Snowy Memories

We've got a trustworthy not quite full-time but close employee at the dairy which has been so very nice.  Nice enough that we were able to go up to Shaver to spend the night in a fun little cabin and spend the next morning playing in the snow with the kids.  Kyle's parents got us a gift certificate to stay for Christmas so it was nice and cheap, too!  So refreshing to get away from home and up where the air is clear and crisp!
Our poor Colby has my bad genes and gets super car-sick. So as soon as we hit the mountains, he started throwing up. Good thing I was prepared with the bucket. As soon as we got there, though, he was feeling fine and bouncing off the walls.  "I love this cabin!!!"
We stayed in "The Bear's Den" cabin...

And fittingly enough the kids favorite book right now is "We're Going On a Bear Hunt" so we brought that along to read.  They have been watching this YouTube video over and over...
"We're Going On A Bear Hunt"  NOTE: Most respectable parents already know this, but I learned the hard way that not all nice-looking, supposedly "kid" videos on YouTube are what they seem.  Sorry for scarring you, Colby :(
Maci was not as fond of the cabin and didn't sleep too good away from her own (or MY own) bed. 
In the morning we enjoyed our donuts for breakfast (a tradition on Daddy's days off) and then we were off to the SNOW!  Driving around this area always reminds me of this:

Kyle proposed on one such snow trip about 7 years ago. :)
As soon as we pulled up to a nice spot, Colby and Kyle were out of the truck and up the hill before Maci and I were even suited up.  Luckily I caught a video of his first run:

It was a pretty tall and steep hill, especially for a 4 year old, but he went up and down that thing dozens of times, mostly on his own.  I didn't get any other good videos of him sledding.  Walking in thigh-deep snow and keeping track of two kiddos is not conducive to taking good pictures and video.
But to give you a mental picture, he would haul the sled up the hill, get it set then take a few steps back.  Before we knew it he would jump right on to it and come barrelling down the hill.  Often crashing and rolling the rest of the way down.  He loved every minute of it.  No fear!

Maci started off liking the snow, but then realized that the gloves (which she hated) weren't allowed to be taken off.  Grrrr. 

And she may have had a bad experience on the sled where Daddy sent her toward Mommy, who -trying to catch it on video and failing- also failed to catch her very well.  Oops.  So the rest of her time was spent clutching on to Daddy.  Which was ok for him because the trips up the hill were wearing on his aching knee.

Conveniently enough for us, a previous visitor to this spot had built a sizeable snowman.  And although it had since fallen apart, there were 3 perfectly good, usable snowballs left behind for us to just stack up and decorate.  Phew!  Do you realize how much work building a snowman from scratch is?  Too much for this Mommy!

Maci was still not the happiest of campers, but I managed to pull her away from Daddy long enough for him to help build the snowman.

When it was done, she did not want to stand by it to take a picture.  She wanted Daddy.  And she promptly started saying "Go bye-bye!  Bye-bye no-man!"  So Kyle took her to the truck to relax while Colby and I stayed to play for just a bit longer.

 We built a few snow castles...

Then Colby got very nervous that Daddy and Maci were just going to leave without us, so he decided he wsa done playing in the snow.
Back to the hotel to warm up!

Colby was quite sad to leave - we had been there less than 24 hours, but we promised to return again and that calmed him down a bit.
Nice getaway!

All of this snow-talk reminded me of my short-lived time in snowy Rexburg.  I told Colby a story about when Mommy went camping in a snow cave.  He thought I was just tricking until I showed him these pictures:

Yes, we actually built a little snow dome, dug out the inside and slept there all night long.  There was not much sleep for me.  Freezing cold with little drops of water dripping on you all night long.  Not the most comfortable night I've had - but an adventure!

Let me just say that I am so happy that I don't live in snow anymore - but it is ok to visit when you have such an excited little boy to take with you!