Tubing in 6 degrees and other things

We got a wee bit of snow late last week and decided to get the kids (& us) an early Christmas present of a couple of inner tubes to chase our winter doldrums with. They have been a hit and we feel fortunate to have a small hill right in our backyard and a larger one right across the street.

Getting the tires home in the subaru :)

Ready for FUN!

Moving on to the bigger hill across the street - weee!

Luke has become obsessed with going for quick runs outside without his shoes on ... Mabel has followed suit, right after we'd finished playing "hair salon." One needs the perfect hair style for running outside with no shoes when it's 20 degrees :)

We had a very lovely and very relaxed Christmas Eve & Christmas Day in our Rapid City cottage. With no commitments and such cold weather, we were content to stay in and loved watching the kids enjoy opening their gifts at a extremely leisurely pace. And of course, we had a ton of tasty food :)

Some of the kid's gifts --

During this particularly frigid time we have felt increased gratitude for the cozy shelter of our home.

We also love that nearly every morning we are given the special treat of a beautiful sunrise right outside our front window.  Everyday it's different, but always stunning and I am grateful to get to begin each day greeted with this.