Christmas at the Cabin

Grandma and Grandpa Goodman must have been smiling down upon our family as we gathered to celebrate Christmas and welcome in the year 2017.  We are the fortunate beneficiaries of their insightful efforts to provide a place of gathering for the Goodman family long after they passed on.  Bob and I arrived in Las Vegas and drove into Pine Valley through an increasingly debilitating blizzard on Christmas Eve.  Climbing the mountain from St. George, we questioned the ability of our rental vehicle to safely navigate the storm.  We were glad to be in our 4-wheel-drive Jeep Grand Cherokee, at the expense of a painful 2-hour rental process in Vegas.  The blinding thick and furious snowfall had us literally plowing through nearly 2-feet of accumulation along the deceptively enchanting roadways into the valley.  But oh, what a perfectly beautiful winter wonderland we awakened to in the morning!  (Can you see the garden gnome nearly smothered in the snow?)  Church was canceled, so we held our own little Christmas service in the warmth of the Pine Valley "cabin".

Jill made Christmas a delight for all of us, preparing a hearty hot breakfast, and supplying gifts galore for everyone.  It all started in the traditional Goodman fashion, by lining up at the top of the stairs and at the signal from mom, scrambling down them as quickly as possible to discover Santa's generous offerings.

Poohpie and Pa were spoiled with fun and creative gifts!  A homemade "Goodman Game of Life" from Bobby and Jill provided hilarious fun as we "replayed" memorable events in the lives of our Goodman family.  "Pie Face" had us all giggling in anticipation of that terrifying slap of cream in the face!  Max, Linley and Bobby decorated pretzels to take to our Goodman property management team; Mike and LouAnn.  The kids had a blast playing in the snow, and Bobby and Pa sharpened their shooting skills.

On Tuesday afternoon of December 27, Thomas, Chelsea and Knox flew into Las Vegas and took a bus to St. George.  Jill and I took the kids to St. George that morning in hopes of watching a movie, while Bob and Bobby checked out a Veyo real estate deal (my dreamers . . .).  The movies were all sold out so a little shopping and McDonald's play place consumed our day until it was time for Jill to pick up Chelsea's family.  They all headed to the Children's Museum for some excitement.  Bobby was quite sick and went back to the cabin.  Bob came to St. George and took me grocery shopping (and to buy a new coat for Bob).  I began to feel rather sick that afternoon.  In the meantime, Stephanie's family drove down from Wyoming to meet up with the rest of us at Texas Roadhouse for dinner.  Michael's family flew into Vegas late that afternoon, after spending Christmas with her dad in Washington, and arrived at the Pine Valley Lodge that night.  We moved out of the cabin and we all settled into the lodge for a week of post-Christmas to New Year's Day family fun! "Hail Hail, the gang's all here; never mind the weather, here we are together . . ."

 Let the games begin!