June Lake

This past weekend the entire family packed up and headed to the mountains to be apart of my Nana and Papa's annual fishing trip. We stayed at a condo in June Lake with my parents, grandparents, and my sister's family. My cousins and Aunt and Uncle made it up on one of our last days up there. It was great getting the family together and, better yet, getting my grandparent's five great-grandkids on the same couch with them at the same time.

While we were up there we enjoyed many activities. Erik and I took the kids out for a few walks and short hikes. The wind was blowing pretty hard for a few days so we were a little limited on the length of our outings. Regardless of the length, though, we all very much enjoyed the fresh air, exercise, and sunshine.

On one of our excersions, Erik, my dad, the kids, and I went up to Virginia Lakes to look around, walk around, and eat. There was a cold breeze there so we quickly made our way into the Lodge for some lunch. After lunch we headed back to the condo. On the way back, we stopped in Lee Vining for a famous and yummy Mono cone. We decided that Cairo could have her own cone. While I fed Jonah in the car, Erik ordered the ice cream for us all. This was Erik's first experience with the Mono cones, so when I warned him to ask for just a little ice cream in the cone for Cairo, he took that warning as getting her a small cone instead of a large. He was a little surprised when they handed them this monstrosity-

One Mono cone, size small.
Cairo enjoyed the ice cream. We didn't let her eat it all and she didn't complain when we told her she had enough.

Once back at the condo, Cairo, Erik, Xander, and I played outside for a while. Cairo and Xander had their first hill rolling lessons, they went rock climbing, and we went on a walk to the lake.

The next day, we went out and walked to the Inyo Craters, toured around the Mammoth Lakes, and tried to keep warm with the howling winds around us.
By late Saturday night, the winds began to calm down. We were very surprised when we woke up Sunday morning to find white mountains and a powdering of snow on the ground. Cairo and I were up a little after six and to our delight it began to snow again. I quickly bundled Cairo up and we headed outside. Notice her p.j.s peeking out of her jacket.
Erik and Jonah kept warm inside.

Cairo and I came in after a short while and warmed ourselves up with a nice cup of hot chocolate.

The snow came and went all morning. After her hot chocolate Cairo was ready to head outside again. She had her diaper and gloves on and when we asked her if she needed anything else before we went outside she said, "Ah, yeah, my boots."
We reminded her that it was cold outside and that she might want a few more layers to keep warm.

At about 10:30 the snow really started to come down. So, back outside we went and this time the snow began to stick a little.

The people in the unit next to us recommended that we give Cairo the full snow experience and let her slide down the slushy, grassy slope on a sled. Cairo had a blast. Erik also taught her the art of throwing snowballs at Ta-ta and Grammy. What fun!

A few hours later, the sun was out, the powder melted, and we were left with this spectacular view from our condo window.

We weren't done with snow, yet, though. Heather, Paul, Erik, and I bundled the kids up and went looking for deeper snow and a better chance at snow sledding. We made our way back to Virginia Lakes to find a lot more snow, no one around, and 23 degree weather without the wind chill (and the wind was really moving). After about two minutes outside the car (Jonah stayed inside) Cairo and Xander wanted back in... and so did the rest of us.

The rest of our time there was spent visiting with family and enjoying the change of pace (or as much of a change of pace as you get with two little kids).

Erik, Jonah, Nana, and Cousin Lexie.
Jonah and Lexie- born two days apart.
Nana and Papa and their 5 great-grandkids.
Monday's weather was BEAUTIFUL. So, that, of course, meant that we needed to head home. The drive was long. Cairo and Jonah did not enjoy being strapped into their carseats, and it took up an additional hour to get home. We tried to give the kids wiggle time. We found a great park in Lone Pine with a shaded grassy lawn, gurgling brook, and nice playground for Cairo to enjoy while I fed Jonah.

The dry air and the plastic slide combine to give Cairo some pretty impressive hair.

The trip was great, but we came back pretty tired. Erik and I both agree that we can't wait for the kids to get a little bigger and a little older so we can take them on some real adventures. For now, we will have to settle for the G version of the great outdoors.