Big Bear Vacation

We've just returned from a week's vacation at Susan & Paul's lake house in Big Bear. We arrived to a welcome that got us in the spirit right away:


We had a marvelous time. We went out on the boat, swam in the lake, rode a pony, took a trip to the zoo where Julia adopted Navarro the Wolf, went to the park, brushed and fed goats and pigs at the petting zoo, roasted hot dogs and made s'mores, watched birds, played horseshoes, took walks, and on and on. As Julia pointed out, Big Bear "is a beautiful place!"

Brad, Kim and Kira joined us the last day and we took this picture of everybody together (including the moose and bears, of course!)


There were many memorable moments and funny comments from the kids. We got a lot of mileage out of the following comment by Julia, when I accidentally referred to Grumps as "Grandpa". She said: "Not Grandpa! I already have one of those -- at Benne's house!"

There were lots of laughs and relaxing moments. Just what Jeff and I needed after facing lots of stresses at work this summer. Many many thanks to Susan and Paul for hosting us so generously and graciously all week. We love you!