This is the post that I will entitle
I'M NOT EVEN KIDDING

It all started last Thursday; a 'low coolant' warning came on in my Suburban. 'No problem, I'll just pop by the mechanic's place and have them fill it on my way to pick up the kids on Friday AM (on our way to the mountains).' Everything was just dandy until 11:30am when the mechanic told me my water pump was done. "WHAT(%* Say that again!" They could fix it quickly but it was going to take a while. I scooped up the kids and dropped off the car. We walked to McDonalds and had lunch and they played while we waited, waited, waited. Waited so long they were done and asking to leave, lol!

After a couple of hours, we got the fixed car, picked up the dog and raced to retrieve my MIL who was waiting at a hotel to be picked up. We were three hrs. behind my original schedule but the silver lining is that I was able to drive up to Big Bear with a new water pump.

Fast forward two hours, we are 12 miles from the cabin. And I hit a boulder. It looked like a ball of snow (even my MIL said she would have gone over it.) Immediately I lose all oil pressure and kill the engine so I don't burn up my motor. I'M NOT EVEN KIDDING. So I have a Suburban FULL of groceries, luggage, 4 kids, a dog, and two adults. "Hello, AAA; um, we need a tow truck." The lady took a deep breath and wasn't sure how they were going to transport us (lol!) but Collin came to the rescue and picked us up. It was going to be a two hour wait. I'M NOT EVEN KIDDING. 35 degrees outside and no engine for warmth. Silver lining = no one was hurt; I was near a large turn-out to pull over; I was only a few miles away from town and the repair shop.

Saturday Collin had to drive down the mountain to retrieve parts for the mountain mechanic, so I took all four kids skiing alone. I hung with Ian while the three bigger ones practiced on the bunny slopes. The one random time I was riding with Amanda JUST as we got on the lift her nose starts to bleed. I'M NOT EVEN KIDDING. Being a Mom, OF COURSE I have tissues, but one short lift ride and three tissues full of blood. They called ski patrol/first aid for me but it stopped after a short bit. Silver lining = I was with her at the right time and it was just a random altitude thing. No biggie. Collin met us after lunch and Ian was skiing green slopes from top to bottom after his lesson. YEAH!

Had a great king crab fest dinner on Saturday night. On Sunday, Collin drove down the mountain yet again for Sean's basketball playoff game. They won! Our friend Dale walked to retrieve my fixed car before the mechanic closed. I skied with the others and they met up with us later in the afternoon. Family skiing; really, really fun. Had a great steak dinner and watched some of the Oscars. Sean turned NINE but was way too exhausted and grumpy to enjoy cake. It was a nice evening visiting with the Messinas and my MIL and niece. The fireplace had an issue with filling the room with smoke no matter what we did so that was a bummer, but it was a really nice rental. Then, Amanda starts puking around midnight. I'M NOT EVEN KIDDING. I guess she puked from 12-5am. Silver lining = I was downstairs sleeping with Maggie and Collin handled the Amanda illness. She was better by 10am and was fine for the drive home. My drive shaft had a ding in it from the boulder so my car vibrated the whole way home if I went more than 55mph. Not a shimmy but a vibration that made everything fuzzy and my brain hurt after two hours.

So our weekend was pretty much an adventure. Or a comedy of errors. Silver lining = we spent time with friends and family and we still all love each other.

Gone are the days when Collin and I would decide the night before that we wanted to go to Big Bear for the day to ski. No reservations necessary; no bags to pack. We would just toss our ski stuff in the car and off we'd go at 5:30am. We'd ski; grab lunch; ski; relax and then head home. A long, fun day.

Now, we have plans/reservations/lists:

It involves checking the ski-stuff box to see who has outgrown what. It involves borrowing precious items (helmets & goggles, THANKS Heather!).
It involves counting down how many more 'SLEEPS' you have until we leave.
After a trip to Ralph's

and Costco and the fire wood place and Chicks sporting goods, we can go.

Nope, first you have to pack suitcases and then figure out how you are possibly going to fit this puzzle together ---- dog crate; two coolers; firewood; ski clothes; four suitcases (for us); groceries!; wine; snow chains and have room to ADD three more adults & two kids WITH suitcases into a F-150 crew cab and a Suburban. (I know what you are thinking -- usually we shop after arrival, but all the weekenders arrive on Friday afternoon and shop. It takes at least two hours if we wait until we are up there).

Check the local mountain website for road conditions.
Don't forget the Dramamine.
The mountains are calling our name

Happy Mardi Gras!

Don't give up on me........I'm still here. The last two weeks have been insanely busy with dress rehearsals and SPORTS practices galore. (all totalled we have three baseball and two basketball teams right now; in case you lost count) Just this week I feel like I have my head above water so I thought I would take a minute and share a few recent pictures (in case you don't do Facebook).......
Our little rockstar, Ian
Sean LOVES this dog
Miss Mannie

Little Orphan Maggie

TUE WED THU FRI SAT SUN
Sunny

Sunny
35 14 Partly Cloudy

Partly Cloudy
40 21 Snow Showers

Snow Showers
37 16 Snow Showers

Snow Showers
39 18 Snow Showers

Snow Showers
33 18 Snow Showers

Snow Showers
38 19

WOOT!!!!!!!!!!!!!! All this rain is making the local mountains just awesome! We are counting the days until we head up there for a weekend of skiing and snow play. My MIL and my niece Ann along with our friends the Messinas are coming out to join us. We can't wait! It's basically a few days of relaxation, skiing, great food, SMORES, games, and time together. Bonus: Sean turns nine and will get to have extended family here to share his cake.

Aaaaaahhhhh, the wonderful soft pitter-patter of rain. It's truly divine.

Since I've been in SoCal I've come to realize how much I miss thunder storms. And how much rain I used to live in. Now if we happen to get any thunder, I think it is so cool; however, it sends my kids into a panic. They are not used to the sound that I used to hear almost on a daily basis. I remember always carrying an umbrella with me as a student because chances were a rain storm would brew just as I walking home from the bus or walking across the college campus. My kids basically consider an umbrella a toy. They use it when it's 85* out to play in the hose.

So tonight I'm sitting here thinking about things from my childhood that we did to pass time (on weekends especially) when it would rain for days on end. You know - before the days when there were 478 channels to choose from. Heck, the malls weren't even open on Sunday. I have fond memories of playing jacks; cards; and yahtzee. My Mom was the best jacks player. My brother liked to cheat at cards (it cracks me up now) and I couldn't EVER get a yahtzee. There were no hand-held games to keep us busy during power outages. We had each other. My brother liked to read. My Mom taught me how to embroidery.

And I'll never forget taking off on our bicycles with the neighborhood kids to ride the 'trails on Florida St.' and come home covered in rain water and mud.

In case you are living under a rock, IT IS SUPERBOWL SUNDAY!!!!!!!!! Woot! Hoping for a great game. Sitting on the fence -- would LOVE for Kurt Warner to win but I want the Steelers to win too. My wishy-washy self will just have to root for the offense and entertaining commercials.

On the Menu --- Collin's slow-cooked ribs (YUM!), brats, and hot dogs; baked beans; and collard greens (don't ask, Collin HAD to get them @@). We also have my homemade guacamole and texas caviar/bean dip. I got some queso for the kids. Cookies and cake for dessert. And WINE. From the wine bar. Yeah, us.

We are having a few people over on this beautiful 70* SoCal day. So what time will you be here?