Snow Day!!!!

Ok.....so the last time I remember getting snow in Santa Clarita, where it stuck to the ground was in high school. That was a LONG............. time ...........ago! Well, we were sitting home yesterday afternoon, anticipating the rain, when we saw snow flurries! The kids were giddy and running around the house with excitement. However, this has happened before and then stopped several minutes later. Not this time!!!!! We didn't know that at 1st, so we ran right out to get pictures.

 I wasn't sure how well the snow was showing up in the picture so we were trying to capture the snowflakes on their hair. 

 Jake was trying to catch snowflakes on his tongue!

 The snow started coming down harder! Is this really happening in Santa Clarita???? :)

 Jonah wasn't sure how he felt about it....so he decided to watch from inside the warm house!

 The snow started to stick! The kids were so excited!!! We had to get another picture!!!

 I cracked up when I saw that they got out our sleds!

 ...and when I saw them making their tiny snowman! So cute!

A view from upstairs! So beautiful!!!! what a great last day of Christmas Break!!!! 

Last Trip to the Snow this Season...

This was a really fun trip. The kids knew this would be their last snowboarding trip for the season so they couldn't wait to try new things. I was getting over a cold and couldn't ski because of being 24 weeks pregnant. However, I enjoyed dropping them off, seeing them off and picking them up after, to hear about all of their new adventures for the day. In between, I would relax and get work done on the computer. All the kids are really confident on the snow now and everyone does a good job "keeping up" so it is fun for everyone. As a matter of fact my kids have far surpassed me! I am scared to death of steep hills and speed....something most people enjoy. the older I get the more scared i get to fall, and therefore do not enjoy feeling out-of-control....which is how I feel when I am going too fast. Major wimp, I know. My husband constantly teases me!

Above is a picture of the whole gang just before getting on the lifts together!

The above picture cracks me up. Josh did so well this trip and wins the "most improved" award. He wanted to snowboard all day, when the other kids would want t come back to the cabin to sled. He even conquered a double black diamond run, the hardest run on the mountain, called "The Wall". The name says it all and makes me feel nauseous to even think about it! However, when he has had "enough", he falls to the ground, with no warning and buries his face in the snow! Thankfully, daddy and Uncle Franco were able to talk him into 1 last run after the melt-down, so he would leave with a positive feeling!!!!

Daddy and Josh!

Here's another picture (above) that needs and explanation. Julia and Josh were hanging out together in the snow, collecting things. When they were told to come in, they dragged their sled, full of treasures back to the cabin. Josh proceeded to pull icicles out of his pockets to show me, and then set them in the sled with their other treasures! It's kind of hard to distinguish the icicles here. I don't know why, but it made me laugh so hard that he put icicles in his pockets! Maybe too much time collecting shells at the beach!!!

This is our favorite Mexican restaurant to eat at every time we go to Big Bear. It's almost impossible to get that many people to smile at the same time! ☺

Gotta love California.....

Well, we came home from the beach Thursday, and left for the snow Monday. The kids have been begging to go to Big Bear since before Christmas. This year, they all had season passes so we knew we needed to go! Louie had 4 days off so we headed up to the mountains with our dear friends, the Modugnos. We had a fabulous time. Josh and Jacob needed a quick refresher course on snowboarding but Jeremy retained everything from last year. Julia took a few runs to warm back up to skiing, but once she did, she was back to skiing faster than me, on bigger slopes than me. I think it's just that it is so scary to fall as an adult and kids think nothing of it. I feel like such a chicken when I ski with them! This year, however, I could not ski, because I am 19 weeks pregnant. I actually enjoyed dropping them off, watching them, having quiet time while they were all there, and picking them up after the fun! Overall, a great trip. We are so blessed!

I don't know why, but I love how cute the kids look all bundled up in their snow get-up...sometimes they can hardly move because they have so many layers on! :)

So cute!

Jeremy snowboarding (picture taken from the lift)!
Jeremy and Josh:
Daddy and Josh on the lift!
All the boys taking a break to eat the lunch we ran up to them.

This lot is across the street from the cabin....(snow summit is in the background). They had so much fun sledding in the afternoon, after snowboarding and skiing!