Snowcreek Resort at Mammoth Lakes: The Best Anniversary Gift

A couple of weeks ago I was invited by Snowcreek Resort to check out their properties and enjoy a weekend in Mammoth Lakes. The timing was perfect – it would be right around my anniversary, and what an awesome gift - the opportunity for my husband and I to celebrate our 17th year of marriage amongst the majestic Sierras and towering pines. Besides, the official gift for the 17th anniversary is furniture, which doesn't sound very romantic to me. It's like, "Happy anniversary! I love you, and here's a desk to show you how much."

I grew up going to Mammoth Mountain to ski – it's only a five hour drive from Los Angeles – but they offer lots of warm-weather activities as well like hiking, biking and fishing. Sure, you wouldn't describe me as an outdoorsy person, but I do love getting away to the mountains and especially taking my kids there. It's great to get out into nature and feel the fresh air and hear the birds sing. So what if that singing is often interrupted by the clicking of my 14-year-old text messaging or the faint strains of 'Beat It' coming out of my 12-year-old's iPod – we're getting out into the great outdoors and that's all that matters, and I've got the iPhone pictures, the Flip video and my Twitter posts to prove it.

Snowcreek is a development that's actually been around since the '70's, but they've been developing it in stages. We stayed in a home that is part of a newer area called The Lodges. I love the architecture and design – a beautiful, clever combination of rustic with modern touches, which defies the whole image of the mountain condo. You won't any find orange shag carpeting, oppressive wood paneling or musty old sofa beds filled with pork rind crumbs here.

Our house was a 3-bedroom (plus loft), 3.5 bathroom house with a huge living room with fireplace, dining room and two balconies that overlooked the 18-hole golf course. Also, a state-of-the-art kitchen that made me want to cry with its beauty. (It was the first time that I actually wanted to cook and do the dishes while on vacation. Well, sort of.)

My girls were especially thrilled with the flat-screen TVs in every room, and of course the free WiFi – because it was important to be able to watch Hulu and update their Facebook status while taking in this view:

(Another huge perk – anyone staying at Snowcreek gets free access to their impressvie Snowcreek Athletic Club with tennis and racquetball courts, two pools, fully-equipped weight rooms, classes like yoga and spinning and a day spa [for a fee] that includes massages, facials and manicures. Perk!)

While we really hated to leave the comforts of our luxurious home, we were also given tickets for a gondola ride, so we headed out to the Mammoth Adventure Center located acorss from the main lodge at the ski area. Here you can try a little zip lining or practice your climbing on their rock wall, or do what we did - take a breathtaking gondola ride up the mountain and take in the amazing views. Many mountain bikers and hikers use the gondola to access the numerous trails available, which you can check out here. There was snow at the top of the mountain when we got there, which thrilled my 12-year-old to no end – she even put down her iTouch long enough to make a snowman.

Another event we were invited to was the Children's Fishing Festival, which takes place at Snowcreek Ponds, right on the Snowcreek property. The pond is stocked for the event, they provide reels and supplies for the kids and experts are there to give instruction and guidance. Unfortunately, it was the day we had to check out and leave to get to our next vacation destination so we didn't get to fish, but we stopped by to check it out. As expected, my jaded tween and teen were more interested in scoping out the food truck and hitting us up for Diet Coke money, but it looks like a great event for kids.

We were treated to a couple of great meals while we were there – lunch at an inventive, locally-owned place called Publik Square, and an amazing upscale eatery called Petra's that was to die for. Our dinner at Petra's was the night before our anniversary, but we consider it our official dinner since it was so fabulous and Sonny Carter was there. You can find out who that is, and read my reviews of Publik Squre and Petra's HERE.

We're planning on coming back soon to Snowcreek – my family of 30 gets together every other year or so for a big vacation getaway and I'm going to talk them into making Mammoth our destination. Besides, next year's our 18th anniversary and the official gift is porcelain, and I'd rather splurge on a Snowcreek getaway than a new toilet.

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More Fun Than Mom: The Natural History Museum

I've written before about my daughters' refusal to go to summer camp when they were younger. While most kids were spending their days learning about science or new soccer moves, mine were content to stay home and spend those long hot summer days watching me work. Although I can't say I blame them -- there is something magical about the way I hunch over my keyboard.

But all that changed one summer when they agreed to go to the Adventures in Nature camp at the Natural History Museum in LA. Who knew that learning about dinosaurs, birds and minerals could be more fun than watching your mom yell at the computer screen? Well, something about being in a class that took place inside the museum, and where they could get a behind-the-scenes glimpse reeled them right in -- they continued going to the camp for years until they outgrew it. And these were classes taught by people trained in the sciences -- no chance of showing up at class and realizing your friend's gross older brother was going to be telling you how to play dodgeball all summer.

Besides the camp, the museum has so much to offer and we go there several times a year as a family. I grew up going to the NHM and I'll continue to support them, and here's a great offer if you want to check it out: For a (very) limited time, you can buy a family membership for $60 -- that's UNLIMITED FREE admission for 2 adults and 4 children. But hurry -- the offer expires at midnight on Thursday, May 20.

And the best part -- the membership gives you a discount on the Adventures in Nature camp I was telling you about.

Here's what else you'll get:

• UNLIMITED FREE admission for 2 adults and 4 children (ages 17 and under) to the Natural History Museum
• UNLIMITED FREE admission to Page Museum at the La Brea Tar Pits and William S. Hart Ranch & Museum in Newhall
• FREE admission to special exhibits and events including: Pavilion of Wings, Spider Pavilion, Bug Fair and First Fridays
• 10% discount in the Museum Stores
• Discounts on educational classes, camps and overnight adventures
• 4 FREE guest passes valid at the Natural History Family of Museums ($36 Value)

And another bonus: 5% of every purchase will be donated to the Savvy Source Preschool Scholarship Fund for children in financial need

Click here to take advantage of the offer, and to find out more about the museum.

(You must purchase your membership through this link to get the special offer.)

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tags: natural history museum los angeles | adventures in nature camp | savvy source | savvy savings

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HP's Girls' Night Out Relieved My Stress AND Made Me Crafty, Too

A couple of weeks ago I was invited to an amazing event: HP's Girls' Night Out. To say that this invitation came just in the nick of time is an understatement; I was working way too much, and having anxiety attacks just thinking about everything I had to get done for the upcoming holidays. I wasn't really sure what this whole Girls Night Out was about, but to be perfectly honest they could have just invited me over to sit in a dark room and served me warm beer and I would have been overjoyed.

But they had much, much more in store for all of us. The evening started with some food and some good wine, and then an instructional talk by my friend, the amazing Tracey Clark who showed us how to take a decent photograph of our kids without cussing or throwing things, and then turn it into an unforgettable holiday card. Then came a truly moving presentation by Jen Lemen, who showed us how a chance encounter in a park changed her life, and inspired all of us to give of ourselves this holiday season. (I really wished I had brought some tissues, and I apologize to the woman sitting next to me whose sleeve I had to use.)

After that we broke into small groups and headed to several different craft areas, where we could make various gifts ranging from a mini-scrapbook to beautiful gift card boxes to customized food gift labels. Let me interject here by saying that I am not a crafty person. Sure I worked as an art director for most of my life, but when faced with a glue stick and a bolt of ribbon it may as well be a spark plug and a jar of mustard - I have absolutely no idea how they go together. But lucky for me they had people there to help us, and also detailed instructions with every project. They had all the materials there for us to use, but the best part is that these projects and more can be downloaded from the HP website, absolutely free. I would say that in these tough economic times, this is a great way to make beautiful, handmade gifts that are not only more personal than that fruit cake you were thinking of buying, but way cheaper.

Here are links to some of the HP Holiday projects you can make:

Gift Card Boxes
Mini Scrapbook
3D Holiday Ornaments
Holiday Cards
Labels for Homemade Treats
Gift Tags and Stickers

(But don't take my word for it. Check out HP's Creative Studio website to see all the things you can make yourself. )

Here's the kicker: Not only did this evening relieve my stress, it made me temporarily insane and gave me the crazy idea to have my own crafty-but-not-so-crafty get-together during the busy holiday season. But I think it will be just the thing for some of my harried, overworked girlfriends: I'm going to invite a few of them over, mix up a pitcher of cosmos, set out some materials I've downloaded from the HP site and we're going to get down and get crafty. Sure, there'll be those among us using our X-acto knives only as swizzle sticks and I expect at least one person will pull out their credit card bill and burst into tears, but I think everyone will be inspired and will walk away with at least a few homemade gifts. And a lot less stress.

Want to check a few more things off your holiday gift list? Check out my main blog and leave a comment there to enter an amazing giveaway, where you can win a gift bag filled with Nintendo DS and XBox 360 games!
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Thanks to Karen Cage for a wonderful, inspirational, stress-busting evening!

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tags: hp girls' night out | hp creative studio | holiday gifts on a budget | homemade gifts

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Halloween, Without The Cavities

If you haven't already, head on over to Disney's California Adventure for Mickey's Trick-or-Treat Party. It's a great bargain for $29 ($37 on Halloween night), and takes place on several evenings through October 31st. The kids get to trick-or-treat throughout the park for healthy treats between spins on Mulholland Madness and the new Toy Story Mania (which was fun for all of us.) It isn't nearly as crowded as on a regular night (we just walked on to most of of the rides) and there's great light shows and character appearances throughout the park. The parade, though short, is fun to watch (I dare you to get the theme song out of your head when it's over) and with the small crowds it wasn't hard to get a front row seat.

One of the things I like about this event is Disneyland's strict costume policy, which states that "Costumes should be child-friendly and may not be obstructive, offensive or violent." My younger daughter still gets freaked out at the sight of masks with exploding brains and realistic-looking limbs hanging off of bloodied torsos, so it's nice not to have to walk around with her head buried in my arm like I had to do at an event last year.

Besides trick-or-treating, this is one of the few Halloween activities we do with our kids, and the only one that's fun for my husband and I as well - he gets to ride California Screamin' (which I won't go near) and I get to ride the best ride on the planet.

Thanks to Michele Himmelberg in Disney PR and Maria Bailey for making this night possible!

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tags: mickey's trick-or-treat party | disneyland | california adventure | halloween time disneyland

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The Daring Book for Girls: Don't Judge This Book By its Cover

Not that it's a bad cover, mind you. I happen to like the nostalgic feel of it; the weighty look of the title makes me think I'm going to find a map for buried treasure inside, or a spell for turning the mean boy next door into a toad. But my tween daughters? They thought it looked "old." That was pretty much the final verdict for us and this book: I loved it, my girls - eh, not so much.

First my side of the story, because not only am I their mother and know what's best, but I'm bossier and have more cash.

When I first got The Daring Book for Girlsto review for the Parent Bloggers Network I felt like I had been transported back to my childhood. Everything from the typeface on the cover to the line drawings inside were reminiscent of a set of child encyclopedias I remember having as a little girl. Remember that? Before Wikipedia? It's hard to imagine having to look for information without a search box and a cursor.

And if I could sum up The Daring Book for Girls it would be this: It has virtually every nostalgic activity in it that a parent dreams of doing with their kids, but don't always have the time. From setting up a lemonade stand to planting a secret garden, from bird watching to making a wooden tree swing. Throw in some yoga positions, a few math tricks and a recipe for making fake blood, and you've pretty much got the perfect book for getting your kids away from the TV and actually doing something. Why, it even made me want to consider pulling myself away from the computer for a few minutes.

And now for my girls' opinions. Keep in mind that they're 9 and 11, and don't know what's good for them yet.

They're first comments, besides the one about the cover looking "old", were that all the illustrations looked "old." Oh, and all the activities looked like they were "from a long time ago" and the type used for the body copy looked like "something out of an old book."

Do you see a theme here?

And on some of these points, I tend to agree with them. Let me explain.

I'm an art director. I enjoy good design, I totally get and appreciate the feel the authors were trying to achieve with this book, and I think they succeeded. But that's not to say that tween girls, who love a good iPod commercial and covet Japanese manga books with their slick graphics and mod colors are going to appreciate a book that looks like a throwback to a 1940's Girl Scout handbook. No matter how many times I threaten to ground them.

And though we all know you can't judge a book by its cover, I think that it's hard to expect children, who are bombarded with such sophisticated visuals these days to look beyond first impressions. Even when I showed my nine-year-old the section on 'sleep-outs (which she's been wanting to do) she had a hard time getting past the vintage silhouette illustrations. And don't get me started on her comments about the campfire songs, but I can hardly blame her - Darling Clementine was rusty even when I was a little girl.

My 11-year old pondered the list of Books That Will Change Your Life, and while she was excited to see her favorites Harry Potter and Nancy Drew included, she pointed out that not a single book on the list took place in modern day. She just did a book report on The Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants and wrote that it "taught her about friendship and conflict resolution" - so where was a nod to the modern 21st girl in this list? She had me there.

In spite of all our disagreements, I still love The Daring Book for Girls, but I concluded that, at least in our case, the book is really for moms to use as a guidebook in seeking out activities that they might bring to the attention of their daughters. When I mentioned to my youngest that there was a recipe for making a vinegar and baking soda volcano, she wanted to take another look, and even flipped to the next page to peruse the Rules of Bowling. There might be hope yet.

I found this video just as I was writing this review, and it's late now but I'm going to show it to my girls tomorrow. For me, this really captures the spirit of he book, and I think seeing these activities in a modern context would make them much more appealing for my jaded, modern girls. They might just reconsider that sleep out...



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tags: the daring book for girls | andrea j. buchanan | miriam peskowitz | book reviews | tweens | the dangerous book for boys | gifts for girls

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