Merry Merry!

Hope everyone had a wonderful Christmas!  

We sure did.

Thank you family and friends.  

HO! HO! HO!

Vacuum

We utilize our vacuum to her full capabilities.

Not one crumb is left unattended.

Snow? Oui, Neige!

I see a lot of locals looking to the sky and scratching their heads lately.  There doesn't seem to be enough white stuff around and everyone is wondering why.  Or perhaps more appropriately, when!  Luckily, Sun Valley Resort has an outstanding snow making system, otherwise there would be some really unhappy tourists added to the mix.  But us locals still are feeling a bit off this time of year.

Meanwhile, our ski patrol friend, Sebastian, in France has been sending photos of the amazing snow conditions they are having at Serre Chevalier.  So much in fact that an avalanche broke off at the resort and took out a ski lift.

Sebastian

Ok, Santa we know it's out there.  Could you send some our way?  S'il vous plait?

Weasel

Zach and I have an unofficial contest every winter to see who can spot the most weasels.  Also known as the ermine or stoat, these little dudes change from brown to white in the winter and are not easy to sight because of their small size and quick feet.

But as of Friday we are tied one weasel to one weasel and I got photos to prove it!

McCall Get Away

We had a mini vacation with our visit to McCall over the weekend.  Officially, we were helping celebrate Zach's cousin's wedding.  Unofficially, we had a great time exploring a different place in Idaho.

View from our hotel room at Shore Lodge in McCall.

McCall is a little mountain town not much different then ours.  It sits on gorgeous Payette Lake and reminds me a lot of a mini Tahoe.  Unfortunately, they are also wondering where all the snow is this late in December.

Nick, Kat, Jean, and Zach at the lake.

Nick & Jean put as all up in the Shore Lodge Hotel which I would highly recommend to anyone passing through.  Great food and first class accommodations made us feel like royalty.

Jingle Bells!

The grandparents make sure Dax is well fed amongst the party goers.

Aunt Kat to the rescue!

The weekend flew bye and before we knew it was time to head home.

This is how you decorate for Christmas in a mountain town.

We had a great time playing tourist and getting dressed up for a fun party.  Thanks Nick & Jean for bringing us along :)

Annual Tree Hunt

The Lathams gathered together for the annual Christmas tree cutting over this past weekend.  Nick & Jean got Dax his own sled so he could tag along.  Aunt Kat took pictures and helped navigate.

Santa says "cheese"

Grandparents and Dax

Timber!

The tree hunt was a success, it was decorated and home by bedtime.

Lucy's exhausted from all the hub-ub

Sunday we headed north to Galena Lodge for a little skate ski.  We towed the chariot with Dax tightly bundled inside.  He was happy so he fell right to sleep.  That made us happy so we carried on through the forest chasing after Lucy.  That made Lucy happy so she tried to run to the North Pole!

Mush!

I can never tell who likes winter more, Zach or Lucy. 

The Man in Red

Dax had a chance to meet Santa for the first time while in Reno.  I was prepared for long lines and crying but we managed to sneak in and out before Dax even noticed what had happened.

  Next year I may have a harder time confusing the little guy long enough to get a picture.  But we will mark this year off as a success with Santa.