Forgot how much I love the snow

On Thursday (12-30-2010) Matt woke up and prepared to take the kids up to Tahoe to do some snowtubing. The kids have been asking and asking for weeks to go see the snow once they learned we could drive there. So Matt wakes up and starts getting things ready. The only problem is - we haven't been anywhere near snow in 3 years and that was just for a short visit to Utah for a wedding. So the kids don't have snow boots or any proper snow clothes. They do have some nice heavy coats. So we layer them up. Sweats under their jeans, double up on socks. We find old scarves and squeeze on old hats. We borrow some gloves for the kids from our neighbors. Pack a change of clothes and shoes for the ride home. I planned on staying home with Seth. A 1-year-old for a 2-3 hour car ride doesn't sound like fun and he'd probably be cold and miserable. But I was feeling so bummed about being apart for the whole day that at the last minute before Matt was about to leave, I start throwing stuff in the car for Seth and I. Luckily for Seth we had Luke's old winter clothes including snowboots.

So we all hopped in the car together and made a day trip of it. I was just happy to be all together. The drive up was fun. About an 1 1/2 to 2 hours into the trip you start to see a dusting of snow on the ground and then within 10 - 15 more minutes the snow's a few feet deep. Pretty cool. Maya and Luke were so excited! I wish I would've taken some pictures of the mountains because it was really beautiful. It is kind of crazy (and great) that you can hop in the car and drive from a place that's nice and mild and be in a winter wonderland within 2 hours. We were planning on driving to a park all the way in North Lake Tahoe (which would've been a good 3 hour drive) but we found a great place to stop a little over 2 hours into the trip. It was called Cisco Grove. The only reason we found it is that the highway traffic was slowing down because of snow conditions. It would've taken a LONG time to get to Tahoe. So we pulled off at Cisco Grove and followed the signs to snowtubing. There was a national park right off the highway. It was only $10 to park and there were 20 miles of paths that we could take and tube any where. Totally worth it.

So we parked and started getting everyone layered up. Matt and I are lucky because adults stay the same size so our old winter stuff still fit.

Maya and Luke were so excited to start playing in the snow. They headed to the edge of the parking lot and climbed into the snow while Matt and I got Seth ready. Since Luke had a couple of hoods we gave Luke's hat to Seth .

Once Seth found the snow and ice, he did not want to be picked up. He couldn't get enough. He had a big old smile on his face the whole time, and you know what - so did I. I forgot how much I like the snow. I really don't like cold weather. I'm a summer girl at heart. But if there's snow, my tune changes. I don't mind the cold as long as there is snow.

We walked a little way up the path with our tubes and found some hills to slide down. Seth loved it. Even if a little snow got on his face, we'd brush it off and ask if he wanted to do it again. He'd excitedly say "Yea". And as soon as we'd ride down the hill he'd immediately say "gen" (again).

So with all the excitement and begging from Maya and Luke, and Seth and I almost staying home because I thought Seth would be miserable - turns out Seth lasted the longest of all the kids. Maya and Luke pretty quickly in were complaining about being cold. I couldn't even get Maya to smile for the picture below.

So for next time, we will be more prepared with nice warm snow clothes for the kids. I cna't blame them for complaining, their sneakers and pants can't hold up to the snow very well. They were crying as we changed them into dry clothes and wrapped them in blankets in the car. Seth was asleep within minutes.

The biggest downer was the car ride home. The first hour we made great time. But then we hit major traffic and only went 10 miles in an hour - painful! So instead of the ride home taking a little over 2 hours, it was closer to 4 - with tired, cranky, hungry kids. Next time we'll find a fun place to stay and do an overnighter so we can tube and then come and warm up with hot chocolate and then go out and tube some more.