Yurt 2011-Whispering Pines

It had been a few years since we had taken our annual yurt trip on December 22nd.  I was excited we were back on this year.  It's such a fun tradition and memory for the kids:)



All bundled up ready to ride in the Wee-ride

I can't believe that the kids are getting old enough to get themselves into the yurt; or it could also be the fact that the families are growing in number and kids are getting the boot out of the sleighs.  Cam skiied/hung onto the wee ride/rode in the wee ride, but he made it.  The conditions for skiing were not in our favor this year.  It had hardly snowed and the trails were not groomed.  It was difficult for all of us to make it in the 2.5 miles; we actually ended up carrying our skis and hiking in our boots for a good mile, but we made it



The Whispering Pines Yurt




The view from our yurt.  I love being out in the middle of no where, soaking in all the birds that chirp, the wind that blows through, all by ourselves



Allie was my little greeter

Allie and Sophie hanging out on the bunk beds...the kid's favorite part about the yurt

Sophie was so cute!  She was exhausted from the day already; this kid only loves to sleep in her bed.  When we got inside the yurt and I set her on the bed,  she immediately put her head down and said, "NiNi," meaning, "I'm ready for bed mom!"

Allie immediately got her bed all made up for the night

As you can see from the marker....we didn't have much snow.  The snow level was just hitting 18" which is crazy for this time of year

The rest of the gang finally made it in and the kids were all in heaven

It gets dark early, so the kids were quickly turning on flashlights to color

Sophie was quickly loosing her sanity and didn't know what to do with herself.  She finally laid down on the ground for awhile trying to fall asleep

These kids were also going crazy on us.  I guess late nights in the middle of no where will do it to ya.  You can be as silly, loud, and as crazy as you want and no one will hear you

This was a wonderful site for me....she finally gave in and fell asleep.  Way to go Sophie!!!



The next morning we had breakfast, packed up, cleaned up, and headed outside to play for a little bit before heading back to the cars

Allie and Cam getting ready for some sledding

Sophie cracked a smile for me in the wee ride; I guess she was thrilled to be in there or thrilled to know we were leaving and heading home

The way out is much quicker than going in.  Even though the conditions weren't great, we were mostly heading down, so by gravity you just go.  Cam hitched a ride on the back of the wee-ride for a bit

Allie decided to ride in our sled being pulled behind the wee-ride and Cam quickly jumped in on that opportunity.  What a fun way to get out!  Allie wasn't to happy when the sled would get going fast, it would freak her out and she would bail out

Everyone survived and made it out alive though



Just had to post a picture of my gear that I took in.  Blake was shuttling the kids in, and I had to carry in our clothing/sleeping bags.  There were a few awkward things about carrying this bag.  The first being it was a men's bag and it was way to tall for me.  I couldn't keep my head up because it was forcing me to just look down.  Secondly it is awkward to ski with a backpack; I kept wanting to tip over and on the way out I did many of times. But, it was all worth it and we'll be back next year!!!

Polar Express Ride to the North Pole

We boarded the Polar Express for the first time; last year tickets sold out quick and we missed the ride. The train departs out of Horseshoe Bend and travels 1 hour up the railway to reach the "North Pole."



Waiting to board the train....Allie was so excited to ride the train. It was her first time on a train and a first for all of us up to the North Pole

We got there a little bit early and luckily they had heat lamps outside to keep us warm.  Sophie is hanging onto the pole of one of the lamps....staying nice and toasty

Once we boarded we found our boxcar and then found our assigned table.  Each table had the families name on it; it was pretty cute

Allie and Cam ready to get up to the North Pole

I printed out some Santa letters the kids could work on while we rode the train.  I heard the kids could get a little bored, so I packed some activities to keep the kids busy



Allies letter to Santa; love how she signed it from her and Sophie.  Looks like she had some help on her "wear" and "read" categories.  I learned a few things about what Allie wants....2 front teeth.  When I asked her about this, she said she wants to loose them for Christmas.  Ever since the dentist said that her teeth are wiggly, she has been dying to loose the teeth.

Sophie coloring with Papa Jim; she is just starting to show in interest in scribbling:)




Sophie enjoyed climbing up on the table and standing; yes I have another climber in my household

The first person we met on the train was none other than......The Saber Tooth Tiger.  WHAT???  Really not sure what he was doing heading to the North Pole but it was fun to have him join us




We ended up going with the whole Hansen clan and also brought my Dad and Deborah with us.  Katie and Rod had a table right next to ours.

Grandma Deb and Papa enjoying the scenery on the way up

The kids all coloring

LOVE this picture!!! Sophie is such a busy body; you never know what this kid is going to do...here she decided to grab Blake's eye

Finally made it to the North Pole

Love this classic photo of Sophie meeting Santa; she was not thrilled about it

Family shot at the North Pole outside of the Polar Express Train

It ended up being a long morning and Sophie was so tired on the way back; Grandma Deb was entertaining her with the bells

On the way back Santa and Mrs. Claus came to visit us in our boxcar for a personal visit.  Allie was very excited to be meeting Mrs. Claus; it was a first for her

The kids played a dice game on the way back.  First to dot out all their numbers won; by the looks of it everyone's Gingerbread men got covered in Chicken Pox

Allie spotted Santa one last time toward the end of our trip and wanted one more picture with her and Santa. Thanks for the magical ride. We had a blast!!!

Nutcracker

Allie and I headed off on a mommy daughter date to the Nutcracker.  We usually attend this as a family, but Blake opted to stay home with Sophie, so me and Allie got to enjoy a mommy daughter night.



I can't believe how big my baby girl looks in this picture.  She is growing up too fast!!!

A quick snap of us before heading out. Allie was excited to be wearing her fancy dress:)

Before the play started we got to check out the orchestra pit.  We splurged and got some good seats up front so we could actually make it worth the night and see the people.  Allie really enjoyed the play until the last 5 minutes when she crashed on me.  Thanks for the fun night sis!!!

Gingerbread Houses

It seems like every December we get to go and decorate gingerbread houses at the Histands.  We got smart this year and found pre-fab houses; they were already put together

Our pre-fab house ready to be decorated

All we head to do was frost and decorate....Allie was really into the decorating this year.  It was such a quicker process not having to wait for our walls to dry:)

The Johnson's 

They brought a train that had to be built and weren't too happy with trying to get it to stick together:)

The finished house

Can't go wrong eating the extra frosting that is left over....right?

Finally smiling with their finished train

We had a second round of decorating this year with good old graham crackers.....I've got to remember that one for next year.  When I was a kid I always made my houses with graham crackers and frosting.  These houses brought back some good memories.  Thanks to all our friends for having us over to decorate:)

Xmas Tree Hunting

December has hit and the time has come to trek out and cut down a tree.  We had missed out on the fun last year due to Sophie being so little.  We were excited to head out into the cold to find that perfect tree!

We headed out with the Givens 

The kids were troopers and headed right up the mountain with us to hunt for trees

Allie hiking along

The kids had a blast running down the road and sliding in their snow pants

Posing for a cousin pic

Cam and Allie hanging on the side of the road eating snow, life doesn't get much better

My good hubby hiking out with my tree...here is the story behind it.

Well....it was taking us some time to find a good tree.  The trees were either to bare in spots, to tall, etc. etc.  Really, you feel like you need that perfect tree.  Well, Blake and I ran up a mountain to look.  He told me he was going to the top to see what he could find.  In the meantime, I found a tree that I was satisfied with.  Blake couldn't hear me holler to him because he'd gone over the mountain.  About 30 minutes later Rod started to follow Blake's footsteps and go on a search to find him because we were a little worried he hadn't returned.  A while later I heard both boys hollering down to us that Blake was alive and he had hiked in a few miles to find me the perfect tree.  

Blake and that perfect tree he found for us

Nothing like coming home, putting up that perfect tree, decorating it, snuggling up in Christmas PJ's and sipping hot cocoa.  Tis the Season!!!