So much fun in the snow!

SATURDAY

Saturday went pretty darn well. We made it out of the house by 10:15 (my dream departure time was 9:30am). We didn’t hit too much traffic leaving the Bay Area. We got In-n-Out near Srockton and then were at our cabin 80 minutes after eating. We unpacked, put on our snow clothes and headed up to the Sno Park.

The cabin we are staying at is actually a little below the snow line, but there is some snow on the porch and around the house. The kids are very happy about that.

We got to play in the snow (at the Sno Park) for about 90 minutes, which was all our kids could handle. We also learned how many layers we need.

We got home and made dinner. We packed breakfast, lunch and dinner for three days and I am pleased by how well we did. It was a TIGHT fit in the trunk so we didn’t feel like we had space for anything extra and that forced us to be pretty discerning.

We watched The Rise of Gru as a family on Netflix (the only service on the cabin’s TV). The kids and I had seen it, but my husband hadn’t. He loves dumb humor so he was laughing the whole time.

The kids passed out easily, and my husband followed their lead not long after. I stayed up too late and finished a Spanish series I had been watching.

SUNDAY

Sunday went even better than Saturday. We left the cabin around 11am and made it to the farther away Sno Parks by noon. We found a great bill to sled and just ran it for 90 minutes. It had a couple little jumps, which felt great in our weird inflatable sled (which somehow is still going strong 5+ years later).

We ate lunch in the car and then drove across the freeway to the other Sno Park. We found another great place to sled, but this one required a lot more trudging through deep snow. We were all pretty tired but the sun was out and we ended up staying there for another two hours.

We left the Sno Parks around 4pm. My husband had put a hold on the first audiobook of the Lockwood series (now a series on Netflix) and the kids (and adults!) were super into it on the hour up to the parks, so everyone was eager for the drive home. Having that to listen to for the remaining drives of the trip will definitely add to the joy of the experience.

At home we made dinner again. The kids played games on their devices while we took turns (and spaced out) showers and baths. I got to enjoy a drink in the big bathtub, which was fun.

TODAY

Sleeping was a little bit challenging last night – my daughter has a cough and my husband snores – but a futon bed downstairs (and melatonin) saved the day for my son and me.

Today we’re planning on heading to the closer Sno Park and then trying out a sledding hill we’ve seen people parked at off the highway. We’re not in a hurry to leave this morning. We’ll pack our lunches and then make dinner when we come back. Hopefully we’ll watch something as a family.

(The AieBnB wasn’t super cheap, but everything else about this trip has been very economical. Besides the two meals at In-n-Out we’ve made all our own food and brought all our own snacks. We only spent $10 at the gas station store on stuff the first night).

TOMORROW (AND THIS WEEK)

Tomorrow we’ll pack up and head home. We’ll probably get In-n-Out on the way back. We’ll definitely keep listening to the first book in the Lockwood series (The Screaming Staircase).

Hopefully I’ll post again later in the week. I have Wednesday, Thursday and Friday off. A friend is in town so I hope to hang out with her at some point. There will be lots of laundry to do and some papers to grade. The kids’ rooms could use some work. It probably won’t feel like a break, but it will provide the ample margins needed to maintain my sanity after last week. And this has been a real break! It’s been really fun.