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!