Christmas at the Cabin

We just returned from a week at the cabin for Christmas with my parents, my brothers, Matthew’s fiancé Nicole, my aunt & uncle, and my grandma. It was a full house, but nice to spend time with everyone. We got there a couple days before everyone else arrived, and we had fun enjoying some new recipes Eli tried out cooking for us. And one day we took all the kids & dogs and drove out on the scenic loop and found a good hill for sledding — the dogs especially loved chasing Michael down the hill and trying to nip at his heels as he sped past on the sled. Then on the day after Christmas Michael & I skied at Mammoth with my mom, my aunt Amanda, and my brothers. And Michael & I had a great time skiing together that afternoon through the trees by Chair 9 — it had snowed the day before, and there was so much untouched new snow over there that it was just magical. We also took the boys to ski at June Mountain the next day, and there was really good snow for June at that time of year, but the wind was blowing and it was bitterly cold, so we didn’t last as long out on the hill as we would have liked.  Nicole arrived after Christmas, and it was great to have her there too. The boys got in lots of board game playing, and watched a few movies together. Michael and the boys had lots of fun building an igloo in the snow outside the cabin. And the boys had a great time making ginger bread houses (they actually ended up making a nativity village) with Aaron, Matth, & Nicole.  I have to say my favorite part was probably when Michael, my parents, my brothers & Nicole, and I stayed up way past midnight on our last night there just talking together and reminiscing on stories from when we were kids and from my Dad’s childhood.