Winter Trip to Priest Lake

We just came home from our annual, winter trip to Priest Lake.  Since the girls were preparing to fly to Atlanta with their theater company and had daily rehearsals after Christmas during winter break, we had to skip going last year.  As a result, it has been two years since the kids and I have gone and three years since Ron has gone.  And although there had been a healthy start to the snow fall this season, it unfortunately had rained a lot in the days leading up to everyone's arrival.  As a result, there wasn't enough snow on the roads to sled this year which was a bit of a disappointment for the kids.  However, we were still able to make the most of it and get outside to play in the snow in the woods and in the yard around the cabin.  As always, we enjoyed lots of family time during our three days there and had fun playing games, watching movies, eating delicious food, and playing in the snow.  

December 28th:

After arriving at dinner time, we celebrated Callie's 21st birthday in the evening.  Here she is before blowing out her candles for the first time as a full-fledged adult.

In addition to Callie opening up her birthday gifts, the cousins all exchanged Christmas gifts.  Here is Emmett showing off the soft, bunny key chain that Garrett gave to him.

Ella holding up her Taylor Swift t-shirt from the concert a few weeks earlier that Vivi helped pay for.

Logan opening up his Target gift card from Trenton.

Lia showing off the darling jar of shells that also held her Amazon gift card from Callie.

December 29th:

We went out as a family and enjoyed playing in the snow this morning.  Here is the one family picture we took together during this trip.

There still was enough snow on the driveway for the kids to enjoy some sledding.  Here is Logan going down on the snowboard sled.

Emmett having a turn.

And Ella, too!

Logan brought up his Connect 4 game which turned out to be in high demand all weekend long.  Here are the four Hartland kids gathered around watching Riley and Trenton as they played a game.

Like last summer, Ella and Emmett loved playing with baby Emileigh.  Here is Ella playing with the old, toy barn with the baby while Emmett looks on.

December 30th:

We left bright and early on Monday morning to spend the day skiing at Schweitzer.  We left Emmett behind at the cabin with grandma and grandpa and a few other family members while the rest of us drove the four hours, round trip to spend the day skoarding on the mountain.  There was lovely, new snow, so we had a great time skoarding together all day long.

Lia skiing across the run.

Ella zipping down a steep hill.

Logan boarding down the hill with the beautiful, snow-covered trees in the background.

The five of us at the top of the mountain.

Lia, Logan, and Ella heading into the cool, old building at the end of one of the chairlift lines.

December 31st:

We enjoyed an epic game of Sardines in the woods during our last day at Priest Lake.  We had never played this game in the snow before (since we are usually too busy sledding), but it turned out to be so much fun and we were able to put Emmett's new walkie talkies to use.

We enjoyed playing several games on New Years Eve night with the family before counting down to midnight (which was actually 9 o'clock) and drinking sparkling cider.  Here are Emmett, Ella, and Logan playing a hilarious game that Aunt Rebecca brought with her.

We enjoyed playing a massive game of Donkey with the majority of the family.  It was a fun way to finish off the evening.  We headed to bed before midnight and packed up the next day before heading home to enjoy the last few days of winter break.