Whit and Jim: Big Bear Part 1: Lake & Ugly Nature Trail

Jim requested Monday, June 11 and Tuesday, June 12 off work so he could attend an event with the youth. He was granted the time off, but then he couldn't figure out what event he'd been planning to attend. Neither the Young Men nor the Young Women had anything going on that week. So we decided to do a long weekend in Big Bear, and it was perfect since Ever had just finished school.

Jim booked a cabin, and we drove up Saturday morning. We didn't get away very early, so little people were really tired by the time we got there. We attempted to nap, but that was a gigantic, waste-of-time, rage-inducing disaster. We started with Tiny's pack n' play in the bunk-bed room where Jim, Ever, and Wren were going to nap. The girls just kept one another awake. Mostly Tiny was the problem. She kept saying, happily, "I making noise!" over and over and over and over. I pulled the pack n' play out into the kitchen and went upstairs to the bedroom in the loft so Tiny couldn't see me. The cabin had no air conditioning, and the upstairs was a sauna. It was unbearable. And Tiny just screamed for an hour. I went down at one point to check on Jim and the girls, and they appeared to be sleeping. I suffered as long as I could and then finally went in to tell Jim we had to get up and go do something. He said they hadn't slept at all, and he was miserable. He thought I was set on having everyone nap, but I had been afraid from the beginning that they wouldn't sleep and didn't want to waste the whole day unsuccessfully attempting to nap. So we didn't communicate very well, and it was an incredibly frustrating afternoon. Eventually, though, we got out and hit the path that goes around the lake. It was lovely. Due to the failed nap attempt, we didn't have time to do the whole thing if we wanted to eat dinner and get people to bed before 10:00. That was a bummer. Nonetheless, we enjoyed the part we did.

Tiny wanted out of the stroller and was being very silly (and slow). I tried to get video of this cute hopping thing she was doing. As soon as I started filming, she plopped down on her bottom on the concrete as if it were a bed.

Then she started walking with her legs super far apart, although she stopped that, too, when I started filming.

Goosey gave me lots of love. We talked and played games while we walked. By games, I mean like taking turns naming breeds of dogs that start with each letter of the alphabet (an interesting choice of entertainment for a non-dog family.)

At one point, she saw a picture of a horse on a sign and said, "I'd rather be doing this."

She took a turn pushing the giant stroller.

While she did so, Jim gathered pine cones for the littles, which they then held and/or threw.

We went into the quaint little downtown (Big Bear Lake Village, I think?) to look for food.

We ended up giving up on a restaurant (it was too late) and just going to the store. We got baguettes, turkey, and cheese for sandwiches that night. We also got food for Sunday and treats for all days.

Sunday we went to church. The ward is very small and includes some interesting people. When we first got there, I thought it was possible they wouldn't have a nursery at all. There were almost no kids, and there were no really little kids. Then one or two trickled in, and they did end up having a nursery. After sacrament, I dropped Wren and Tiny and asked the nursery worker if she needed help, as I was doubling her numbers. She said no, she was fine.

At the end of Sunday School, a call was made for people to help in the nursery. Jim and I went and joined an older woman, who was not the woman to whom I'd originally given the littles. After a few minutes, I asked her how long she'd been in the ward. She said she wasn't in the ward; she was visiting from Utah and had just heard that they needed people in the nursery. So the three of us hung out in there for the last hour with no actual ward member present. We didn't know the kids' names. One of them pooped in his diaper, and Jim and I didn't know who his parents were. Thank goodness the other visitor did. Anyway, Tiny went to town on this bouncy horse.

Ever said after church that she only had one other kid in her class, and there were only five kids total in the whole Primary. Crazy.

Back at the cabin, my fair little lady rested on the couch.

We decided to try out a nature trail that afternoon. We weren't sure if it were stroller-friendly but decided to take the stroller. That was a big mistake. It was very, very not stroller-friendly. Jim did not have a fun time pushing the stroller up all the steep, rocky sections. Overall the hike was not super pretty and made us a little sad about California.