Great Big Bear weekend

Blake and I spent last weekend up in Big Bear, where his parents have a cabin. It was such a nice weekend!

Honestly, there was very little that we did there that we couldn't have done at home, but I think weekends at home too often turn into errand running busy weekends, where being away from all the housework and responsibilities allows for more relaxation.

We both (yes, Blake too!) spent a good amount of time just sitting outside reading. Reading outside surrounded by trees and forest is definitely superior to just reading at home.




Other "could do at home but better here" activities included some wii games and a board game, as well as our fantastic meals. The meals were especially good because unlike home, where we generally try our best to eat healthy... for Big Bear we planned to eat more fun meals. We got there late Friday night so our first meal there was breakfast the next day. We had peanut butter banana pancakes (had never made these particular kind of pancakes before, but they were great), bacon and eggs. For lunch we had seven layer dip and chips (yep... as our meal!). For dinner we set up the coals (not without a few tries) and grilled bison steaks, potato, corn and artichoke. It was all delicious treats. Okay, I know for a splurging weekend, nothing sounds all that bad... but the meals were planned in a brainstorming what would be best for _____. The above meals is what we came up with. (This might be partially due to the fact that we generally like how we eat at home, so don't need to do anything that different).





Now, there were some things that we did that we couldn't do at home (at least not with what we own). We did play horseshoes... but that was somewhat sad... I won! I got two points, compared to Blake's one, and this is after a long time of playing. So we decided it was time to quit this game and try something else. (Also, Blake said it was no fun playing with me... I admit that I am not that great... but he wasn't playing that well either... since I won! Maybe he was trying to not make me look bad... or maybe playing with his brother and dad makes him try more because he doesn't want to look bad to them? Not sure... but I do know that playing horseshoes for 30-40 minutes with your high score being a 2... isn't the most exciting game).

We also played badminton. This was a game that we enjoyed! We actually were fairly closely matched. Overall, Blake won more games, but I got one or two in there as well. After 4 or 5 games (guessing here), I said we should just rally. My logic was mostly that in a game, your goal is for the other person not to hit it, but I wanted to practice actually keeping it going. We were doing so well that I decided first to count how many times we could hit it before it dropped. Then (because I am a goal setting kind of person) I said that I thought we should keep rallying until we hit it 50 times without it hitting the ground.

For the first bit of this, it seemed I had set too high of a goal, but then we made it to 33. Somehow this sparked a determination in both of us that we WERE going to make this badminton goal if it took us all weekend! We kept playing, and got many more around 29 to 31... but always seemed to lose it. At one point we had a great rally, and I asked Blake how high we had gotten (after the first couple times, he took over counting) and he said 42. So close... and made us so much more determined! With a few breaks in between to get dinner ready, we kept trying... and we made it! On the last hit Blake hit the birdie to the ground and said 51! At this point, triumphant after 3 or 4 hours of playing, we were done with badminton for the weekend.

Our furry friend Roxie also enjoyed the weekend. I spent sometime training her to catch a Frisbee midair, and she was actually getting pretty good at it, as long as I threw it near enough to her. She enjoyed running around and chewing on sticks, but she actually gave us the most entertainment when Blake was watering the trees on their property.








Roxie was running around, having a good time, chasing the frisbee etc. Then I guess she got hot... because she decided to get wet... and muddy. I was cracking up and grabbed the camera. Eventually we made her get out, and we put the wood chips back (don't worry Lori, it looks fine, we cleaned up after her), and then laughed some more at the muddy mess she made of herself.











There was only one thing I would have wished was different... the moon. Strange, I know, but there is logic to this. You see, we like seeing meteor showers, and trying for that elusive chance to see a shooting star. But here, in Orange County, star visibility is low. VERY low. So we had talked before that someday we should plan to be in Big Bear for a meteor shower, so we can really enjoy it. When I asked my mother in law about the cabin's availability, last weekend was the last spot open for the summer, so we took it. Only later did Blake find out that luck was on our side and there was actually a meteor shower taking place Friday and Saturday! Except... it was also a full moon. We are talking spotlight bright moon. Honestly, visibility was about as good as we have here normally, that bad.

We still wanted to try (figuring that we can sometimes see them at home) so we brought out a sheet from home, put our air mattress on it, and stared at the night sky. Friday night we saw 3... and Saturday night we saw none (maybe one out the corner of our eyes... but not really). This was the results of one of the better meteor showers of the year... sigh. Though, we are planning on asking about next year getting a group together at Big Bear to watch this shower together, when the moon is predicted to be a lot less bright.

Overall, still a great relaxing weekend.

p.s. To my mother in law, who reads this blog, thank you for letting us enjoy your wonderful cabin for the weekend. Even if many of our activities could be done at home, they were so much better away from home. We truly appreciate it!