a real winter wonderland

the winter-like weather in southern california last week was lovely, and a welcome change from our typical mild temperatures.  all those chilly temperatures plus the much-needed rain that we got resulted in lots of fresh powdery snow up in our local mountains, and we spent one sunday in the truck exploring some off-roading trails.

at one point, we got stuck in a line of other trucks and jeeps waiting for some dude who'd overestimated his car's capabilities and got stuck in some muddy snow.

it gave the bean a chance to reach outside and grab some of that soft powder to play with.

someone finally came down the trail the other way and helped that guy move off of the road just enough for the rest of us to squeeze past him and go on our merry way.

and then last friday the hub decided it would be a great time to head up to mt. baldy with the dogs and watch their reactions to the snow that was still falling as we drove up.  not to mention, a weekday is much better for heading up there because we knew that the weekend would bring way more visitors in search of the perfect sledding and snowman building conditions.

it was pretty funny to watch teddy and cocoa step gingerly on the cold ground.  they were so confused.

i propped my phone up on the car for a quick group shot.

and then i got this before i took pity on the dogs and brought them back inside the truck where it was warm and dry.

the hub and the bean stayed outside and threw snowballs at each other and shoveled some snow on top of the truck to take home as a souvenir of our outing.

and all that pretty snow somehow kicked off a fun craving for iced oatmeal cookies.  instead of heading to the grocery store to pick up a package from the cookie aisle, i googled and found an easy recipe using ingredients i already had, and so i mixed up a batch.

sadly for us, the temperatures are back up in the 60s and 70s, with no more rain showing up in the 10-day forecast.  sigh.  it sure was fun while it lasted.