The Mountains Win Again

After a week so full of chaos it felt like our house was just here for wardrobe changes and the occasional shower, we packed up the kids and the dog and headed to "our" private oasis, also known as my parent's mountain cabin, for a few days.

And I honestly think we must have done something right because it felt like God reached down and painted the trees and skies just for us. I mean, seriously..... I took this picture while laying on a blanket in the shade after hiking and picnicking. It was gorgeous. Perfect jeans and tee shirt weather.

We hiked and ran in fields. We ate dinner outside as the sun set. The dog ate some deer poop. (Just thought you would want to know in case you're ever stranded in the woods and looking for a tasty snack.) I took some really bad pictures: You know, the kind where everybody's faces are in the shadows but you keep clicking away because they're still so dang cute?

This picture was a practice shot. I brought their shirts for the Christmas card this year and we were going to bring them back here later in the day to get a cute photo on this fence. That never actually happened. In fact, they didn't wear the shirts until this morning on the way home. Maybe I should have taken their picture fighting almost the entire car ride home for the Christmas card? I'm not even sure Santa will still be visiting our house this Christmas after the car ride home..... It was one of those fun road trips where it takes you twice as long because you're busy pulling the car over to spank multiple bottoms and making all sorts of threats while cussing under your breath and hoping the road noise drowns it out.

So, to sum up, and as Todd's youth would say, it was an "epic win" for the mountains. A great trip followed by a terrible car ride, and now we've hit the ground running again. Back to the reality of more doctor appointments and youth events and school activities, etc.

If you didn't get your fill of mountain pics, keep scrolling for s'more.....