really look up to them too). 

 Our last full day was basically spent just hanging out at the cabin.  We had plans of going on a hike or visiting the lookout tower, but it never happened.  I think we (me and Ryan) kinda liked to have a day to chill.  Ryan and I went for a ride in the morning and then he took the girls out for a walk in the afternoon while I cleaned up and packed. 

Andrew came down from Big Bear to spend the day with my folks and us.

We picked up some pizza and had movie night...movie of the evening: Legally Blonde.  A little much for the little ones especially...but I think most of it went over their heads.

It was a nice relaxing evening...perfect.

And that's that!

The next day we were on the road for home.

Happy Weekend ya'll!!

Lake Arrowhead: Days 3 and 4

 There is an attic space above the garage at the cabin and the girls became quite obssessed with it while we were there.  I remember when I was younger I played a couple of times up there too...I set up a little table and pretended it was my office. But then it gets mighty toasty up there during the summer, so I called it quits pretty quick.  But the girls played up there in the mornings before it heated up too bad.  Most of the time they played pretty well...some of the time they fought like crazy driving me bonkers!  I kid you not, girls fight over EVERYTHING!!

 It's a pull down ladder to get up there, I can't help but think about the movie Goonies every I pull it down.

They also set up a table, hung drawings for decoration and always brought up snacks and water.

A few days before we arrived to Lake Arrowhead they had quite a bit of rain so our favorite beaches were closed due to run off...I guess they had high bacteria levels or something.  So anyway, we had to find new beaches to go to for the week!  And luckily we did!

I was able to do a bit of riding too, thanks to grandma for watching the kids!

Ryan and I rode a total of 3 times together...in one week!!!  That is unheard of, we haven't been able to ride that much together since before kids!  It was super fun...except for the climb we had to do in order to get back to the cabin...that hurt like the dickens.

Even rode with the pops too!

You would think with all the riding in hills that I would have dropped a pound or two...not so much though.

Bummer.

Lake Arrowhead! Days 1 and 2

I WILL get a post out today!!!  I tell ya, this week has been crazy!  And to make things more difficult, I'm having trouble getting my photos off my phone to the computer...actually I'm having trouble doing a lot of things with my phone...my poor phone...it's seen better days.  

So yeah, we squeezed in a last minute trip to Lake Arrowhead last week.

 Road Trip!!

We were motivated to make this trip happen because my brother bought a house in Big Bear (about 25 miles away from Lake Arrowhead) this summer and I've been super anxious to see his new place!  He's starting a new job as the high school art teacher in Big Bear this year...we are all super excited for him!!  He's been teaching art in Lynwood  for the past several years but everything about this guy says mountains...he hunts, he hikes, he skis, he mountain bikes...he's pretty much in his element in the mountains.  And his new house is perfect for him!!  I just love it!!

So of course on our first day (which happened to be Haley's birthday!) we drove to Big Bear and spent the day there.

Andrew and his dog Levi in front of his new house.

 We decided to take the kids to Big Bear Lake to swim for the afternoon.

 Morgan had been DYING to go fishing for months, so Andrew and my other brother, Matt, took her out on the canoe (oh yeah, Andrew has a canoe too...see what I mean...Big Bear is his town!)  Unfortunately, she wasn't able to catch anything but she still had fun.

We went back to Andrew's house to celebrate Haley's 11th birthday!

BBQ, cake and presents...perfect!

By the way, I can't believe she's 11...she's growing up...and I'm getting old...sniff, sniff.

 The next day my mom, Ryan and I took the girls to the Lake Arrowhead village.  I think it's about 2 mile hike to get there...maybe...I'm not really sure.  But I have fond memories of my brothers and I hiking to the village when we were kids.  It's pretty much a given that you have to hike to the village at least once during a Lake Arrowhead visit.

And of course nothing is complete without a picture of Rory napping somewhere weird.

Apparently, the hike was a little much for her...on the way back she hit the wall.

Hopefully, I can get the rest of the trip documented in due time.

School starts next week and I feel like I'm scrambling to get everything ready and squeeze in last minute summer outings with the kids.

Happy Wednesday ya'll!!

Spring Break Part I: Easter

 Road Trip!

This year for Spring Break we drove to CA...Lake Arrowhead to be exact.  We met up with my parents and my brothers Jeffy and Andrew to celebrate Easter the day after we arrived.  The drive went very well on the way there...very little fighting between the girls, Rory took a two hour nap, and there were quiet segments when all the girls were reading or coloring...it was quite nice!  

We arrived Saturday evening and the next morning the girls hunted for their Easter baskets!

Pretty much all I remember Sunday is eating a massive breakfast, an epic Easter Egg hunt in the woods and an outstanding dinner!  The egg hunt was pretty top notch as my parents set up a separate egg hunt for just us adult kids...gift cards and straight up cash for those who found the special sparkle eggs!  Oh yeah, it got competitive!  But even with my hip checks to the guys, and diving into the bushes for all my eggs, alas,  I did not find one sparkle egg...sad face.  Next year, I'll be stepping up my game!

 That evening after dinner the girls opened their traditional Easter balls that my mom makes for them.

 I think I've explained it before, but basically it's crepe paper wrapped with little trinkets and toys spread throughout, and then in the center a huge egg with a surprise inside.  So they have to be careful when unwrapping...if they go too fast they may miss something!  They look forward to these every year!

Monday we hiked to the Village and then prepped for camping for the following day.
Camping in Anza Borrego to come!

Lake Arrowhead: Part V

My brother, Andrew, went on an African hunt last summer and scored a wildebeest, impala, and a blesbok. Well, that was last summer and his trophies finally came in straight from Africa in a huge wooden box that week.  He brought them up to the cabin to mount them above the fireplace.  The cabin is becoming quite the hunting lodge as he has a bear rug (from a bear he hunted in Montana this summer) that will no doubt be living at the cabin as well!  And I'm sure there will be more to come!

Hanging them up was a team effort!

But when it was all done it looked pretty darn good!

Haley handled to whole process very well.  She is my little conservationist, and has made it clear that she is NOT a fan of hunting.  She's my little hippie...Ryan's daughter for sure!

 Rory, exhausted...fell asleep on the bar chair.  

Probably not the safest spot...don't worry I moved her after I snapped a picture.

I think that was how we all felt by the end of the trip...exhausted.

I'm still recovering.

Driving home.

But it was all worth it!

Until next time.