Big Bear Rand Family Vacation 2014

We left on a Thursday, spent a week in Big Bear with family, then took the next weekend to finish our vacation at South Carlsbad for beach camping with friends.


Big Bear was beautiful.  The air was so nice and clear, and we were happy to walk around the campground and stretch our legs after our drive up.  The kids were happy to stretch their legs and take Daisy dog for walks.

We enjoyed several bike rides this week and were very impressed with the new distances the girls rode.

I feel a sense of pride when I can capture a few good head shots of Jacob.

I am thankful for cousin time.  It was so great watching the cousins play together for hours out in nature, getting dirty, and using their imaginations together.  The kids' Jeep was well used this trip too.  Marissa was happy getting rides in the "eep".

The kids were having such a good time, they did NOT want to go to bed at night.  So we had some family campfire time.  S'mores anyone?

Marissa didn't want to go to bed either.

The Discovery Center was close and fun inside and out. Inside, the kids liked the glow-in-the-dark rocks, stuffed animals, book nook, coloring, and putting their hand in the realistic bear.  Outside, they enjoyed the rope spider web, xylophone, teeter totter, and tree climbing,

Look at those scary bobcats!

 Discovery Center realistic bear

Outside experiential learning:

 Panning for Gold

Mike and Katherine rented a trailer that was delivered to the campground, so they towed our boat up to Big Bear.  We were able to purchase a 3-day pass and enjoyed the serene nature from the vantage point of the water.  The clean air was refreshing.

The water district is really strict about the boat inspections and we "failed" because they could not confirm there was no water in the outdrive (or something like that), so the boat got a hot water-high pressure wash to ensure there were no live quagga muscles, then was tagged as safe when we exited the lake to bypass inspection the next day.  The employees were very helpful and kind, so Katherine and I just used the extra few minutes to apply sunscreen to ourselves and the kids in the shade while Mike and Chris took care of the boat.

The girls were so cute sitting in the bow of the boat with Jacob.  They were loving the wind and bumpy ride.  They swam in the cold water some; we adults got our feet wet, but wouldn't swim!

The girls mentioned wanting to go fishing while we were there and the immediate parental reaction was "no," but they had these cute little child sized fishing poles at the Kmart, and another shopper explained to us some of the rules and that children do not need a fishing license if they do not keep any catch.   The girls had a great time learning how to cast, and were very patient trying to catch fish in the lake, but our cheap bait wasn't fooling the fish.

Marissa found the boat soothing at naptime.  She fell asleep in my arms three days in a row.  She would fall asleep on the boat, on the beach, in the bike trailer, truck, stroller, even the ski lift! ...but had trouble falling asleep in the trailer at night (thus Marissa out at the bonfire each night).  

Then we hit the slopes.  I didn't dare move too much on that l-o-n-g ski lift!  I did use the wrist strap on my camera on the way up for a few pictures, but when Marissa fell asleep in my arm on the way down, I had to focus on holding her close--the ground was very far down!

 

Jacob's hike was easy...

There were a few signs that caught our attention.  Like the yellow one that says "Trees hurt, Slow down."  And this one pictured, so very high up--we had to lift the kids over our heads to get up there to play with the tools hanging on cables, but we figure it is bench seat when the snow is deep.

I am SO glad we got to go do the Alpine Slide!!!  It was a blast of fun and such a beautiful view too.

We headed back to camp, and then the girls talked Chris and I into letting them go back for the water slides.  Addisyn and Piper were super excited and nervous at the same time leading up to it, but then they loved it so much, they were back up the stairs before we could blink.  We made them keep their life jackets on.

I had to zoom in on the photos to enjoy the reactions on their faces.
Addisyn 1st time--

Then, look at her happy face!

Piper first time-- 

 Then, copying mommy, screaming joy with her hands up!

It was a fun slide!  Chris and I did it too.  Chris held the camera.  Here I am with my arms up:

7/17: LAST DAY AT BIG BEAR / ATTEMPT AT A FAMILY PHOTO* / TRAVEL DAY

*I'm not sure if we got a group photo of all 10 of us...it was really hard getting all the four tired 'short people' to cooperate with the heat and sun.  If I get one sent to me, I'll post it.

Posing with a "BIG Bear" before driving home:

"Driving Miss Daisy" -- Addisyn got a kick out of holding the dog for the 5 min drive between the Discovery Center and our camp, but that was about all Daisy (or Addisyn) could handle in the truck.

We headed south and made a pit stop in Beaumont at Susan & Bernie's campground for swimming, laundry, and cleaning up the watermelon that I forgot about (it cracked open) in the trailer.  Addisyn only got car sick once; she made it through the mountains down, but couldn't make it through the flats afterwards--funny, apparently Daisy dog had the same problem, at the same time.

The pool was a nice treat since it was their only pool for the entire vacation.  On the left, here Addisyn is practicing her "ballet leg" (syncronized swim) with Marissa's ring.  And on the right, Marissa and Piper are hanging out.

We finished the last few days of our vacation at the beach.  John & Summer and Alli got reservations with us so that was fun.  The girls collected sand crabs, built sand castles, and jumped waves.  Marissa napped down at the beach two days in a row.  Up the stairs at camp, the girls all climbed trees and walked Alli's puppies.  We enjoyed some bike rides, Marissa loving it, trying to climb in the bike trailer anytime she heard the words "bike ride".  AND big news: Addisyn converted her bike to NO training wheels at the South Carlsbad beach campground.

 
It only took Addisyn a few runs at it to be able to ride without training wheels.  She must have gone riding 20x after that; she was so proud!

Scheduling this trip around 3 families' schedules was tricky, but we are so lucky to be able to camp so often and with our family and friends.  

Marissa only fell down the trailer steps once (left a small scar on her forehead), and Piper lost one tooth (the Tooth Fairy found her in the trailer--our home away from home).  

P.S.  I am glad to finally get this blog posted belatedly.  Summertime kept us active, and I confess that even though I backdated this post for July, I actually (eventually) got this done in mid-September.  It probably took me at least 8 hours to do it--sifting through hundreds of pictures, cropping, writing, and organizing this post.  I am just glad to be able to remember the good times and document it for years to come!

********EDIT: Got a group family photo from Mike's camera! *************