Cabin in the woods...

From Dec 27-Jan 2 we were in the U.P. at Steve's family's cabin.  We had 10 adults, 2 kids, and 1 dog.  One dog who thoroughly enjoyed the cabin rules.  The fact that he didn't really have any restrictions on where he could lay.  So, he slept in my bed, Steve's bed, the couch, Katie's bed, Steve's parent's bed... and that is only when he wasn't laying on his blanket in front of the fire.  

Claudia's coat lost its zipper when we got to the cabin, so taping her into her coat was the best option.  When the duct tape ran out we moved on to the masking tape.  She loved it!  Jake also loved getting to take a bath inside in front of the fire.  We were having trouble getting the sauna hot enough for the kids to go out there for their baths.  Ripley loved it in the U.P.- he was able to run around and explore a lot.  As long as he didn't get stuck in the deep snow.  The snowmobiling was great while we were up there.  There was SO much snow and it fell almost everyday.  

We obviously spent New Year's Eve at the cabin- oh so exciting.  Towards the end it was all we could do to stay up until 12:00!  I know, REAL entertaining.  I played the bartender (what else is a preggers to do?).  We may not have running water or electricity, but we had pomegranate martinis and mojitos!  We did finally make it to midnight and tried to hear the ball dropping announcement on the (battery powered) radio.  We missed the drop, but celebrated it all the same.  

Some of the other pictures are cooking breakfast- everyone loves chocolate chip pancakes, and collecting our water from the Salmon Trout Creek.  It is quite the process for the guys, but it works.  There is a picture of our group outside the cabin before our snowmobile ride out to the cars- we are missing Katie, Carley, Claudia, and Jacob who had to leave early to get Katie back to work.  Everyone else- Steve's cousin Kim and husband Kirk, my parents, Steve's parents, the two of us, and Ripley all stayed a couple extra days.  And that last pic- yeah, Ripley did NOT like his snowmobile ride in or out, but at least on the way out he didn't try and jump off 3 times!

It was a great trip, once again, but it is always nice to return to our toilet that flushes and isn't outside (trust me, when it is 0 degrees and you are pregnant and have to pee in the middle of the night...) refrigerator, ice cubes, dishwasher, shower, king size bed, cell service... well, it's just good to be home too! 

Christmas still lives...

There are a few pictures from opening presents at our house and our Christmas tree.  I thought our tree was particularly good this year.  We aren't real particular when choosing the tree, so it always amazes us when it turns out to be a really good tree.  We do love our Fraser Firs though- the needles last forever!  And they don't get all over the floor, which I love.  My cute shirt I got from Steve says, "with bump, not plump".  Everyone might as well know that I am not really just overeating or developing a belly from all the delicious holiday treats.  And Ripley certainly loved having the reindeer antlers put on him.  Can't you see how excited he is by the picture???  Steve got a new coat.  And the only other ones, besides the dogs, who got into any of our Christmas pictures were our most adorable niece and nephew, Claudia and Jacob.  Claudia was happy with her new American Girl doll and matching dress Nana got in Chicago when Katie ran the marathon and Jake was VERY excited by the "vroom-vrooms" we got him.  He barely put them down!  And, we also have the traditional Christmas Eve in front of the tree picture we always take after church at my parent's house.  My mom must have ended up with all the ones with other family members in them on her camera.  Again, all I have are us and dogs!  All in all, Christmas was a whirlwind.  We traveled all over the state, but hit all the parties, opened all the presents, went to all the church services, and ate all the food we possibly could.  It was great fun and I was left with that very sad feeling after it was all over.  Which, consequently, is part of the reason our tree usually stays up til mid-January (okay, not quite that long, but close).  I hate when Christmas is over and can't ever wait til the next year.  We are obviously very excited for next year because we will get to celebrate with our new little peanut.  It will be exciting and new and especially strange in my family.  It has been a long time (like 27 years) since there was a baby at Christmas.  And it will be fun to see the baby IN all the things we got for Christmas this year.  And to use the FABULOUS new diaper bag I got for Christmas from Nana and Papa Boss!  I didn't really think I was going to get it, so I was very excited!  Thanks be to all for making our Christmas this year so fun and memorable.  And to all... a good night.