cabin fever

Sorry for the lame title. Couldn't think of anything else quite as catchy. Actually, we didn't have cabin fever as we wanted to stay inside and just relax. The hubs and I got to spend the weekend in beautiful, cold Big Bear. His work provides free cabins for all employees. FREE!!! All he has to do is put in a request for the dates he wants, the number of people, and bam! FREE cabin!! It was absolutely gorgeous up there. Clear, blue skies and mostly white snow on the ground. Our cabin was on the beach. Neither of us had been there before so we enjoyed every single kid-free second of it.

Big Bear in the distance

the standard driving shot....couldn't put mine up, it was hideous

we're getting closer!!

we made it! this is our view from the porch...it was COLD...don't mind the dirty snow, at least it wasn't yellow

our home away from home for the weekend...there are several cabins/rooms...one section looks like a motel and the rest are cabins...they even have a 5 bedroom cabin! you can see our picnic table covered in snow

the massive bedroom...it had a big tub, fireplace, TV & DVD player

the tub...felt great after a day in the cold

the little kitchen...came stocked with pots and pans and dishes

living room....the set up was a little awkward but we didn't spend a lot of time watching tv

the duck whisperer

checking out the water...it was FREEZING

our neighbors...this cabin is huge! must be someone's vacation home

there's ice to the left of the dock

don't we look relaxed already??

there's a stream between the set of cabins and motel-like rooms

After we got settled into our room and walked around the grounds for a bit we went to the grocery store for more supplies. I had gone grocery shopping before we left but I forgot a couple things, plus we needed to get some Duraflame logs since we couldn't burn firewood. I didn't take any pics on our drive to the store. The entire time we kept looking at each other saying, "I can't believe we're here! I can't believe this is free!" We got our supplies then headed back to grill some steaks I had picked up earlier.

yes, we grilled in the snow...our BBQ was sitting in a mountain of snow so we used another one...most of the cabins had their own BBQ and picnic table but the one we used had several and a horseshoe pit nearby...we didn't play, it was too freaking cold!!

the same shot using the night setting...it was probably around 530-6 at this point

talking to the kiddies while grilling....I went back and forth getting the rest of the meal together....we are a great grilling team

ready to dig in!!

yummy steaks, broccoli, potato and salad...oh and sauteed mushrooms for me!

the next day after a yummy breakfast we walked to the Village...totally cute, by the way...lots of cute shops, restaurants and even a Jack in the Box!

there were a lot of Christmasy type decorations up still including this ginormous tree...it's ok since we were in the mountains....luckily I didn't have to whip out my Christmas police badge (I hate when people leave their decorations up after the first week in Jan)

We did a little shopping at a souvenir shop after our tour of the Village. We've been trying to collect magnets and/or Christmas ornaments from our trips. Super dorky but it that's how we roll. We got some yummy candied apples at the North Pole Fudge & Ice Cream shop. They had a zillion kinds of fudge and so many apples to choose from. I should have taken a pic inside the store but it was super busy. We shared an apple before we stopped for lunch at some foo-foo gourmet shop. This place sold caviar, wine, a bunch of different types of vinegar and cheeses. Don't know why us ghetto folks chose this place but our sandwiches were really good. We tried to make this trip as cheap as possible since the cabin was free but we didn't want to cook the entire trip. We decided we would go out to dinner and see a movie. We ate dinner at El Jacalito, a local mexican restaurant. Think everyone was there that night. After our yummy dinner we headed off to the theater for Sherlock Holmes. Dinner and a movie was good, the company was better. The movie got out after 9 so we had to walk back to the cabin in the frigid weather. Seriously, it was cold. I had on a tank top, shirt, sweatshirt, jacket, scarf and gloves and I was still cold. My legs and butt were ice cold to the touch!!

more pictures from a walk we took

our cabin from the other side of the lake

our last breakfast before we head home...we had to make one more stop at the fudge shop for a treat to take back to Gawa for babysitting...oh, and another treat for the hubby to take to work

these shots were taken on our way home...we were sad to leave

surprised he posed for this since he was afraid to get to close to the edge...he told me if I fell he wasn't coming down to get me!!

We are already making plans for our next trip with the kids! Thankfully, we left the mountains in time before the huge storm hit. The entire next week it snowed up there and drenched us down the mountain. I was kinda hoping it would snow while we were there, but not enough to trap us in or make it difficult to get home. Just enough to watch from the window with a fire going and sip on some hot chocolate. Sigh...I wanna go back!!

child support comedy

I thought this was rather comical. I got paperwork in the mail the other day from the child support office. I'm supposed to fill out all this paperwork and go to court in February for my child support case against the sperm donor (referred to as SD from now on...don't like saying sperm knowing my mother reads this.) I figure there has to be some kind of mistake or that he's taking me back to court for some dumb reason so I call them up. After waiting 3447572352 minutes to talk to someone it turns out since his arrears is so high they want to RAISE his arrears payment from $50/mo to $650. Uhhhhh, ok that will really work since I only got one check for the entire year. I mean, come on. If I ain't gettin money now, I ain't gonna get another $650.

I can't really complain, I mean I did this to myself and to my kids by making such a horrible choice for a father. Thank god that I don't need his money to raise these kids but it would sure be nice. I even called him and offered to lower his payment and make the arrears go away if he would just pay $200. Of course he jumped at the chance for that but I told him he has to get the paperwork going. I'm sure even that won't matter. He has no interest in paying me anything. Not even $20. I guess I'm holding out hope that he'll hit the lotto and I'll get what I'm owed. All $94,000 of it.

a new year and a football game

Our New Year's celebration was pretty boring. Downright lame actually. I had to work, Drew had plans with his friends and Kaelyn wanted to hang out with her Gawa. The hubs was supposed to have plans but I guess they fell thru so guess who went to bed around 10:30pm?? You guessed it. He is officially old and I'm right behind him. I would have loved to stay home too and watch movies and make yummy food but I had to attempt to deliver some babies. Our first baby of the year was delivered after 0300 by the nurse. New Year's day was great though. We made tacos for dinner, had lemon cake and I finally got to see Swingers. I can't believe how skinny and young Vince Vaughn was!! I thought he looked too skinny. In one scene he was using his hands quite a bit while talking and his long skinny fingers creeped me out. I'll take older, bloated Vince Vaughn any day. Thought the hubby was going to start saying everything was money after we watched the movie but he never did. Took KK to the American Girl store in LA so she could spend the rest of her Christmas money. She bought the girl of the year, Lanie and an accessory kit. Whoever thought up these dolls is a genius. They're super cute and you can buy super cute stuff to go with your super cute doll.

Since it's a new year, let's talk resolutions. Last year I started Operation Save all Receipts and Return Stuff on Time. I'm very proud to say that I've improved in this area quite a bit!! I haven't been that great about filing my receipts but I know exactly where to find one if I need it. I return things on time, which makes the hubby very happy. I'm still a total scatterbrain and lose/misplace things all the time so that's my resolution for this year. One of these weekends we are going to clean out our room and organize all our papers. One of our main problems is there is no space in this house. 6 people in a 1400 square foot house is no bueno. Santa should have put a bigger house under the tree for us this year.

Went to the Chargers vs. Redskins game yesterday in San Diego. The tickets were a Christmas gift for the hubby. San Diego is so beautiful! Didn't get to drive around, had to go straight to the stadium since it fills up as soon as it opens. Guess people will camp out and tailgate. I still had a hard time following the game but it really was fun. I can't believe the difference between a baseball game and a football game. Football is way more loud and rowdy. Baseball is really mellow and sometimes downright boring.

bridge before you drive into San Diego...hubby loves looking at this thing...he's weird.

he's decked out in his Chargers' finest...I had to buy a shirt there

sea of cars in the parking lot...think this was around 11 and the lot opened at 9

the field looks so much bigger on tv....guess the camera really does add 10 pounds

waiting for the game to start....there are lots of empty seats at this point but it filled up before the game started....I was afraid there would be no one to do knucks with....didn't end up doing knucks with anyone else though, they must have known it was my first game

the hub's man crush-LaDanian Tomlinson

some stupid camera guy got in the way of the band and a kid with a huge drum ran him over....HI-larious...too bad I didn't get it on camera

players being announced...they come out of a huge blow up thingy with fog and the Chargers girls cheering them on

singing the National Anthem....people were singing along....it was really cool....they don't do that at baseball games....still gave me goosebumps

18 seconds left to go....think the final score will be Chargers 23, Redskins 20....Chargers won during the last few minutes of the game

the usual self-portrait

some dumb drunk girl saw us taking a pic of ourselves and offered to take one of us...this photo montage is the result

he loved his Christmas present!!

I'd love to go to another game next season but man is it expensive!! We are going on a money diet so we'll see how it goes. We'll have to get cheap seats next time. Back to the drunk girl and drunk people in general-I gave this girl instructions like 3 or 4 times and she still didn't get it!! She couldn't find the button and she couldn't figure out how to look thru the viewfinder! More drunk entertainment-the older guys next to us thought one of the cheerleaders was waving at them. They were such morons waving excitedly when she would "look their way." Dude, she could have been waving at ANY of the 67,000 people in the stadium!! I highly doubt this 22 year old cheerleader was waving at some drunk, balding, graying 58 year old perv.

Here's to a great 2010!