Gray's Peak Overnighter - Big Bear (May 2024)

The night of Friday, May 24, 2024, we drove up to Big Bear after Jim finished work. We hit a grocery store, which provided a sugar-filled breakfast Saturday morning.  

We went on a little walk on a trail at the base of Snow Summit. Giant fallen trees make for fun jumping and climbing. 

The Littles started jumping from a spot below the summit. 

Then Berry moved to the top, but Tiny couldn't get up the courage. 

After church on Sunday afternoon, we hiked up to the top of the Gray's Peak Trail. It was incredibly hot on the way up. As hot as I could handle, really, although Jim claims it wasn't so bad.  

Jim checked for the vanilla smell in this woodpeckered-to-death tree.

Ever helped us set up tents while the Littles played on the rocks. 

This looks like Ever/Wren love, but it may be Ever trying to make amends after Wren got upset about something. Hard to say.  

Jim said he was better at the floss than I, so we had an on-camera dance-off. 

Although the hike up was terribly hot, golden hour was glorious. 

Ever prepared this selfie for me to find on my phone later. Sweetest. 

I wish I could remember the details of that night (I'm writing this in February 2026), but all I really remember is that it was absolutely magical and I wished I could hold onto it forever. It was a perfect moment in time with these most amazing girls. I was very moved, out there under the night sky, looking down at the lights by the lake, with the girls being so fun together. 

I videoed blackness just to capture a snippet of their new song, which repeated, "And a rude, rude, toot, toot rudey" (inspired by someone's rudeness, I believe). Mostly, this snippet captures Berry yelling at people for doing the harmony wrong, but - still fun.

Jim used his phone to tell us about the stars, and Tiny LOST HER MIND when we told her that the moon was below us, visible to the other side of the world. We tried to explain it over and over again, but she just kept exclaiming that the moon was supposed to be above us at night, and how could it be below us?! 

Campsite at night, with lights below.

The next morning, we packed up and headed back down the hill. 

Filtered some water on the way. 

Ever had started to feel unwell late Sunday; on Monday, she was really not good. She crashed when we got back to the cabin. 

Let's Play Music Recital, Ukus for Mother's Day, & Scholarly Presentations

Tiny had an end-of-year recital at the Carlsbad Dove Library for her Let's Play Music class with Katie Gustafson.

The class, from L to R: Paige Nearents, Evie Gustafson, Piper Bunnell, Tiny, Ming-Ming AKA Bright (Ming-Ming is the nickname; the given name is Bright!), and Griffin Warr (whose height belies the fact that he is only six months older than Tiny).

Jim and I had driven separately to the recital. It included students from not only Katie's classes but also another teacher's classes. It was incredibly long and painful. Not that Jim would know. Shortly after Tiny's cute portion, Jim asked if he could leave. I said, "I guess." So he got up and walked out. Meagan and Pete Bunnell (Piper's parents) were sitting behind us. The next time I saw Pete, he asked if Jim had just left because he was bored, and when I confirmed, Pete said Jim was his inspiration. 

While we were sitting in sacrament meeting on Mother's Day, I discovered ukus (head lice) on Wrenzy. We rushed home when the meeting ended, and I spent the day combing out hair while Jim did laundry and stuff. Tiny, Wrenzy, and I all had it. I put The Sound of Music on for the girls to watch while I combed. It seemed like a relatively Sabbath-appropriate film and was helpful for passing the hours. The infestation was pretty bad. Ever tried her hand at combing, as well. 

I was very grateful that this happened on a Sunday, when Jim was around to help and we were able to spend all day at home dealing with it together. 

Tiny gave me the sweetest Mother's Day card (possibly a day or two late, because it references the ukus). Not complaining about making dinner, she says? That part's not true AT ALL.

She even made Jim help her get a Target gift card and put it in a pouch with a Reese's in the back. 

Sweet Bear gave me a card and some of my favorite gum. 

The day after the ukus, the end-of-year scholarly presentations at school began. Missy dressed up in jammie pants for hers. 

Tiny one-upped Ever and wore a full jammie outfit. We're super classy. 

The Littles took me by their art displays after Ever's presentation. 

A couple days later, Tiny did her presentation. 

Wren was last. There's nothing like driving to Encinitas three different days for scholarly presentations. It's great public speaking experience. Other than that, I'm not sure about the value. But the girls do a good job.