Winter Cabin – No Adventure

We held our annual winter cabin weekend with the kids and grands in January. When you total up our kids, partners, grands, and great-grands, hubby’s and my family total 22. Soon to be 23 as a great-grandson is due in March.

Eleven made it to the cabin. Since COVID, everyone makes their own decision to go or not go. No pressure. This was our 24^th year of doing this and I’m so grateful for this tradition. Our family has spread out along the west US coast so it’s a time to come together in person and catch up on our lives.

And let our lives go for a little bit. No hustle, no bustle, just us. Visiting, eating, playing games, eating, painting rocks and wood and canvases, and yes, eating. (I came home and had to go on a diet!)

Our talented daughter’s painted rocks.

Pay no attention to my moon rock failure. Lol.

The cabin we usually stay in is no longer rented out, so we found a new place for this year. Smaller, but with two separate living spaces so we were cozy but not on top of each other.

I don’t know if I’ve ever relaxed as much as I did at this year’s cabin. Food prep was simple and we only left the place once, to check out a distillery in a nearby town. In fact, that’s really the only “adventure” I can tie to this year’s cabin. I had a lavender-infused lemon drop. Never had anything like that before and it was yummy!

Now cabin is over and we’ve all gone back to our lives. Hubby and I are blessed because our kids are close, not only with each other, but with us. So we talk regularly throughout the year. It’s just nice, once in a while, to gather in person, you know?

Our daughter brought this sand thing and it mesmerized us all. It’s very peaceful to just watch the sand fall. Very meditative.

Have a wonderful month, everyone!

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It’s That Time of Year Again.

Another year, another family cabin. This one, our 17th, was just as much fun as any of them, even if we were shy 4 of our family members. We still had 17. Yikes. When did my family get so big? From an aging perspective, it’s wonderful to see everyone thriving and the family growth. Sometimes, it’s a little daunting, too. We started all that? 🙂

One of the fun things I do to prepare for our 3 night adventure in the snow is to add pictures to the digital frame. I raid everyone’s FB pages and my own pictures and there are now over 1500 pics on the frame. Baby pics to current. We always set it on the kitchen counter at the cabin and it becomes the focal point of the weekend. People stand around chatting and oohing and oh-no’ing as their lives are encapsulated within the frame. We love it.

Anyhow, thought you’d like to see a few pics…

Wildlife… (deer and wild turkeys)

We do a jigsaw puzzle, bake cookies, play games…

The kids LOVE the half-court gym where we stay…

And the snow…

We have Christmas (finally)…

And we paint wood and rocks. This, by the way, has become one of the highlights of our weekend. (And I hope to do a March blog inspired by this.)

And through all this, we talk. Catch up. Reconfirm how strong this family is and how much we love each other. It’s…awe-inspiring to be part of it all. I am so lucky to have the family we have.

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I hope each and every one of you have special memories to bring a smile to your face.

And an early Happy Valentine’s Day!

For more information about Laurie Ryan:
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