New Year's - Part 2

Our last full day at the cabin started much the same as the previous. The guys took a quick jaunt to a local ski area and reported back that the sledding hills were empty. Excited we decided to take advantage. Unfortunatley, by the time we got six adults and four children ready to go play in the snow, the weather had turned and it started to rain. We put in a movie and decided to try again later that afternoon. Around 2:00, the rain turned into snow. I was so excited that it snowed while we were there. I love watching the flakes float from the sky, coating everything.

I have to interrupt with a little bragging. While cabin bound, I decided to make hats for each adult and child. (Fortunately, I'd already made one for Joseph and Lane.) I finished Danielle's hat late our last evening. I feel like a loomin' fiend!

After Joseph woke up, he, Chad and I went for a walk in the snow where we made snow angels and admired the snowman some enterprising children had created. It started to rain right after we left, so I didn't get a chance to take pictures. Well that and the fact that I was flat on my back in the snow showing Joseph the proper technique for making proper angel wings. (Joseph added a mouth, nose and eyes to his angel.)

When we got back, Danielle was already baking her chicken in prep for her dinner of salad, baked chicken and mashed potatoes. (I had to share the picture of the chicken baking if for no other reason than to show the extreme amount of chicken cooked.) After dinner, we watched movies, talked and then put the kids to bed. Afterwards we played Catch Phrase and hearts until again, one by one, we headed to bed.

We woke up around 8:00, slowly starting to pack and clean, gradually gaining speed until we finished a little before 11. We headed down the mountain, repeating the trip we had made the year before (ha!) and watching out the window as the snow covered mountains, slopes and trees gradually gave way to grassy hills.

Chad decided to take a "short cut" home. I was nervous. Especially when he veered off the two-lane highway onto a bumpy, pothole pocked farm road running between two fields. When he turned from there to a smaller, rougher road, I closed my eyes and took a nap. When I woke, it was just in time to see Chad passing four combines lumbering their way down the road. I have to give the man credit. Even though I though we'd never see civilization again, he got us home with 20 minutes shaved off our time.

So now we're home. The holidays are over. 2008 has come to an end. I go back to work tomorrow. What will 2009 hold for Mandyland? *cue swelling music* Stay tuned for Resolutions - The Post. In the meantime, enjoy some pictures. I've had a bit of trouble with Smilebox, so here is the Picasa link. On a complete side note: Does anyone know of a free, easy to use slide show generator?

New Year's