Wintry Weekend

What a snowy surprise we got this past weekend! Our family of four had already planned to spend some time at the cabin, and once I heard the weather forecast I threw our snowgear onto the pile to pack into the car. Just the drop in temperature was startling, but in my opinion it should be cold when at the cabin.

I love the smell of a woodstove, and though the cabin is definately a hunting cabin (or what I lovingly refer to as a "shabin"), not a vacation home in the mountains, it is perfectly suited for what we use it for. Time away. A place to enjoy our family and God's creation. An interruption and schedule-free zone. I haven't been to the cabin in probably a decade, but as a kid I spent at least one weekend there every year if not more. Pete and I went once after we were married, before we had the kids, and I was excited to finally share a piece of my childhood with them now that they're old enough to enjoy it. Till the storm was past we had received quite a bit of rain and 6 inches of snow. Losing power from noon until 6pm meant our inside activity was quite limited too, but we dug out the oil lamp, used the natural light from the windows, and cooked our supper in and on the woodstove. Beef stew and potatoes never tasted so good!

We took a walk on Saturday morning after we had received about 2 inches. The colorful autumn leaves were beautiful against the white snow.

We had no traveling issues due to the snow. My dad remarked that once we got to the cabin we'd be okay...everything is literally downhill from there. :-)

Natalia was the only one to see a deer. She was standing by the table looking out the window and saw one (she said she saw antlers) crossing the driveway. We were sure to wear some bright colors and make plenty of noise during our walk...it's archery season.

I was hoping to spend more time outside, letting the kids play in the woods, built a teepee, and collect some pretty leaves, but having snow was very memorable and the kids were so sad to leave.

I devoured a book, Pete caught up on his Reader's Digest reading from the last 20 years, and the kids had a great time being monkeys on the bunk beds and playing "house".

A wonderful family memory to file away.