Snow Day

One of my favorite family memories as a kid was piling into our red Volkswagen van and driving up to Mt. Pinos to play in the snow. Sometimes there was tons of snow, sometimes just a little brown mush on the side of the road. It was always such great anticipation of what we were going to find. My brother and I had these awesome patagonia snow suits and jackets, and big snow boots. We would layer those on with turtleneck sweaters and big thick socks, and we'd be ready to dive in and make a hundred snow angels. My parents even got us some round sleds to slide down the snowy hills. It was always so much fun. I also loved coming back to the van when we were done, covered in snow and wet from head to toe, to dry off and drink hot chocolate my mom had made early that morning. I don't know how to explain the feeling, it was just plain fun. It was one of the good things about being a kid. And now I get to share that good feeling with my own kids.

A couple weekends ago, we decided to try this ourselves. At two years old Lucas would hopefully be able to enjoy the snow, and Nathan is still happy to hang in the ergo, so we went for it. I packed up lunch for all of us, made the hot chocolate and coffee, and Ryan packed up all the snow clothes, chains for the car, and an inner tube to try some sledding. The drive took us less than two hours and we made it to the top of the mountain. It had snowed the night before, the trees were covered in a thick blanket, and it was breathtakingly beautiful. The mini road trip was a nice break for us, and it reminded me of why I love to live in Southern California. The ocean is just 10 minutes from our house, and beautiful snowy mountains less than two hours away. It couldn't be any better than this.