A pinky promise is a sacred thing to a five-year old. It must be kept at all costs, even when things are out of your control, you have to make it happen.
Have to.
You’re mom: Creator of Sandbox Adventures, LEGO builder extraordinaire, Optimus Prime Transformer master, and CapriSun pouch straw pusher.
That’s me. I make things happen.
So in honor of 2014 I thought I’d keep the almighty sacred promise and make snow possible in California — Southern California.
It hasn’t rained and the average winter weather in my neck of the woods has been about 70 degrees, so I had a pretty good idea that sledding, snowmen, and snowball fights would not be easy.
Not impossible, but not easy.
But a pinky promise is a pinky promise, so I made the drive to the mountains in hopes of avoiding car sickness and making a Charlie Brown Christmas moment possible for my kids.
As we drove up the winding roads surrounded by rocky mountains and pine trees I saw this and wasn’t sure it would happen.
Beautiful right?
Yeah. I wasn’t sure. All I knew for sure was that we probably wouldn’t need the sweatshirts, thermal underwear, hoodies, gloves, mittens, beanies, or chains for the tires. We needed sunscreen and sun glasses. But like any mom I was prepared and had them both.
After another forty minutes up the mountains I finally saw some hope.
An opportunity to wear beanies.
I was happy our bathroom pit stop showed signs of winter life. People were actually wearing snowboard pants and I thought the further we drove up the better our chances for our snow day to happen. And even though it wasn’t Utah-Colorado-worthy weather conditions, it was still good enough for pinky promises to be possible.
I’d like to thank the makers of Pirate Booty, Goldfish Crackers, Cuties Oranges, Dora The Explorer Enterprises, Superhero Book authors, LEAP Frog LEAP Pads, and LEGO DC Universe Visual Dictionary creators, for making the two-and-a-half hour drive saner than usual. It helped this Sandbox Adventure List item definitely rise to the top of our list, because when it comes to kids and road trips you never know. Nervous breakdowns and George Costanza moments can happen at any time, so you’re thankful for the things that make the experience better than expected. So with a little help I was happy that I checked one off the list for my kids. And even though it was a Not-So-Rocky Mountain-adventure we had a great time and 2014 was looking good.
The sliding area, where we spent most of the day. My kids seemed to get the hang of it pretty fast, although for some reason I kept spinning around and going backgrounds.
My daughter enjoyed chillin’ down the kiddie slide.
My son decided to go the Superman route. It was the best Justice League adventure yet.
The Wish Factor 
Looks like a lot of fun, TG. You did your kids proud. Happy new Year to you all. 🙂
Thanks! We had a great time. It was their first time out there and even though it wasn’t completely winter wonderland over here we still had a great time sloshing down the hills. Definitely heading out there again next year 🙂
Way to go mama! You done good. As for me . . right about now I want to make a sand castle. Tomorrow it will be in the 30s here, which is going to feel downright balmy after the last several days.
Duuuuuuuuuuuuuuude. So sorry to hear about the 30-degree weather out there. It wasn’t quiet 30 where we were, but we still had snowy fun, I felt like SuperMom for making it possible. But you’re probably tired of all the snow. I guess we were lucky because we could drive away and be back in our 75-degree neighborhood. Dude. What if I make you a sandcastle this weekend?
Your son is very courageous to tube head first! I think I’ll watch from the bottom of the hill. Hot toddy, anyone? 🙂
Great adventure!
Dude he was definitely ready for adventure. At first he was cautious because he’d never fallen on snow before and didn’t appreciate a wet booty, but after a while he got the hang of it and did Superman all day. When I got home I had plenty of hot toddies 🙂 It was a great adventure.
THAT looks like fun. And I’m not very daring. Must admit, also, that I kind of miss snow.
Sorry to have just started following your and then have been absent since Christmas. Sara and I had guests from the US and then did some traveling around our new country–sometimes without internet. Trying now to get back into the swing of things.
Hugs from Ecuador,
Kathy
Dude it was one of the best Sandbox Adventures we’ve had, up there on the top three, for sure. First time they had ever seen snow and I was totally feeling great that I was able to give that to them and that it wasn’t below 50. Your holidays sound good too. Having friends over is always an awesome way to spend the holidays, and even better when they travel with you … that’s when funny happens 🙂
Optimus Prime and the Justice League are pretty cool.
Pouch straws not so much. Tube sled on!
Yeah pouch straws are a test of patience … sometimes I feel and opt for water 🙂