Sunday, October 29, 2023

Cali - Fall Break

 We love a family wedding and rarely pass up an opportunity to see the Winslow family when they are all together!  We had a blast celebrating Cory and Justine and could not be more excited to welcome Justine into the Winslow family!  This was a very special wedding because the wedding, reception and all festivities took place at my grandparents cabin and the neighborhood lodge at Blue Lake Springs in the Sierra Nevada mountains.  I have always looked forward to taking the kids to the cabin and showing them what we did on summer vacations (and Nana did growing up).  Crazy to think 3 generations of Winslows are now enjoying the cabin!  Such a special place for our family!

This kid lives to travel . . . his big brown eyes get even bigger to soak it all in!

We flew into San Jose at night, drove 3 hrs to arrive around midnight and woke up to these beautiful views.  Exactly how I remember it as a kid!


The fresh mountain air brings out all the smiles!


Mase started fishing within minutes that first morning . . .





Can't go to the cabin without a visit to Mercer caverns.   This was the kids first time in a cave and they loved it!






You also can't go to the cabin without visiting a few wineries!  Fun for the kids first, then fun for the adults!
We loved getting to love on the newest Winlows!  My cousins Laura and Amanda both had babies in 2023 and we couldn't wait to meet them!


Love this cousin crew!  
Lots of first this trip but one of the coolest was seeing this mama bear and her 3 cubs!!!  They were walking by my grandparents cabin as we walked up for smores night!  

We woke up wedding morning and got to start the day by watching the Sooners play West Virginia.  9am Pacific time kickoffs give you the rest of the day to enjoy!  Mason was the baby whisperer during the game!  The babies loved his crazy hair!


Pre wedding we did all things outdoors . . . built sand castles, played frisbee golf, pickleball and tennis.



The wedding overlooked the upper lake and was beautiful!
Love all these cousins of mine!  I don't get to see them enough but we always make the most of our time together!


Cousins and our kids!  The Winslow crew keeps growing!


We love a photo booth . . .









You also can't go to the cabin without visiting Calaveras Big Trees State Park.  Unfortunately the park was doing a controlled burn during our visit so some of the spots I wanted to take the kids to see were closed.  There were still endless big trees and great hiking to enjoy!