TESSA RAYANNE: Family Vacation: Big Bear

Family Vacation: Big Bear

After Christmas we headed to Big bear to spend time in the snow with my entire family and their little families. My oldest sister Courtney and her husband have 3 kids, a 10 year old, 3 year old, and a 2 year old. My middle sis kelsey and her husband have a 14 month old boy and then there's my parents and my brother and his sweet girlfriend who we met for the first time on this trip. Way to go Garrett, it could've been a lot for his gf to handle but she was a champ and fit right in! My sweet boy slept all 3 houris that it took us to drive to Big Bear, only waking up to nurse once and then went right back down. My husband and I lOVE road trips because it gives us a chance to just sit and talk without any distractions, we enjoy each other's company so much. He truly is my best friend. I lucked out big time.

We spent the first day getting situated and then took all the kiddos on a walk to see the snow for the first time. I wore my little guy and bundled him up well so he wouldn't be cold. We sat out on touching and playing in the snow, but had a blast watching all the cousins. We headed back and ended the day playing games like 'Apples to Apples' and making dinner together.

The following day half of us went snowboarding (I stayed home to nurse my little guy) and the rest of us headed out for another walk and then the zoo. The zoo was my favorite. We all had a great show of a huge wolf fight of around 20 wolves against 1 mighty wolf. It was insanity!! I don't think Cash knew exactly what was going on but he definitely has a huge interest in animals as of this past month. We saw a ton of animals, some of my other favorites were the black bears and grizzly bears, the fox's, bob cats, the cutest little owls, and these poor mountain lions that were HUGE (I'm talking SO BiG that there was a sign posted clarifying that they were not pregnant & in need of some donations for exercise equipment). So sad! But they were pretty cute and cuddly to look at. We headed home as the zoo was just about to close and relaxed and hung out with the whole crew. Some of us played games, others watched games (lol the men) and then there was the outdoor jacuzzi, SCORE!

The next day we dedicated to going sledding (SO FUN, I was terrified at first but we all went down on inner tubes together holding hands and it was a great time), then walked around The a Village (a huge outdoor shopping center) and went out to dinner (which was nearly impossible with my sons 6pm bed time, and my nephews 6:30 bed time). We aimed for an early dinner but the restaurant was so packed that it took over an hour to get any food and by that time the kids were bored and overtired (shortage of naps didn't help the situation). So my sis and I left together with our two kids and had the rest of the gang stay and get our food to-go. We headed back to our cabin and put our little boys down. I'd say That was the most difficult part of the trip.. Cash was freezing at night and everyone else was hot in their rooms so we'd put him down in the pack n play and then he'd keep waking up from being cold. I finally would end up bringing him into bed with my hubs and I. That seemed to work great for Cash but not so much for mommy.. My sleep was terrible but that's just what the life of a parent is all about.. Making sacrifices. He slept great for most of his naps though. So unfortunate but everyone except my dad, my hubby cash and I were all sick. So I knew we'd most likely catch what they had.. And Saturday the day before we left to go home, we all got sick. My poor baby was coughing up a storm. He slept the entire way home again, thank God, but When we got home to Orange County all of our sick symptoms intensified. Poor Cash has been sick since! And this mommy is having a hard time getting well with all of these crazy sleepless nights. On Friday of this week I discovered his first tooth was visible! So some of this sleepless night stuff, fever and fussiness is probably from him teething too! Today (Sunday) I can see it citing through. Ouch! I cant believe my little baby has a tooth! So needless to say this past week back home has been difficult and restless!

Any of you mamas have any tips to help him and I both get well quickly? We leave for Aspen for one of my best friends weddings on Thursday! Hoping we are healthy by then since we are 8 days 'in' of being sick!

We appreciate any suggestions. Love. love.