Big Bear

Oceanside Unified takes the entire week of President's Day off. Jim took a couple days off work so we could go to Big Bear. I really wanted to get Ever on skis. Seven years old, and we'd still never taken her to snow. It was time. Scott and Rebecca Cikanek seemed interested in going with us, but in the end they were noncommittal and it became clear they weren't going to. So I invited the Karners, and they were game.

Jim ordered some gloves, goggles, and gators for the kids, and we borrowed a bunch of old ski clothes from the Karners and Rondos. Ever broke in her goggles over dinner.

Jim rented a place that got bashed in by a fallen tree a couple days before we were supposed to go, so we were relocated to a little duplex. That meant we were next to the Karners but not in the same place, but it was fine.

I have never in my life seen so much snow at Big Bear. So much snow. It was snowing as we arrived late Wednesday night, and it snowed a ton overnight.

Wrenzy was sick and apparently afraid of cold/snow, and she refused to leave the house on Thursday. She seemed to have a fever and be unwell, but we were going to try to take her skiing. As we were trying to get out the door, she started crying that one of her ski socks didn't feel good when she straightened her toes, and she began disrobing. I stayed back with her while Jim took Ever and Tiny to pick up the rental skis and get Ever to her ski lesson. (We'd signed Ever and Alina Karner up for a ski lesson that day.)

Wrenzy was perfectly happy to play games and read in the cabin. At one point she asked, "Mommy, when is Daddy and Ever and Tiny going to be home?" I said, "They'll be gone all day, sweet love."  (Which turned out to be a lie.) She said, "OK, then let's read lots of books." We read and played Dominoes.

Meanwhile, the snow kept coming down.

After probably a couple hours, Jim returned with Ever and Tiny. Alina had thrown up that morning, and while Mel and Derrick thought it was something she ate and not a sickness, they didn't think they could send her to ski school. So Derrick and Alina hung out at their place, and Ever bailed out of ski school when she found out Alina wasn't going. 

It was determined that I would try to take Ever skiing that afternoon. It did not go well. In fact, it was pretty much a nightmare. I had no idea what I was doing, and Ever thinks she knows everything and doesn't like when I tell her what to do. Just getting her up to the ski lift was nigh unto impossible. I picked a spot where I thought she could put on her skis, but then I decided she should wait and put them on later because it's hard to get uphill in skis. She threw a little fit because I'd said she could put them on at that particular spot. So finally I said, fine, put them on. And it was hard to even get them on her, and then I had to figure out how to get her up the hill and over to the ski lift, when she knew absolutely nothing about this equipment. A man who works there saw us struggling and dragged her up the hill for a second. (Mind you, this sounds like we had to travel a great distance to get to the lift. It was not very far, but it felt like a mile.) Eventually we made it to the lift and then to the top of the bunny slope. But I didn't have any idea how to teach a kid to ski. We ended up holding hands and skiing, but then we'd run over each over, and Ever would yell at me. So then I let go of her, and she skied and then fell, and then she yelled at me. I have no patience and am not a good teacher. We made it probably three times down the bunny slope in about an hour and a half and then called it quits. 

Jim came to pick us up. Ever, while we waited for him:

We stopped for Subway sandwiches for Ever and me and then went back to our place. Ever played outside with Derrick and Christian and built a snowman while Tiny and Wrenzy napped. 

I should have insisted that Ever nap, but I didn't. Jim took Ever outside and pulled her around on her skis. Derrick built a little ramp the kids could ski down.  

Tiny woke up and wanted to build a "nowman." 

She even briefly donned the little ski boots and skis we'd gotten for Wrenzy, and Jim pulled her down the street.  

Bear Bear finally got up but refused to venture outside. When questioned, she said she didn't want to go out because it was cold.

We rescheduled Ever and Alina for a ski class on Friday. Ever did a little reading in the morning before hitting the slopes.

Ready for action:

Back at home, there was more reading.

Wrenzy got really, really sick. Photo shoot with lethargy girl:

She finally fell asleep on the couch.

Jim and I hung out at the house with the littles all day. The Karners picked Ever and Alina up at the end of their lesson, and Mel reported that the teacher said Ever did great. (She is a perfect pupil for everyone but me.) After the lesson, Ever skied with the Karners until the lifts closed at 6:00 P.M. I could not believe she lasted such a long day. Mel and Derrick said they helped her on the lift and skied with her a few times. Then she and Christian could ride the lift together, and Ever was good coming down the slope by herself. She's hard to spot in this video until the end. 

We had a lasagna dinner at the house that night with lots of treats. Before bed, Tiny and Wrenzy gave Jim some violent love pats.

Saturday was a beautiful day. We found a sledding spot on the way out of Big Bear. The view from the car:

Wren fell asleep in the car and stayed asleep much of the time we were sledding. When she awoke, she refused to get out of the car. I don't think her illness can take all the blame, and I'm concerned about her debilitating fear of winter.

Tiny, Ever, and Jim hiking back up the hill:

Tiny mostly just played in the snow at the top of the hill.

Jim and Ever on one of the more successful runs:

Most times the runs ended with a collision into the tree at the bottom.

Being cabin-bound the entire trip was not ideal, but my primary objective of giving Ever a good first skiing experience was fulfilled. So I considered it a successful trip. When we got home, Tiny asked me, "Can we go to Big Bear house again?" I said, "Yeah, I'd like to. I think we probably can." Tiny followed up, "Do we have a plan to do that?" Smart girl.