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| The Family at Big Bear |
For my Dad's 59th birthday this year, he invited all of us for a weekend in Big Bear. We had an amazing time! We celebrated both my Dad's bday and my brother, Scoot's. It went surprisingly better than I thought that it would. There were no fights or drama, nothing but pure fun. We all were assigned a meal to cook for the family and it worked out really well. There were enough bedrooms in the cabin that three of the four kids got their own. (Thanks Jose, for taking the hit and sleeping on the couch.) We arrived on my Dad's actual birthday, October 1. The weather was a bit drizzly, so the first day we mostly just hang around the cabin. Holly made a fabulous cake for the celebration. And we played a fun game of LCR (a dice game where you pass your winning Left/Center/Right. It was so much fun.)
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| Jenna was a bit overwhelmed by Cooper. |
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| She had a much better time playing calmly with Chloe. | | | | | |
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| And talking with Grandpa Randy |
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| Just hanging out. |
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| Kylie gave Jen and me a back massage. She's so darling! |
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| Like Father Like Son... |
The next morning we all seemed to congregate in Chris and Sara's room as we each awoke. Honestly, all of us just hanging out in our pj's is still one of my favorite memories of the trip!
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| Not sure what Beetlejuice is doing in the background...jackass. |
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| How darling is my niece, Shiloh? |
For Scoot's portion of the birthday celebrations, he requested that we go bowling. My brother missed his calling as a professional bowler. He brought his own ball and shoes and was cracking me. I, on the other hand, was reminded once again what a completely terrible bowler I am. It was so much fun watching Kylie and Chloe bowl. It was great idea of Scoot's. Fun activity and got us out of the cabin for a little bit.
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| Kylie was so excited for bowling! |
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| Sara helped Chloe, but she did great. We figured out about half way through to have the bumpers automatically come up for Chloe and Kylie and it made a HUGE difference. |
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| In case you were wondering, that Scoot's ball cleaning rag in his hand. Seriously missed his calling... |
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| Love these two. |
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| Love these two, too! |
After bowling, the afternoon was spent having naps, playing board games, and generally just chilling.
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| The Quarders clan |
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| Kylie and me. Adore her. |
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| Chloe and Casey have a little bit of a love thing going on. She just can't get enough of him. It's just so sweet. |
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| Me and Christoph. |
We also did a little photo shoot during the sunset. The pictures don't quite do the beauty of the place justice.
After dinner, Kylie had the spectacular idea of having a family talent show. It was so utterly fabulous! Though below you will see pictures, one you will not see is of me dancing. The photographic evidence of my "running man" will, praise God, never be published!
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| Christoph juggling...known him for 15 years, never knew he could juggle. |
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| Tooty Looty touching his nose with his tongue. He also showed the flexibility of his double jointed elbows by touching them together. |
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| Sara and Chloe (only not really) sang a song. |
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| Kylie did gymnastics. |
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| And Jen did a little boogying! Pure joy. |
All too soon the day was at an end and it was time for everyone to head to bed. We grabbed a quick shot of all the cousins in their pajamas before nighty night. This really was the best shot we got. Hard to get 4 toddlers/babies to look at the right place.
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| (L to R) Chloe Quarders, Shiloh Malan, Cooper Quarders, Kylie Read, and Jenna Madsen |
The next day it was time to head home. None of us were ready! I could have done another week there easy. It was so fun for all the cousins to get some good time together. And to get to know all of them just a little better. It's hard sometimes living so far away from everyone. It could be worse, and I fly free. So in so many ways, we are incredibly lucky. I haven't lost sight of that. Nonetheless, I wouldn't hate living in San Diego. Here are a few pics of the last of our time in Big Bear. I realize this post has been forever long. So thanks for enduring.
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| Grandpa having the time of his life feeding Cooper and Jenna |
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| Me, Chloe, Sara, Jenna, and Grandma Holly |
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| My dad with two of girls. |
