Sunday December, 22nd-
After Christmas Sunday, we loaded up the car with all of our stuff for the week. Jeremy thought it would be impossible to fit everything, but we did! And around 4:00 PM, we set off for Lake Arrowhead for our first "just" family (hopefully) White Christmas!
We rented an Airbnb in the little town of Twin Peaks, just outside of Lake Arrowhead. It was an adventure finding the place in the dark, with snow flurries raining down on us. But we made it safely and it was perfect for us! It didn't take too long to get everything unloaded and into the house. Once we were settled, I made a nice dinner and we just relaxed!
These 2 were afraid of getting car sick on the way up. So I gave them some motion sickness medicine before we left. They were knocked out. Like totally out of it. Cali doesn't even remember getting to the cabin! They were both off to bed early.
Good Morning!
Monday 12/23-
We woke up to a light dusting of snow! We had this great deck off of the living room with a beautiful view of the trees!
Cali and Brody were the first ones up, since they had gone to sleep before everyone else. And they both ran out to see the snow!
And they built Mr. Fennowick-
We just hung out all morning. Jer had to get some work done. I busied myself with cooking and wrapping presents. Around noon, Jeremy and I went into town to get firewood and lunch. I got the kids some Christmas legos to put together while we were out.
Look at our cute house in the mountains?
When we got back, the kids had all of their legos done-
Then they decorated the tree-
These 3 had so much fun hanging out, watching movies and playing games.
We spent the rest of the day relaxing, eating and just enjoying each others' company!
Day one - Done! And it was magical!
December 24th - Christmas Eve
We woke up to no snow. It rained pretty much all day on Monday and all night. But it was freezing! We decided to head into Lake Arrowhead Village and check it out and have lunch.
We walked around and checked out the shops and looked at the pretty lake.
Jeremy found a Pendleton store and almost bought a flannel. He didn't and the rest of us had fun playing in the store.
We found a pizza place and had lunch, then had to get back to the cabin because Gavin & Kristin were on their way and Jeremy had to meet them at the bottom of the mountain to pick them up. While Jeremy was getting the kids, I made a yummy Christmas Eve Dinner. Ham Candy!
And the kids got started on today's activity-
Around 5, Everyone else arrived! I was so happy to have all my kids there!
After dinner, I surprised everyone with "The First Gift of Christmas" -
Llama Pajamas!
Everyone loved them! And look how cute we all are?
And the puzzle got finished! She's a beaut!
We all snuggled up and watched the Church's Christmas Devotional, followed by Elf!
We finished the night with Jeremy's annual reading of "Twas the Night Before Christmas".
And to all a good night!
Merry White Christmas and Happy 18th Birthday Cali!
Jeremy and I were up first! The kids were all upstairs, so they had to wait for us to come get them this year. It snowed all night! Look at that view!
At 7:00 AM, we finally let them come down to see if Santa came.
And he did!
Cali was so excited to get snow on her birthday!
Mr. Fennowick was resurrected!
Happy Mama Llama and Daddy Llama!
We spent the morning playing with our new toys, getting ready and feasting on birthday fruit and muffins.
Then we broke out the birthday banner and celebrated Cali's 18th Birthday!
She loved all of the gifts from her brothers...
And a Chimmy from Kristin!
Since she is a grown up now and going off to college, we got her a laptop.
I can't believe she is 18! She is "legiterally" the best daughter and we love her so much!
Best.Christmas.EVER!
After we feasted on Grilled Cheese sandwiches and Tomato Soup, Jeremy and I wanted to go take a walk in the snow...
It didn't last long. It was COLD! But we are cute!
Cali requested pork tacos and chips and salsa for dinner-
Then we all checked out our gifts to the Savior from last year to see how we did. And gave Him new gifts for 2020.
The only thing this cabin did not have was a mixer. Thanks to Jeremy's amazing hand mixing, we were able to make sure that Cali got her Birthday Chocolate Silk Pie!
Happy Birthday Angel!
Thursday, December 26th-
Holy Winter Wonderland!
It snowed non-stop on Christmas and all night long! And it continued to snow all day long today!
Gavin and Kristin were supposed to leave to have Christmas with her family and Gavin had to be at work on Friday. That did not happen. We were officially snowed in!
And we were not sad about it!
The power kept going out. So with no power/wifi, we played outside in the snow! Jeremy spent most of the day shoveling. And he loved it! Our van was almost completely buried!
The snow was too deep and powdery to sled in, so we used the steep road out front instead!
Some of us made snow angels...
Some of us painted...
Some of us built snow forts...
Some napped...
And some of us built a snow man.
Meet Snowman Jenkins-
It was so beautiful!
Even snowy spongebob was enjoying the day-
The power went out for the night at 5:00 PM. We stayed by the fire to keep warm and I made soup over the gas stove by flashlight. It was wonderful!
Everyone went to bed early, because the power did not come back on until 11;30 PM!
Friday December 27th-
Time to go home.
The snow finally stopped during the night and the sun came out this morning.
The roads were plowed, so Jeremy was able to take Gavin and Kristin down the mountain to their car. The rest of us packed up and got everything ready to go.
The 30 minute drive it was supposed to take for Jeremy to get back up the mountain, ended up taking 3 1/2 hours! CHP was checking everyone for chains. And when Jeremy finally made it through the checkpoint, he got lost and stuck trying to get back to us. He didn't have any cell reception to call me. So I pulled up a map on my phone and guided him to us via text. We were supposed to be out of the house by 11 AM, but didn't end up leaving until 4:00 PM. Thankfully, no one was checking in that day and our host was so cool and understanding. While we were waiting for Jeremy, we watched the snow melt off the trees and house.
This whole trip was absolutely perfect. We had so much fun, made so many memories and loved just being together.
Goodbye Cabin in the Mountains. You were good to us!
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