We drove back from Arizona one day and the next morning we were packing to head up to the cabin. Steve still wasn't feeling so great, but a lot better than he had been feeling. We got up to the cabin and there was so much snow on top of the roof that the chimneys were covered and full of snow. Steve and Elliott scraped all the snow out of the chimney and tried to get the snow to melt by putting a space heater inside of it. We waited for 3 or 4 hours for the chimneys to break lose, but finally Steve and Elliott decided to fix the problem the dangerous way. They climbed on top of the roof, which had tons of snow on top of it. Then they used shovels and dug the snow off of the chimney so we could start a fire. They said there was at least 6 ft. of snow on top of the chimney. We were so thankful that they did so were able to get a fire started and keep warm for the night. Also, that same night mom and dad went up to the emergency phone in the snow cat to make sure that Ben and Tues, Scott and Steph, and Markell were ok and didn't try to come up to the cabin that day because there was so much snow. While making their phone call they saw a bunch of snowmobilers. It was a Mom and Dad and their two sons. They had been out in the blizzard for at least 3 hours trying to find their cabin. Once they couldn't find their cabin they tried to find the main road, but they couldn't see anything. My parents told them to come and stay with us for the night. So, Mom and Dad came back with four more people. We had dinner ready for them and played Charades that night and watched a movie. They were a great family and we were so glad that we were able to help.
Andrea had a lot of fun playing with her cousins, especially Leah. They are only two weeks apart.
Brooke was such a good older cousin. She was trying to help Andrea read the book. :-)
These next two pictures show just how much snow we had at the cabin. This is the most we've ever had at the cabin since we've owned it.
Scott expended all of his energy to make a path all the way to the shed. He made it! It was pretty funny to watch.
This is all of us gathered together to hear the Christmas program presented by all of the grandkids. They each took a turn at the piano, or singing, or just talking. :-)
Aubrey
William
Brittanee
And even Kaydence
Then we opened presents. We got Dad a mouse pad with a collage of pictures of him with the grand kids, but mostly him and Andrea.
Grandma made all the granddaughters a skirt, so they could dance around in it. It also came with a microphone, crown, and earings.
Mom and Dad gave all of the boys play guns from Sportmans and the girls a gift card to Buckle. We were all very excited. The guns ended up becoming the kids' toys and a chew toy for the dogs, but it was a lot of fun.
Andrea loves Brittanee. She loved spending time with her on the cruise as well. All of the cousins were so good with her. Well, she had a little rough time with Kaydence, but it's just a stage she's going through.
William and McKadee showing off their huge ice cycles.
The three amigas holding their big ice cycles as well.
We had lots of fun sledding in the snow, while it was snowing too. :-) Brittanee looks so cute.
Bubba (William) looks like he's having a blast. He was one of the last ones to go in. He was quite the trooper.
You can't really tell, but this is a picture of Cami, Kassidee, and Ben. We had a ton of fun in the snow. It was so fun for me to be able to play with my siblings again. Even though we are all adults and parents now, we still know how to play. :-)
This is Ben going off the big jump that we made. Go Ben!
I love this picture. I think the cabin looks awesome. Ben and Kassidee look back for one last picture before we have to go in for the night. So beautiful.
New Years Eve just wouldn't be New Years Eve without a big family dance. Well, that's how Tausha feels and I was able to convince everyone else as well. We had soooo much fun. It was mostly Tausha dancing with the grandkids, but as you can see in this picture, Mom and Dad and Markell joined in too. This is a picture of us doing the Macarena.
We also had a Limbo Dance, Western Swing Line Dances, and a dance where we each took a turn super man jumping onto the bean bag with a different pose/jump each time. It was a blast.
Time for the celebration! Elliott really loves Steve's pose right here you can tell.
We had a blowing war. :-) Steve definitely won!
Happy New Year Mom and Dad!
It was soooo fun for me to get to hang out with Cami. She lives in Texas, so we only get to see each once or twice a year. It was really neat to have daughters the same age, so now I can pick Cami's brain about parenting ideas. I love you Cami!
The grandkids decorated a few hours before the party and fastened a sheet to the top of the stairs where we stored all of the balloons that were just waiting to fall down on us as the clock struck midnight. It was awesome! Thanks for the decorations everyone.
Kassidee really liked the balloons.
This was Andrea's first real New Year's Eve. Well, that she could move around and wear a hat and try to blow in a noise maker. Super cute.
Once we got back from the cabin we celebrated Aubrey's 10th birthday with cake and ice cream. What a great way to end a wonderful family vacation.
Andrea had a blast playing T-party with Kassidee and William. They were in there singing the Baby Bumble Bee song with Andrea. I tried to upload a video of it, but it didn't work. It was so cute though. We were so blessed to be able to see almost everyone from both sides of the family over Christmas Break. We also enjoyed both kids of weather, snow and sun. Thank you both sides of the family for all of the love that we have between us. We are so grateful to have such wonderful families!
