Our {Unprepared} Trip to the Snow

One Saturday morning Tom and I were talking over breakfast (more like yelling over kid squabbles) trying to figure out what what we should do for the day. We wanted to get out of the house and go on some kind of adventure. It had been raining for nearly 2 weeks straight, and mommy and kiddos were feeling rather cooped up.

Rather on a whim, we decided to head up to Lake Arrowhead. There are fun shops, playgrounds on the lake, food, and easily accessible nature "hikes" for little ones. We loaded the car with snacks and enough warm clothes for an army, and headed out the door.

We did consider the fact that if we got rain, Arrowhead probably got snow. What we didn't realize was exactly HOW MUCH snow.

As soon as we were on the mountain we were amazed. They had some serious storms! We waited in line to get up the mountain for 2.5 hours before we finally realized that we had internet on our phones and could check for weather conditions. Turns out there was a traffic stop a few miles ahead- only cars with chains on all 4 tires were allowed through. *Sigh*. We turned around in search of another patch of snow further down.

Soon we turned off on a little road that headed into a small community. We could have continued up the road and reached Arrowhead rather quickly, but with all the ice on the road, we decided that the snow covered lawn of the General Store would be just fine for our adventure.

We didn't plan enough ahead to find snow clothes for the kids, the snow quickly turned from exciting to excruciating. Stryder didn't have gloves and he couldn't walk very well and keep his galoshes on. He kept falling on his bum, then crying because his hands were cold.

Abby, on the other hand, loved the snow, but her poor little body didn't. It seems the combination of the cold, the altitude, and the excitement are just too much for her. She first had this reaction when we visited snow in St George when she was 2 1/2. The first 10 minutes or so she was fine- running, playing, throwing snow balls, making angels...

Then she said she didn't feel too good, and within 1 minute, she turned completely gray and was so weak she couldn't walk. *Scary.*

But... as soon as we get her in the car, she started to feel better. When this happened in St George, I thought she must be getting sick. I had her sit with me for a few minutes thinking that maybe she just overexerted herself. Then she kept getting worse, and turned more shades of gray than I had ever seen. I held her near the trash in the bathroom for about a half hour without any improvement. As soon as we put her in the car to take her home, and she started to feel better. After a 10 minute drive she was back to her old self.

So that's what we did. She started getting sick again, so I took her to the car. Sure enough, within a few minutes she was back to normal. I still have no idea why snow affects her this way. If it was the altitude alone, she should still feel sick in the car. If it was that she played too hard, stopping to rest should help her feel better. Hmmm. It's a mystery!

By that time, everyone had had their fill of snow for the day, so we went searching for a hike. We found a quaint little creek with a few patches of snow. *Perfect!*

So, our Lake Arrowhead day turned out to be a long drive with a little hike in the middle. The kids had fun though. They LOVED the river. Stryder fell in twice, and both were soaked to the bone by the time we were done. A quick change of clothes in the car, blankets, and the heaters turned ALL the way up, and they were each snug as a bug in a rug. Abby made suggestions for our next trip all the way home.