Bearfoot Hideaway

After a false start yesterday (when I said Evan nor I have driven in snow for 15 years, I meant 15 years for me, but 30 years for him!), we finally got out on the roads today.

Our mission was to find and cut our own christmas tree, and maybe get in a little sledding.  We bought a few saucers at Walmart and headed out!

Our first sledding fun was in the park in Blowing Rock.  But we found a perfect spot on a nice smooth hill at ASU.  We spent hours sledding down and racing down the hill.  Mady and Goo had a marathon race going on the entire day, to see who could go the farthest in an unassisted run.   We laughed and giggled the whole time.  Not only was this fun, but walking and running back up the hill hundreds of times is also great exercise.  (It sure beats and air conditioned smelly gym)

The day turned out to be sunny and warm enough that we even shed our jackets in the snow.

This is turning out to be a picture perfect family Christmas vacation!   By the way, we determined the girls’ race to be a tie!

(We also got our Christmas tree)

By the time we woke up Saturday morning, Ray’s weather reported that Boone received 18 inches of snow!   It was truly a Winter Wonderland!  We spend the whole day walking and playing in the snow. 

Luckily, we had the foresight to shop for the entire week.  With this snow, combined with the fact that our SUV is NOT a 4WD vehicle, coupled again with the knowledge that neither Evan nor I have driven in snow for over 15 years, we would never make it out of the development, much less down to  the stores and back.

Somehow being stuck together in the snow makes this even a more special family time!

For some reason beyond my reasoning, I blocked off the cabin for our use starting on a Thursday.  Normally, we arrive on Fridays and stay through both weekends, but for some reason, I (accidentally?) picked Thursday.

As it got closer and closer to the departure date for our Christmas Vacation, we saw the weather forecast was calling for a major blizzard to hit Boone on FRIDAY!

Our drive to the cabin was an uneventful 12 hour ride.  Evan & I stopped at Lowe’s Foods for groceries, keeping in mind that we might be snow bound for a few days.

This is our car after spending over $400 on groceries and supplies for the week, including our Christmas & Christmas Eve Dinner:

We have an SUV.  The entire trunk and backseats were piled to the ceiling with food and supplies to keep us happy and warm for the entire week, if need be.

When we awoke today, Friday, the sky was threatening.  My mission was to get the family to haul as much firewood and even sundry twigs and logs from our woods close enough to the cabin so we could get it in case the power goes out and we have to rely on the fireplace for light and warmth.

We moved 2 entire trees that had been downed earlier this year and piled the wood behind the cabin.  The kids also gathered about a yard of smaller twigs and branches to use for kindling.

We have about 1/2 cord of wood, but we could go through that if the power goes out for a prolonged period.  We have underground power lines, but you never know.

We finished about 11AM just as the snow started.  It came down slowly at first.  We all enjoyed walking and playing in the light snow dusting the ground.  We walked down to the river and enjoyed the snowflakes on our faces and eyelashes.
 

Goo loved catching the snowflakes on her tongue and Jenna seemed to really enjoy her first experience with snow.

We romped for a bit by the river and realized the snow was starting to come down heavier.  By the time we got back to the cabin, there had to be 2 inches on the ground.  They are predicting 16!

While we all love the snow and will have a wonderful time romping and playing in it, the disappointment is that Evan’s son and his girlfriend will not be able to make the trip to the cabin to join us.  Even if they are able to fly into Charlotte, with the snow that is predicted, they will not be able to make the drive up the mountain to the cabin.  Sad.