Winter Vacation

Last week, the kids and I traveled up to McCall, Idaho to spend a week with my family at our favorite little cabin in the snow.

This is the view from the deck in back. Even though there wasn't as much snow as last year, it was beautiful.


The boys went skiing all day, every day while the girls enjoyed their books, cozy (if temperamental) fire, and watching babies in turns. (This is a picture of Matthew, Uncle Ryan, Uncle Jacob, Nathan, and our friend Satoshi at Brundage.)

Also, we had some snow adventures including a walk through the snow in the rain and a drive in which we tested out the four-wheel drive and new snow tires on my Explorer. We survived, much to our own amazement.

In the evenings, I somehow became the impromptu activities chairman and there was Wii gaming (my mom, in green, kept throwing an imaginary tennis ball up with her left hand as she served with her remote--it was hilarious)...

...karaoke (which in our family means belting out the 80's oldies in chorus and slightly flat)...

...and a few games including a loud and vehemently argued round of Categories in which I got pencils stuck in my hair and my brother Jacob tried to convince us all that Mickey Mouse reproduces.

Then there was the book we made for my parents which would snowball into a near-disaster in spite of my sister Tori's (it was her brain child) persistence. But after the general procrastination, writer's block, and a broken printer's machine, it came out pretty awesome in the end.

We capped the whole experience off with a delicious, greasy meal at a local pancake house. Matthew declared his corn dog and french fries were the best food he'd ever had.

Thanks, everyone, for a great trip!

(Clockwise, from left: Me, Satoshi, Grandma Camper, Grandpa Camper, Uncle Jacob, Aunt Cami, Maggie, Matthew--gotta love that face, Aunt Tori, Uncle Ryan, Owen, Becca, and Nathan)