Now sometimes going to McCall is stressful. There are always so many people that we want to see, people that we should see, and inevitably--by the end of the trip--lots of people that we don't see. Ugh. We tend to feel stretched in all different directions. But for some reason, on this past trip we didn't feel stretched or stressed. Instead, we had a ton of fun! Maybe, just maybe it was because I prayed (a lot) for a "go with the flow" attitude! Unfortunately I don't always come by one naturally. But I try (most of the time)! Sometimes though--darn it!!-- a plan is good! So I'd like to believe that my attempts to "go with the flow" married with my Type A planning made for a good vacation experience for all parties involved.
You wouldn't have known that McCall is "home" because we were like super tourists! Seriously. Just doing our part to support the local economy, right? That's my angle, and I'm sticking to it! So here's a sampling of our jam-packed week...
First, I give you Christmas Eve and morning (before all the touristy stuff):
Another classic Ryan Family Christmas Eve photo shoot! Can you see me back there??? Ha! Ha!
You might be wondering why I didn't post a better shot. Because there isn't one! :)
The Chinese princess and kung fu ninja
Chef Molly testing out her skills with her new cookbook
A Christmas reading (of sorts)
New Christmas jammies
Getting right to work on the new Lego set
Still working...
Ta-dah!
Sledding at "the old dump" (it's a McCall thing) was one of the few FREE things we did! Ha! Ha! It was a fun afternoon with the cousins...after we found just the right hill.
Cousin Whitney
Cousin Mackenzie
The next day we did some downtown sightseeing and window shopping before heading over to Chuck and Robin's rented condo.
The Ryan siblings--Take 1
Take 2!
Gold Fork Hot Springs was a real treat! All that snow and ice around us; yet we were toasty warm in the water!
Then it was time to hit the ice rink.
Happy
Happy
More happy
Still happy
Most definitely NOT happy
D-O-N-E
So we moved on to sledding at the Activity Barn!
Ready...
Set...
Go!
And in case you're wondering...Yep, a few other people were supporting the local economy that day, too! Holy long line!
Skiing at Brundage came next. Except for Molly. She got to stay with Grandma, and they rode to town on the "city" bus, which Molly likened to a ride at Disneyland! What could be better than taking the bus to the grocery store and getting a corn dog?! Happy girl she was!
There were 2 parts to our day--the pre-edgie wedgie experience and the post-edgie wedgie experience. Above, that was pre-edgie wedgie. It didn't go so well. (If you don't know, an edgie wedgie is a simple apparatus that connects the tips of kids' skis, pretty much forcing them into a pie (wedge) shape. Seriously worth the $9. In fact, I'd kiss the inventor if I could!)
Because see? He skied!
And if I don't post the pictures, I/we'll never remember that we probably let G ski about 1 hour too long, right? And I/we'll forget that there may or may not have been 1 (or a few) major fits! Yeah, let's go with that theory and instead just post this nice picture of lunch in the car where he at least looks like his half day of skiing ended on a high note! Ha! Ha!
Snowmobiling was our last adventure of the week. I was really excited, as I had never really been on an actual "trip". And though it was cold and snowing sideways at times, it was totally worth freezing my face and fingers for!
Dave's brother, Mike, was our tour guide. He took us up to Burgdorf--an old mining town. These days people (except for a few "colorful" folks) don't live there permanently, but there's a natural hot springs that you can pay a few dollars to use. It's REALLY rustic but fun in a "you've got to try it at least once" kind of way. :)
The not-so-fun part was shedding a bazillion layers in the freezing cold just to use the outhouse! Bleck! Frozen toilet seat!
So, there it is--Christmas 2009. We went, we saw, we spent...and I'm only 5 months late in posting the proof!
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