Tuesday, November 15, 2011

Big Bear Weekend Continued

Sunday morning came with bright blue skies, and renewed and refreshed spirits!  The girls woke up pretty early, and we lounged around the fire and sipped our coffee before heading out to Blanca's for breakfast.  Little Clairey wanted to play with Anya's (Claire calls me Anya, and I love it!!!) ipad.  At any given moment, she could be found just like this, happy as a clam with her games.
One of the first things I had to take a picture of was the roof next door.  When they were out bbqing the night before, they said there was a bear on the roof.  I couldn't get a good picture at night, but sure enough, the bear was still there in the morning!  Do you see him?
There he is, right over the skylight on the roof!
Greggers got busy first thing, shoveling the snow off of the boat.
Everyone got ready and we headed off to Blanca's for a delicious breakfast.  We had a surprise visit from our nephew Chad!!!  While Gennifer and Jake were getting the girls ready, Greg and Chad and I took off on foot for Blanca's.  What a beautiful morning for a walk!


The boys kept looking behind for me.  I was several paces back, taking it all in with my Nikon!!!
The lake was just stunning. 



It always amazes me that more people who live in the Orange County and the Inland Empire areas, don't take advantage of this majestic place, right here in our own backyards!!  It is 1 hour from our front door.  And it is worlds away, high above the city we live in, with clean air, sparkling lakes, tall pines, and views that will wow your senses at every turn.  If you didn't already know this, we LOVE Big Bear!!  We plan to retire there one day.  We go every chance we get.  If you live close, you should go visit our local mountain communities.  There is so much to see and do.
We took our spot in Blanca's warm eatery, where the aromas of fresh brewed coffee, homemade cinnamon rolls, and bacon frying, teased our rumbling tummies while we waited for the Hass' to arrive.  Oh thank goodness, here they come!
We filled our tummies, and then we all piled into my car to head off for some fun adventures.
First stop was the Big Bear Village.  I wanted Gennifer to see my favorite cooking store in Big Bear. The Copper Q.  Here we are, about to go inside.
Greg and I have bought a lot of things in this beautiful shop.  I have also attended several of their cooking demos.  They do these on Saturdays and it is kind of fun.  They have someone demonstrate how to make something, and they give you the recipes, and you get to enjoy tasting it when it is done.  They are also offering cooking classes now too. But I haven't taken them yet. 
This is the big island where you sit for the cooking demos.  You can order a little lunch first and take it with you to enjoy while sitting at the demo if you like.
There is always something wonderful cooking or just coming out of the oven, like these beautiful quiches, that will be sold in the front case at the store.
Along with lots of other wonderful homemade items such as cookies, bagels, and pastries, and every kind of hot coffee drink you can imagine.
She has beautiful displays everywhere.  And some pretty Christmas items in the store.
If you are in Big Bear, do go to The Village, and on Pine Knot Ave.... and pop into this pretty shop.
We spent a long time strolling the shops at The Village.  The girls had a ball!  We visited a new place I had heard about called The Sugar Pine Bake Shop. They  have their main shop on Big Bear Blvd, but they operate a darling little place in The Village too, just to sell some of their delicious goodies.
That's me and my little Hannah coming out of the door.  We had to go buy some cookies, just to check!  Let me tell you, coming from a true COOKIE MONSTER, they were divine!!!! 
After seeing all of the shops, we drove on up to Snow Summit so the girls could see the skiers.  What fun to just sit up there and watch them come down the hill, one after another.  Boarders, skiers, little nippers trying it for the first time.  So fun!  Hannah wanted to get out there and do it NOW!!!  Her Daddy is an expert skier, and Gennifer is a good little snow boarder in her own right, so those girls are going to be on the slopes soon!
We sat up here on this deck and watched for a long time.  Then took the girls down to Little Bear Ski School so they could play in the snow a little bit.

Cousin Chad built them a little snow man.
I got a cute shot of Gennifer and Jake.
After playing at Snow Summit, we stopped at The Eagle's Nest B&B, to say hello to some friends of mine that I worked with, and for, at Marie Callender's YEARS ago!  Mark and Vicki were both managers at the restaurant.  They left the restaurant business about 15 years ago, and bought the Eagle's Nest and have been running it ever since.  This is the only shot I got, as we were driving in, and it is pitiful.  If you are going up to Big Bear, it is located just a quarter mile or so before taking the turn off to Snow Summit, on Big Bear Blvd, next to the Carl's Jr.
See it?  Just a little to the right of Greg's nose?  Go check it out and say hello to Mark and Vicki.
After all of our running around, we were ready to go back to the cabin and warm up a bit.  Greg popped us some popcorn, and we relaxed a little.
 Did a little reading.
Claire with her game.

Then we went back outside for a walk and took some more pictures.
 What's this?  A meteor? 
Nah.....my nephew Chad playing tricks!
The girls had an absolute ball playing in the snow!  And we had so much watching them! 
A perfect weekend in The Bear!

Thanks for sharing it with me.
XO  Kris

27 comments:

Bethany said...

I love the polka dot mugs!!
There's snow but nobody looks too cold. We used to go to my uncle's place in the mountains in winter and fall for long weekends--but it's not as picturesque as this!

Tammy said...

Amazing pictures as usual! I love the way you write! Beautiful! I'm going to have to drag Frank up there! He wants to take some cooking lessons too. Thanks for sharing!

Heather - The Good Life said...

Sounds like a wonderful trip. The snow looks so pretty and to think people are skiing already?! I couldn't see the bear, he must blend in with the roof too much for my ole eyes. :-)

Debbie Kay said...

Big Bear is one of our favorite places to "get away" to....so close and yet far enough away from it all. Love the Copper Q. I bought a set of fall cookie presses there a few weeks ago when we were up there. I cant wait to use them next week when I start all my baking for Thanksgiving Day.

Looks like a great trip Kris.
Debbie

Lauri said...

We had a lot of fun in Big Bear when we lived in California. We used to take our family skiing up there often. I love that it's so close and so different from the rest of Southern CA

Unknown said...

Another Fab trip up to the lake. I can't believe you got that all done in such a short weekend. Yes, I saw the bear before I read. But I was looking for the real one. Such the city girl I am. Another Xmas card shot I think. Icks, I hadn't even thought about those dang cards yet.

NanaNor's said...

Hi there, Loved seeing all your favorite places up there. We used to have a small cabin that was two hours away that we would go to-no electricity etc. So many fun times together. Just finished another of Jennifer's books and it was great. Have a wonderful day!
Hugs, Noreen

Dawn said...

All right, I looked for the bear forever. I see it now. I was beginning to think I was blind. LOL
Looks like a great time was had by all. My favorite photo is the last one. So cute you are together:)

Holly said...

Just soo sooo pretty. I love that pic of you and Greg.

Kerri said...

Awesome pics Kris! That bakery is so cute...and so are you in your cute little outfit!

Nicolle said...

I can't believe all of the snow. How fun. The lake is so beautiful. I could sit there with a cup of coffee, in silence, for hours. Genn mentioned that bakery to me. How cute. I would love to go there! You and Genn look beautiful all dressed up. Love your outfits. :)

Linda said...

Looks like another great weekend in Bear...love it up there...you guys might have seen my kids up there snow boarding and not known it...they were up for the weekend too!

Genn said...

Fun fun fun. Loved reading your post. You got some great shots that told the story of the day perfectly.
I had so much fun. Can you retire up there now so we can go all the time too???? ;)
ps- you must use one of those pics of you and dad for christmas cards! you look SO cute! I will work on editing them tonight.

Pammy Sue said...

Oh, that was fun! That is a great picture of you and Greg at the end.

Stacey said...

Fun! I love Big Bear too :)

Genn said...

ps- forgot to say,
that picture of chad hopping into the backseat is hilarious! it was a tight fit back there.

Betsy said...

Looks like it was a wonderful trip! I would have loved that bakery. Everything just looks so crisp and clean there. I hope I get a chance to visit someday.

Summer said...

Great pics! Looks like a fun trip. I will have to live vicariously thru you...even though Big Bear is so close...the drive makes me way too nervous and I have to pull into every turn out because I can't focus when cars are behind me!

Linda @ Itsy Bits And Pieces said...

It DOES look like the perfect weekend and you got me with the bear on the roof, Kris lol!

Debbie said...

Oh Kris you have soooo got me in the mood. I miss it going up there! We practically lived up there when I was growing up. Soo fun. Glad you all had a good time!

Teresa Kasner said...

Wow, Kris.. looks like you have the very nicest family.. so lucky to have your little girlies in your life. wah. It looks like a great place, you're so lucky to have a cabin to get away too! Thanks for taking us with you.
((hugs)), Teresa :-)

Sue Pinner said...

wow, wow, wow all l can say what a fabulous post full of fun and love
Great shops and yummy food
On our trips to the USA l used to love stopping off at unusual shops
Brought back some lovely memories
Thanks
Hugs x

Have a Daily Cup of Mrs. Olson said...

Wow Kris, what a gorgeous place to retreat to! The copper Q looks like my kind of store. So much eye candy. The family looks like they were loving every minute of this get away. My hubby loves to fish, he would be in 7th heavem at a place like this. Must say girl, you look way too cute to be up in the mountains. You've got some stylin goin on for sure! Hey, I need to know which apron you want. The one with the trees, or one of the candy ones. One with red polka-dot ruffle and one with black. Let me know (along with your address) and I will get it in the mail ASAP. my email is jmolson53@gmail.com

Sunny Simple Life said...

How fun. I can't believe it snowed already. Love Big Bear!!

Unknown said...

I LOVE YOUR SCARF!!! Will you make me one?
hollinsworthhouse.blogspot.com

annielizabeth said...

Wow Kris, what lovely pics and such wonderful memories for you all to cherish. After seeing these, I want to go to BB; I haven't been up there in years. Looks like it's changed a bit. Fun for us SoCal peeps to play in the snow isn't it? Take care!!

Anne Fannie said...

Kris, in your picture of Boulder Bay you can barely see my cabin in the distance!! We are the one with the boat house, 2nd one from the YMCA on Boulder Bay!!
I didn't know there was snow up there!! I guess we need to take a drive and close our gate while we can!!!
The lake looks stunning as always! I LOVE Boulder Bay!
Hugs, Ann