Skiing, Sledding, and Sky Lanterns

We spent the week before New Year's at Ryan's grandpa's cabin in Sun Valley.  We love it.  We have so many wonderful memories there, and it just keeps getting better and better as our family grows.

We enjoyed many of the old favorite pasttimes, such as skiing (Noah got on the hill again this year and loves it), tubing, and hot tubbing ...

Since Noah is the only kid who can ski at this point, we also found some new favorite pasttimes as a family, a favorite of which is just walking on the beautiful, wintery paths pulling the kiddos in sleds...

Sally was totally content to just lay in a sled, and she even fell asleep in there one day.  I truly cannot get over how good-natured this baby is.

We also started some new traditions, such as the moms doing crafts at the cabin while the boys skied (yes, crafts! and I even enjoyed it a little).

We had a really fun New Year's Eve featuring homemade ice cream, a raucous round of "toasts" with sparkling cider, confetti poppers, a reflective activity about the year that has passed and the year to come...and, as the grand finale, a release of sky lanterns into the night sky!

A while ago, I bought a random Groupon for sky lanterns because I think they are so romantic.  I was hoping to use them on Christmas Eve along with a devotional about how Christ is the light of the world, but it was too windy in Pocatello, and we decided we preferred not to burn down a neighbor's house, so we saved them for the cabin.  It was a pretty cool way to bring in the New Year.  It may become a tradition.

It was just such a fun week, as it always is when we are with the Nielsons.  We love Ryan's siblings and their families so much, and we are very grateful to Grandpa Art for building the cabin so many years ago to provide his posterity a place to gather and to grow closer together.  It has certainly brought us years of amazing memories.

The whole clan!  

Holly Jolly

We spent a fantastic week with the Nielsons for Christmas!  We started the week in Pocatello for Christmas Eve and Christmas and then we headed to their cabin in Sun Valley for a few days afterward (more on Sun Valley in another post--I'm trying to break up the overload of photos!).

Highlights of Christmas week included:

-Visiting Santa at the Pocatello mall.  I must say, my kids were thoroughly unimpressed--which kind of made the photo all the more awesome.

And can we please take a moment to flashback to this insane cuteness from two years ago?  (Still the worst mall Santa I've ever seen.  That beard.)

-Christmas Eve, all dressed up in our finest for Grandma's amazing feast.

Little Sally Lou Who
(Outrageous outfit is compliment of Aunt Sarah, of course)

Dapper Dude in front of the tree

Lily and Kate in their Christmas tutus...cutest ever

And speaking of cutest ever: Noah and Great Grandpa Nip are twinners!

-A magical Christmas morning, which included a jolly elf in polka-dot pajamas, amazing presents from Santa, and several inches of fresh white snow!  The best!

Cutest elf

His first look at what Santa brought him. :)

Mesmerized

-Trains, trains, trains!  Noah is beyond obsessed with trains, and he was spoiled this Christmas with not one but two train sets!  He got a wooden one from Bapa and an electric one from Santa.  Could a boy be luckier?  We set up his wooden train on the table and his electric train under the table, so it was truly Grand Central Station in the living room.  He played with the trains from morning until night, actually wearing out a set of brand new batteries in one day.  Happiest, luckiest boy.

It occurred to me as I watched him playing so happily that most children in the world never even get one toy so nice.  It made me feel a little sad--and also grateful and determined to give more and to do more for others. We are blessed beyond measure, and I hope that we can teach Noah to be generous throughout his life.

 

-Baby's first Christmas.  We were blessed this Christmas to have a true angel in our midst.  Sister Sally is one-of-a-kind and brings us all so much joy.  If she catches your eye, she will grin, as is evidenced by these photos that my brother-in-law snapped while we were opening presents.

First she catches his eye...

Then rewards him with that mega-watt smile!

Sal was spoiled with a a killer-cute bunny from Grandma and a Sophie giraffe and some teether/rattles from Bapa (among other things).  Lucky baby.

She had so much fun snuggling with her aunts and cousins throughout the day.  I can't speak for her, but I'd say she had a pretty perfect First Christmas.

One of her two beautiful Aunt Sara's (this one spells her name without an h)

Sally and Lucy...six week apart in age and already besties...the most darling besties in town!

-And speaking of cousins...man did we have fun with them!  Six children ages three and under were running around the house.  It was a tad crazy, but oh-so-fun!

Sweet Tate in an uncharacteristic calm moment (he's a mover and a climber)

Smiley Lily by the tree

Beautiful Lucy
 And she is just as sweet as she is pretty!

Cutest Kate--love her.

And this is what it's like to try to get a photo of all six of the kiddos together:

Hmm...

This is going well.

Poor Tate.
And what is Noah looking at?

Love how Gordon is laughing

Yeah this isn't chaotic or anything.

These were the best group photos we could manage throughout the week.  Pretty beautiful kids, I must admit.

They may not all be looking at the camera, but, hey, no one is crying.

All ready for church

It was a perfect Christmas with so many people whom we love so much.  Does it get any better?  Thank you for hosting us for a wonderful holiday, Grandma and Grandpa!  We love you!