Fastest Christmas Break Ever!

I must admit, after 2+ weeks at home, I am usually a little ready to get back into a routine.  To take the Christmas decorations down and get back to work.  But, something about this break was so lovely and relaxing, so full of friends and laughter, I am not ready.  It went too fast.

While our calendar squares have remained relatively empty these past 2 weeks, we filled our time with climbing, reading, game playing, and movie watching.  This is the pile of movie tickets, books, recipes, games, and iPads that naturally accumulated on my tables over break and we recommend all of it! 

The food has been fantastic over break.  We used several restaurant gift cards to eat well and enjoyed trying lots of fun new things at home-- like a ramen bar or my first time making angel food cake!

New Year Eve was spent with our nearest and dearest friends.  While Donna and I have been friends for years, we have watched our kids' lives intersecting more and more over the past 3 years and were so blessed to spend the last of 2021 and the first of 2022 with these people who we love.  

We were actually able to take one grand family outing too!  Taking advantage of a rare Sunday with no night church, we spend the sabbath in the snow!  What a phenomenal witness to God's faithfulness, as we've prayed for more precipitation for our drought-plagued state for years, this December the Lord gave us a winter storm so spectacular that snow was in abundance at not-crazy high elevations!  Our mountains and hills are laden in snow, our valley is soaked in rain.  Praise the Lord!

We couldn't find our sleds, though!  I think they probably fell victim to some wild youth group shenanigans. :)  So the girls and I had the funny idea to see what boogie boards would do in the snow!  Does it get more California than this?!  For snow ball shields we 5/5 recommend the boogie boards.  For sledding, we 0/5 do not.  

The pictures can not capture the beauty of lungs full of fresh, cold air; mountain ranges so white with snow, from a distance, they look like clouds in the sky; trees with heavy snow-topped branches; knee-deep snow fluff you sink right into; crowds of Californians braving slick roads to gleefully see what we haven't seen in years-- abundant snow in places that so desperately needed it.

A stop for coffee and a stroll around the old gold-mining town of Columbia completed our family getaway day.  I'd take another week of break if it was offered, but I guess we are ready for you, 2022.