Family Time in the Mountains

My dad arranged for a mini family vacation before Christmas, so that we would actually all have some quality time together before the chaos of the holidays fully set in. Though I was VERY skeptical about this idea (mainly because the HIGH was supposed to be 3 degrees), I think we all agreed that it was an absolutely wonderful time.

We stayed in a condo overlooking the mountains of Ketchum, Idaho. It was snowy and wonderful, but cooooooooooold cold cold. Here is the view from our condo:
The first night we were there we took a sleigh ride to dinner and froze the whole way.... or I WOULD have frozen the whole way, but fortunately for my time in South Africa, I had one of THESE tucked under my sweater:
Yes, that's right, a hot water bottle. I am telling you, they are the best things EVER. Everyone in South Africa uses them since there is no central heating, and they make a world of difference. Trust me. I could do an infomercial on them.

Here are the gigantic horses that pulled our sleigh.

Here's me and my cute little brother on the sleigh ride. I am personally impressed that I kept my hands out of my mittens long enough to take some pictures.

The cute padres.

My mom and I spent the days shopping for last minute Christmas gifts and enjoying the snow. :)

On the drive home we drove through Hailey...