Over the River . . . (and in the woods)

This past week we went to my parent's log cabin in Plain. We were looking forward to a week of skiing, sledding and walking to the only little store in town with the sleds in tow. However, a few weeks of warm weather and no new snow on top of Everly's broken arm changed our plans a bit.

We love being on the go and we'll pack up the kids for an overnight adventure somewhere almost every week. We always look forward to it because we make the most of our time away (keep it moving and pack in the fun!). So this week was a little different when it consisted of watching (a lot) of movies, sledding some, and heading to Leavenworth just once. I figured out that despite the fact that the kids had great behavior, and rolled with the quietness of this vacation, I'm not sure that a more "restful" vacation left me feeling more rested. Am I an adrenaline junky? Not likely. But I know now that I love the quick rhythm of our time away and I'm just as thankful for those busy (exhausting!) experiences as I am for this one that made me relax, relax, relax. I also found that those "peaceful" hours spent in a homey cabin in the woods can also result in one birthday for a rather awesome five year old (more on that later), two finished hats for the kids, sledding, s'mores, one befriended grouse, two books read cover to cover, another one started, a sleigh-ride, one minor black eye, and hours upon hours to almost finish making an intricate necklace. :)

Here's some of the highlights of our time away:

Whole family sledding trip.

I am rocking the sled course and *so not* scared (eh, maybe a little)

S'mores around the winter fire.

Parks, quite proud of his first (slightly charred) marshmallow he "cooked" himself.

The first day of Everly's black eye. It got more colorful, but too sad to document!

Parker telling some stories by the fire.

Grandpa gets in on the storytelling.

Parks demonstrating how to iceskate.

Preparing for the annual birthday sleigh-ride.

Our horses this year were a mother-son team; befitting for the momentous birthday of FIVE!

Some morning snuggling.

Playing by the river.

Everly insisted we should go rafting.

The very friendly, and not so smart grouse we (Jeremy) befriended.