Well we were up at 4 AM (Sat)to send Bobby and Amy's families on their way back to warm sunny Florida. Bobby left at 4:30 and Amy at 5 AM as they staggered their departures in hopes the kiddos will continue their sleep for a couple hours down the road. We said our good bye's to the twins the night before as they wanted them to stay asleep.
New years Day was a stay inside kind of day as the rain was a constant all day and through out most of the night. (At least the temps warmed up a little to make it some what more comfortable for their early morning departures). To start the New Years Day after sleeping in until nearly 7'ish we ate a large breakfast and snacked for lunch then did our customary New Year's supper/dinner of sauerkraut and pork with hot dogs and kielbasa, smashed taters and black eyed bean soup . What a day of feasting and believe me these kiddos can put away the chow as do the little twins. They had some of the feast as well.
We played games and watched a little college football as well as read and the kiddos had a great time in the basement which gave them plenty of space to do their activities. The dog, Rocky was some what less enthusiastic about being inside all day but he did ventured out to do his business and was quickly out of the wet and cold as soon as he finished. He is really a very gentle pup but going to be huge when full grown. He fitted right in with the family especially the twins as he was very gentle around them. The one oddity was he was scared of the stairs so he was carried up and down daily by Tyler and he must weight at least 40 pounds or more by now.
Well the kiddos did leave a few things which we will bring back on Monday when we head back to warm sunny Florida. We have tons of work to do before we leave. Today, Saturday we will make a dump run to Sparta as the truck is filled with garbage from the past week. Nancy wants to visit a couple shoppes before heading out of town as well. We have lots to do to winterize the cabin and make it ready for our return hopefully in June. I have to return some portable heaters we used to keep the basement warm to neighbor Gerald and remove the battery from the golf cart as well as remove Sam and Gabe survival shelter from the back yard. They had such a good time together as did the girls. The girls all bonded as well with the twin boys as they were constantly in the corral(temporary fence) playing with them. The corral helped some what to keep the boys in an area when we needed to eat. They loved to crawl around and climb on things which at times was precarious to say the least. They are very active and starting to stand and walk while holding on. They soon will be walking around on their own.
This winter adventure sure helped to convince me living in the mountains year round is not for me. I love all of the seasons here but will forgo the winter one. It was very cold at times with temps never getting above freezing which felt even colder with the wind chill and then the overcast cold wet days of not seeing the sun was another reason I live most of the year in Florida. The heat is miserable in the summer in Florida but when its cold here in the mountains how quickly I will take the heat over the cold, Oh well. The snow days were fun for the kiddos and I even enjoyed it at times despite busting myself on the slick ice. They had lots of sledding, snow ball fights and tracking the wild life in the snow. We did a couple hikes and the golf cart was a big hit especially for the twins as they sang their songs on the rides and never ever fussed. The older girls got to drive the cart several times which was a plus for them.
The cabin is already quiet as I make this post except for Nancy's snoring which was another big factor for Rocky the pup who kept the house in stitches with his loud snoring through out the day and more so at night time. We could hear him above Nancy's snoring at night, he was that loud. Well we all wanted to do this winter adventure for years and I'm glad we did but I'm ready to get back to the warmth of Florida, back to gardening if it is still alive and back to pickle ball in hopes to reduce this nearly two weeks of eating high on the hog. I miss my morning apple instead of bacon, eggs, sausage and pancakes which we have gone through with 10 dozen of eggs, 8 pounds of bacon and sausages with biscuits and muffins. I'm sure these kiddos will remember this trip which some of them experienced snow for the first time long after I'm gone. We are blessed to be able to have a place they will long cherish each other and the fun times together, LATER
