Big Bear Pictures!

Our family has a yearly tradition that dates back to when I when I was in high school and before all the kids were born (except for Katie and Maggie). Every Thanksgiving weekend, the cousins trek up the mountain to spend the weekend at a cabin in Big Bear. I wasn't allowed until I was out of high school, but ever since then, it's been a tradition I always look forward to. We've been to three different cabins in the past, but the current one we stay at is our all time favorite. It has 4 bedrooms and two good sized living spaces. It fits perfectly with our growing bunch.

Below are some photos from this past weekend. I miss it already!

"Serious" Eric, on the way up the mountain


The view once we got up there






Here is our home away from home, Coulter Lodge.



A trip to the cabin isn't complete without playing a bunch of games.

Uno

I'm almost out!!

Poker is a must during Big Bear weekend

I'm preparing to deal

My brothers, Dave (who is camera shy) and Jon

My cousin, Tom, is the big winner!

Whatcha drinkin' Dave?
Amanda takes in the action
Karen's Big Bear tradition is to work on her scrap booking

Usually after spending lots of time sitting and watching movies, or playing games, we like to go out and get some fresh air by taking a walk.

My niece and nephew, Mia and Nick

My nephews, Justin and Joshua
Joshua is all bundled up! Good grief is he ever cute!

Me and the hubster. Sorry it's so blurry!
This one is a bit too dark, but at least it isn't blurry! We are in the same spot as above too.
Jon and Amanda
Dave and Karen
A random shot of the roaring fire we always had going

I can't believe Big Bear weekend has already come and gone. We always have so much fun and I'm already looking forward to next year!

The Last St. Louis Post!

Wow, how long has it been since I last updated? I didn't forget about the blog, it's just been crazy lately and I never had the chance to update. At least this time I have pictures! I also have a small video, but I'm not sure how to upload those. If I can figure it out, I will post it.

So, when I last left you, I was freezing my patootie off at Art Hill. The next day was Valentines Day and we just hung low and relaxed. Eric made his famous French toast for breakfast (or was it an early lunch?) and the guys ran a quick errand to Dad's to drop off the car, while Gabby and I just hung out at home. That night we had reservations at White Castle (yes, I said White Castle) for a romantic Valentines dinner and it was decided that we would walk to our destination. You would think that since I froze the night before that I would have stood up and changed the decision to drive, but alas, I was up for an adventure and said "yes" to walking a mile and a half (I think) to White Castle. When we first started walking, I about changed my mind. It was still freezing and I was afraid of slipping and falling on my rear, but after I warmed up and I figured out how to walk in snow and ice it wasn't so bad. In fact, it was an enjoyable experience! I really enjoyed walking through the city and seeing the beautiful brick houses up close.

When we reached our destination, the lovely hostess at White Castle seated us at our table. For those of you who don't know, it's quite the experience. The section off an area of the joint and decorate with Valentines decorations and set the tables with red plastic table clothes and candles. There was also a lovely plate of pretzels to munch on while we were waiting to have our order taken. We ordered a bunch of burgers and some of their sides and had a good time visiting. I don't think I will ever forget it!

After our dinner we walked back home and warmed up before making the trip over to Ted Drews for some delicious frozen (yes, frozen) custard. Who doesn't enjoy eating frozen custard when it's 15 degrees outside? Any time Eric and I go to St. Louis, a trip to Ted Drews is a MUST. They have the best frozen custard. We then spent the last night of our trip visiting some more with Brian and Gabby, wishing we didn't have to go home the next day.

Sadly, Thursday came too fast and we got busy packing up to leave. We had lunch at http://www.crowncandykitchen.com/ which is a cool restaurant that was built in 1913! They have excellent food and delicious malts! After lunch, we were dropped off at the airport and be bit a sad farewell to our best friends and were on our way home.

Our trip was too short, as usual, but we had a blast. We are already looking forward to the next trip, whenever that is.

St. Louis Part Deux

I know, I know, I said I would update yesterday and I didn't. I got caught up in other things and I didn't have the chance to. So today, since I have nothing else interesting to post, I will continue with the St. Louis trip. Okay, where did I leave off... Oh yes, after the funeral.

After the funeral we all went our separate ways. Eric and I went back to his dad's home to pack up and Eric helped his dad with a computer problem. After all that was done, we borrowed his dad's little Chevy car and drove to the city to stay with our good friends, Brian and Gabby. We got there and visited for awhile. We got the munchies at around midnight, so Eric and Brian made a Whities run. Nothing is better than White Castle burgers at 12:30 in the morning! After visiting more, we noticed it was almost 2 in the morning (time flies when we all get together!) and since we had church in the morning, we thought it would be a good idea to get some sleep.

Sunday we went to church and Eric was able to see some people that he knew when he lived there. It was fun for him to see old friends (not old as in age, old as in not new, or whatever) After church we ran a few errands to pick up some food to make for lunch, and then went back to Brian and Gabby's to have lunch and take a little nap before going back to church in the evening. After church, we all went to bed early since Brian and Gabby had to go to work the next day.

Monday Eric and I had the day to ourselves. The weather was beautiful (aka cold and rainy) so Eric and I decided to take a drive all around the St. Louis area so he could show me where he grew up. I have to tell you, the towns of Webster Groves and Kirkwood are simply beautiful. Both towns are well kept and their "old town" shopping areas remind you of Main Street USA at Disneyland. All the homes are around 100 years old most of them are preserved and they even have plaques on the front that have historical data on it. If we could afford to live there, I'd move to that town in a heart beat. Even the elementary school that Eric went to is a 100+ year old brick building. It's so beautiful, I wish I could go back to elementary school just to be able to attend there.

Tuesday morning we woke up to "winter mix" weather. Winter mix is a mixture of rain and sleet (for those of you California people who don't know what winter weather is like). After a little bit, the winter mix turned into snow!!!! The crazy girl that I am, went outside with my hair still wet from my shower and snapped a few pictures. The neighbors probably wondered which mental hospital I escaped from. It was below freezing outside, but the coolest thing was I could actually see the full shape of a snowflake when it landed on me. I had never seen that before. After snapping a few more pictures, Eric and I drove into Fenton MO to eat at a Cracker Barrel. We were able to sit next to the fireplace, but still be near a window so that we can watch the snow fall. It was so nice! After eating we walked around the gift shop for a little bit to look at what they had.

After walking around a little bit, one of the Cracker barrel employees, Marissa, decided on giving us a whole tour of the gift shop and stopped to tell us about every little thing they had there. She was so sweet, I didn't have the heart to tell her I had been to many Cracker Barrels before so I had seen most of what they had already. Really, we probably spent an hour following Marissa around the store so she could show us everything. Business must have been slow that day. Anyway, we both left with little treasures (Eric got some cool magnet toy thingy and I got some nice mug coasters that smell pretty when you put a hot mug on it) and we promised Marissa we would tell everyone how great the Fenton Cracker Barrel is. So if any of you ever are in Fenton MO, stop by the Cracker Barrel there (off I-44) and say hi to Marissa.

Tuesday night, Brian got the great idea to go sledding on Art Hill. I was originally going to let the boys go while I hang out with Gabby, but Eric really wanted me to go and see what Art Hill was like, since he used to go sledding there when he was a kid. So we bundled up and headed out. When we got to Art Hill, I realized I should have stuck with the original plan of staying home with Gabby. It was Fah-reezing! Literally freezing. It was about 16 degrees outside, but with the wind chill, it was probably in the negative numbers. Not fun. Eric asked how I was and I told him that my feet were freezing at one point, but then I couldn't feel them any more so it wasn't so bad. Eric said that wasn't good so he made me run back and forth to keep my blood pumping. OK, let me say this. I hate running. I think running is a punishment from God. I hate running on a treadmill in the comfort of a warm gym, so what makes Eric think I'm going to enjoy running in freezing temperatures! That was not fun. I stuck around Art Hill long enough to pressure Eric into going down the hill (heaven knows I wasn't gonna do it!) and then begged like a baby for the keys to the car so I can sit and warm up. After another half an hour, the boys came back to the car and we went home. It took a long time to thaw out from that evening.

Alright, I noticed this was getting long again. I'm wordy aren't I? I will let you all have a break in reading, and then I will post about the last part of our trip when I have the chance.

I'm Back! (Part one)

After a couple weeks of being gone, I'm back! Y'all (all 2 of you who read my blog) missed me didn't you?

These past couple weeks have been pretty busy (beware of a long post coming so I can tell you all about it!) Hubby and I made a mad dash for St. Louis to attend his grandfather's funeral. I've never planned a trip in 8 days and I'm pretty sure I'm not going to do that again. I don't think my sanity could take it.

Even though the St. Louis trip was for a pretty sad reason, we ended up having a great time. We arrived in St. Louis on Thursday the 8th and met our bestest friends as well as Eric's dad and nephew Evan. We all went out and met Eric's sister then had a LATE dinner (or was it an early breakfast?)

Friday we had to run a few errands (I didn't pack shampoo or conditioner for fear of TSA confiscating it) and then we went back to Eric's dad's home to get ready for the viewing. As I was going through my suitcase I realized (this was only a little over an hour before we had to be at the funeral home) that I had forgotten my black dress slacks. Let's just say I had a minor melt down. I'm not one to cry over a minor thing like that, however all the stress that had piled on me from the planning of said trip kinda came on me at that very moment. All I had were jeans and I did NOT want to wear jeans to a formal funeral. I didn't want to make Eric look bad in front of his family. Thankfully, Eric's sister came to the rescue and drove me to shopping center so I could find a new pair of pants. I've never shopped so quickly in my life. I grabbed the first pair of black pants I could find and tried them on. Miracles of all miracles, they fit!!! Let me tell you, it is RARE that I find a pair of pants that fits so well. Being almost 6 feet tall, a normal pair of pants looks like capris on me. I kept the pants on and the girls at the counter cut off all the tags and rang me up. I paid and was out the door in less than 15 minutes, wearing a new pair of pants that, in my humble opinion, look fantastic on me. After that, we rushed to the funeral home to make the viewing.

Now, I have to say, I have never been to a formal funeral. All the services I have been to in my life have been more of a "memorial" service. The people who have died have already been buried and the services are more of a celebration of their life. So you could imagine how, for lack of a better word, uncomfortable I was when I walked into the room and there grandpa was, laying peacefully in his coffin. Eric went up to pay his last respects and I stood back. I couldn't muster any courage to go up and look. I instead put my focus on a video that was playing in the background. Eric's Aunt put a video together of many pictures that were taken in the years grandpa was alive. I could tell, just by the pictures that grandpa Schroder was fun man. He always had a smile on his face and from the pictures, you could tell his grandkids loved him. There were also many pictures of grandpa and grandma Schroder (she passed away a few years ago) and they were always holding hands or kissing. Eric said they had a great relationship. They bickered like normal couples, but they really loved each other and you could really tell from their pictures. Eric said that his grandpa was half deaf and his grandma was half blind, so together they made a great team!

At the viewing, I was able to meet many of Eric's family members. They are all wonderful people and I really enjoyed getting to know some of his cousins. After the viewing, a bunch of us went out to eat. Again, it was a really late night, but we had fun visiting with the family.

Saturday was the funeral and it was what I expected. The preacher went up and read scripture and talked about how grandpa really loved the Lord and enjoyed serving in the church. After she spoke, we sang some hymns (I know mom, HYMNS!!) prayed, and then we moved on to the procession to the burial site. The burial part of the funeral was very short. Part of the reason was because it was 23 degrees outside (BRRRRR!!!) and the other part was that the cemetery closed at noon and it was already 11:30. If we didn't want grandpa to stay outside over night, we had to boogy through the service so the cemetery could do their job and bury him. Really, who heard of a cemetery closing at noon on a Saturday?! Aren't MOST funerals held on Saturdays so that people can actually go and pay their last respects? I thought that was kind of odd. After the funeral was officially over, we went out to eat again, and they every one went their separate ways. As I said before, even though the reason for getting together with family was a sad reason. I was glad I could finally meet Eric's extended family. They are a bunch of nice people and I'm glad to be related to them.

Since this post is getting kinda long, I will separate the rest of our trip. Hopefully by then I can get some pictures loaded.