HAPPY NEW YEAR!

Hello friends! Well, I'm back after two wonderful weeks of family and friends, Christmas, birthday, and ringing in the new year! We just returned from a great week spent with 3 other families. We rented a cabin in Deep Creek, MD. 18 people in one house!! I would encourage you to make the trip. It is worth it. David and I decided it is a place that we would love to visit again, and New Years was the perfect time. We have never taken a Winter vacation with the kids, and normally opt for warmer climates. But we enjoyed the snow almost as much as we enjoy warm water and sand... who knew! ...and this place recieves double the snowfall of Fairbanks, Alaska. There are many activities to take advantage of in this part of Maryland. With 7 state parks, there is plenty to do. Here are a few things we did: sledding right outside the cabin, snow tubing at Wisp Mtn Resort (our kids had the most fun here), dogsledding with Husky Power Dogsledding (we froze to death, but what a wonderful presentation by Linda and her crew, Allison even earned a girl scout badge), Laura and I also took our kids to the Deep Creek Lake Discovery Center one day where the kids had fun locating items on a scavenger hunt. David and I took the kids to Simon Pearce Glass Factory where we enjoyed watching a glass blower make a blue bird and christmas tree. What an incredible skill, talent, and craft. I just love and appreciate anything made by hand. So, here are a few pictures to share. The rest of the time we played games, cards, and read books by the warm, cozy fire. As with most times like this, I wish I had picked up my camera more often, the scenery is beautiful at Deep Creek. It was a wonderful time and I am so glad we were able to ring in 2009 with our closest friends!