Ushering in Christmas

On November 20th, our family took a weekend trip to Big Cedar Lodge to ring in the Christmas season. We all loaded up and headed off for the best mini vacation evah!

As it turns out…the trip lived up to all of our hopes and wishes. It was incredible.

I even stayed buckled when we went over the bridge. I found solace in the fact that if we were going to “go down” – at least a hostess cupcake truck would go with us.

When we arrived we first checked out our cabin. The kids were ecstatic to explore and find their bedroom and bathroom.

My favorite part of our cabin was the beautifully decorated Christmas tree. It instantly put us in the mood for Christmas.

We then headed over to Devil’s Pool for a little lunch.

Bryce was nap deprived and amped up from finally being off the road…so he was NOT an angel at lunch. He was either taunting the “taxidermied” furry friends or smearing his greasy hands on the windows. He would intermittently chuck something at the other diners. Needless to say – he went on a “lobby visit” until the food was ready. This episode prompted us to order room service each night. :)

After lunch we headed to visit the bickie tree. I wiped it for good luck.

 

We went back to the cabin Tommy T built us a fire.

We tucked the kids in bed for a nap…

And then cuddled in front of the fire…enjoying the silence.

One of my favorite parts of the trip was slow dancing with Tom while the kids napped. We should dance more often. Love it.

We enjoyed the view from our deck…

 

And took a nap ourselves. I was awakened by a knock at the door. It was “the cookie lady”. Yes, the cookie lady. It seems she comes nightly – bearing a bag of fresh cookies. Nightly.

After eating half the bag, we woke the kids up to share the loot. Bryce was pleased.

We then headed out for a horse drawn wagon ride through the grounds. We waited in the clubhouse for the horses to arrive.

 

The kids played with Lincoln Logs while we waited.

 

It started sprinkling…but the kids were still in heaven. It was beautiful.

At the end of our ride we were taken to a campfire for S’mores, hot cocoa, and a little cowboy Christmas caroling.

They were all in sugar comas…

Tom bought one of the cowboy’s CD’s…he’s sweet like that.

We went back to the cabin – ordered room service for dinner (my kind of roughing it)…and were off to sleep.

The next morning I opened my eyes to see this…

I laid there awake…staring up at the beautiful stained glass until I could take it no longer and started taking pictures. The sound of the shutter awakened Tommy T. We decided that morning, while laying in bed, that this would be a place we would bring our children for years to come. We were in love with it.

We took the kids to The Worman House for breakfast.

This place has a fantastic view of the lake and wonderful food. All of Big Cedar has wonderful food :)

     

We went to visit the Ho-hees after breakfast.

   

We then went to the playground to burn off some breakfast.

    

While playing, Tom tried to seduce me with (in the words of Nacho Libre) his “stretchy pants”. Grrrrrrr.

Next on the list….Silver Dollar City.

Bradley was officially tall enough to ride his first roller coaster. He waited…fearfully. (see hands)

And his reaction:

There was hot cocoa…in a cup (on the right) on a shirt (on the left). Popcorn was his consolation prize.

 

 

While we were eating treats on a bench, I felt something hitting my head. I looked up to find… him. When he was finished he chucked his shell at Bryce. It was an overhand throw. Do Squirrels have rotator cuffs? I bet his name was Cecil.I love that name….Cecil. Say it just once. Cecil.

  

We went back to the cabin for another nap. The children needed their rest since they would be going on the Polar Express later that evening (later nicknamed The Hell Express).

We boarded.

The kids got to wear their jammies. They read the book over the speakers as chefs went through the car showing the kids the pictures.

It looks tame – but it wasn’t. A train full of kids amped up on cocoa and cookies…Christmas music on the speakers…loud children…loud, loud, children.

Some of the staff weren’t fans of children.

The conductor later sat with us and told me of his colonoscopy he had in our town. It was magical for the children.

Bryce thought he owned the place. I am sure this is against railroad regulations. He knew our butts weren’t going to fit back in there to get him.

  

When the ride was finally over (head pounding)…the kids went on a spastic rampage…running…jumping…shouting. It was close to 10 pm by that time. Wow. Hell Express is right. Luckily it was a roundtrip ticket.

See the video below for a small sampling.

There were no arguments at bedtime… but many arguments the following morning when we told them we had to go home. Until we meet again Big Cedar!