Snow Trip

For a Christmas gift my mom took us to the snow.  We rented a cabin up in Twain Harte for the long weekend and had a blast!  We joked when we got there that it was the no snow, snow trip because there was no snow at our cabin.  Luckily we were able to find some a ways up the mountain.  We spent one whole day sledding at a snow park and enjoyed some family togetherness.

 The first night we got there we went for a drive in search of snow.  The kids enjoyed playing in a little patch.  

 Seth had fun for a minute then joined us grown ups in the car.  He kept saying "I coke" (cold).

 We went to the Leland snow play park and spent literally the entire day sledding and tubing.  It was so much fun!  Seth was a little wary at first but warmed up after lunch and even walked up the big hill over and over again later in the day.  It was a treat to get to play with the kids.

 Grammy and Titi were on Ammon duty.  They hung out in the lodge snuggling by the fire and I came in every couple hours to feed him.

 Seth and Ben started out on the baby hill while the big kids and I took the tow up to the big hills.  Seth wasn't so fond of the snow initially and was crying a bit.  Seth had a change of heart in his snow tolerance though, after his siblings came to play with him.  It was so sweet to see them help him have a good time.

 The kids were such troopers!  We got to the snow park around 11 am and didn't leave until 5 pm when the kicked us out.  There were a lot of people there from about 12 to 2.  It was interesting to watch some of them.  I thought it was strange that many of them spent so much money to sled for such a short amount of time.  Lots of the kids were crying and easily frustrated with schlepping tubes in the cold.  One little boy we passed on the walk up hill was crying saying "I'm going to die."  On the way home Ben and I discussed how we live in a world with so much stimulation for kids that they don't know how to play and work for their fun.  I was so pleased that our kids thoroughly enjoyed themselves and didn't complain one bit about the work involved.  We relished in the family fun together and I went home even more in love with my kids.

 Once Seth warmed up to the snow, everytime we'd get to the bottom of the hill he'd say "again, again!"

 Liam surprised me.  He refused to wear gloves and didn't complain one second about being wet or cold.  He hauled his own tubes all day and kept heading up the hill for more.  The workers at the top of the hill came to recognize him.  They kept calling him "buddy" and eventually Liam said "My name's not Buddy, it's Liam."  Ben overheard the worker boys cracking up about it.  They had little conversations with Liam every time he passed them the rest of the day and commented on how they couldn't believe he kept coming for more.

  

Grammy and Sariah in the lodge.

 We made these fancy valentine cookies at the cabin.

 The fancy decorating was saved for the big girls (Meg, Meilani, Mom and I) and in the morning we told the kids the decorating fairies came.  They thought that was cool and found a mess the fairies left on the floor.

 Making valentines for school.  Valentine's Day was the day we got home.

 Meilani made a fire all by herself.

 We watched a bunch of movies.

We woke up Monday morning to snow outside.  The kids went out at 7 am in their jammies to play in it.  I'm sure the neighbors were thrilled.  Ben and I were glad they had something to do to occupy themselves while we cleaned the cabin.  

Thanks Grammy for a fantastic weekend!