cabin in the woods

* A side note - I received a new lens for Christmas (yay!).  However, Blogger and I do not yet agree about uploading photos taken with said lens (boo!).  Sorry for the blurry pics.  Eventually I will sort it out.

For the first time in our married life, we stayed put for Christmas.  It was marvelous.  We definitely missed our families, don't get me wrong.  But it was so nice not the have the hectic-ness of traveling (extreme 17+ hours traveling, mind you) added to the hubbub of Christmas. 

However, a few days after Christmas, we did surprise the girls with a trip to a cabin in the woods.  (A little post Christmas detox trip, if you will.)  

It was am.az.ing.  

I intentionally picked a spot that was under 2 hours of travel time.  A more or less secluded cabin, nestled in the woods in Bear Creek Lake State Park.  I can't say enough for the planning that they put into these cabins.  It was a fabulous layout inside - the girls could play, and Lila could sleep without lots of hushing.  They supplied you with the basics (like bedding, kitchen pots and pans, and the necessary coffee pot), making packing quite easier.  Camping is tons of fun for us, but it takes LOTS of planning and with little ones, it means little sleep for everyone.  This was a suitable compromise for the season of life (and the cold winter season) that we're in.

We're still adjusting to all of the woods around here.  Both of us are from areas known for their farming, so the woods have and do take some getting used to. 

But there's certainly always something to explore in the woods, even in the depths of winter.  It was a bit of freedom to simply step out of your front door and immediately be in the outdoors.  (Have I mentioned that townhouse living isn't quite for us?) Up and down hills we went, tiny pinecones, dams, hardy winter birds, and lots of good squishy mud.  

Oh how I do treasure our time inside that simple little cabin, a roaring fire, games upon games of Bird Bingo or Hiss, family drawing time, lots of reading time, happy knitting for me… and lots of staring at the fire time.

And of course, there was lots of Lila's favorite game, crawling around and hiding in the empty cabinets!  She has so much spunk, this little one of ours!

Oh yes, and what 'camping' trip would be complete without s'mores!?!  Do note that our all amazing Dada solved the issue of gooey marshmallows but no gooey chocolate.  He's amazing.