Somewhere in AZ
This year my family and I, all 10 of us, escaped the city and rented a cabin. The drive from Phoenix to Pine Top wasn’t bad, especially since my sister Debbie and I had our own version of Carpool Karaoke on the way over here. After a few u-turns, and windy roads we finally got to our cabin!
The house was huge and hidden by large, tall pine trees. There wasn’t much snow fall but there was snow on the ground from when it snowed a few days prior. On day one, Sunday, after we unpacked Melinda, my sister-in-law, bought a mini Nintendo with preloaded games… so there we were, like when we were kids, hooked on the TV playing Super Mario Bros, Pac-Man, and Galaga. My mom popped some stuffed mushrooms and lasagna into the oven and man oh man, you outdid yourself woman! On Monday, Christmas Eve, I had to do a bit of work but that didn’t stop me from enjoying the day and taking some pictures. After my mom, my goddaughter, and I went for a walk, we came back, plopped down on the couch and watched White Christmas with Bing Crosby. Fun Fact, Rosemary Clooney (Bing Crosby’s love interest in the movie) is George Clooney’s aunt! I had no idea but now that I do, I can definitely see a slight resemblance. After the movie we begun prepping for our Christmas Eve feast! Normally, my mom and Melinda will handle the main entrée and Debbie, and I will do the sides, desserts, and most importantly the draannkkss! Since it was quite chilly out, I decided to make some apple cider in the crock pot. Now, normally I’d add alcohol but since there were children that could possibly want some of the cider, I didn’t add any…I should have, they didn’t even end up drinking it! While the cider was getting warmed up (which took about 2 hours or so) we made one of our favorite drinks, Jameson with ginger ale with a squeeze of lime. Dinner and the cider turned out amazing! We were all stuffed and ready to play White Elephant and exchange one gift each. Later that evening, the kids and I stepped out to the back porch to make smores and light sparklers. If anyone is in the mood for a perfectly toasted smore, hit us up! My niece Cara is a pro!
As I had previously stated in my I’m Dreaming of a White Christmas post, this year I tried to give gifts that would create more memories rather than material things. On Christmas morning, we all opened presents, lounged around the cabin and enjoyed our gifts. Debbie gifted me a book “I’ll Be There For You: The One About F.R.I.E.N.D.S.” by Kelsey Miller and as I sat down on the couch to start reading my mom and stepdad Charlie brought out the dominoes and tequila…yeah, as if I could possibly continue reading, so I grabbed a shot glass and joined. We can go on for hours playing dominoes and Charlie and I tend to be the winners, sorry Momma! Maybe next time!
That night as we all got ready for bed Melinda popped her head into our room to let us know it was snowing! I had never seen snowfall before so I grabbed the comforter off the bed and rushed out the door, it was so awesome to see! Immediately when I woke up on Wednesday, I layered up my clothes and headed outside and had a quick snowball fight with my stepbrother Justin and tried to build a snowman but it came out looking like a sad Empire State building. It was so crazy to see how much snow had fallen and covered the street and trees and when the wind blew through the trees it looked as if there were mini avalanches!
Overall, an amazing experience! I loved spending time with my family, being able to see snow, and any adventure to a new place is always a great adventure.
beccaamariee.life 