Jon & Chrissy: It's beginning to look a lot like Christmas...

Hello! Isn't Christmas time the best time ever?! I love the decorations and lights and music and spirit that is ever-present this time of year. Jon and I had a fun Thanksgiving in San Francisco with Jon's family, where we were able to stay with Steven and Lauren, see the sights, and eat a gourmet Thanksgiving meal prepared by Lauren and Diana (I guess I helped a little with the homemade ice cream and rendering lard for the pies, but that was about it). We had such a relaxing time and enjoyed our much needed vacation. Before we went to San Francisco, Jon and I rented a cabin in Lake Tahoe the weekend before the holiday. It was supposed to be a romantic retreat where we were to visit some expensive restaurants, hang out in the hot tub and go snow mobiling, but after a near-death experience getting to our cabin (lots of snow + no 4 wheel drive = trouble), we holed in for two days and didn't come out until Monday at noon to discover our car buried in 3 feet of snow. Don't get me wrong, it was beautiful and we had some great views, but we were almost so worried about getting down the mountain without breaking any more chains that we had a hard time relaxing. Oh well, I guess we learned the hard way that Tahoe in the winter requires 4 wheel drive...or better yet, just visit in the summer! Thankfully Lauren and Steven made up for it by making our time in California amazing, and we were lucky enough to have clear weather for the drive home.

Here's a few pictures from the trip -

This was our view from three sides of our cabin - absolutely beautiful.

This, on the other hand, was often the view from the adjacent love seat while at Steven and Lauren's - usually until 3 in the morning. :)

The Lone Cyprus - pretty cool sight. Lauren and Mom were slaving away in the kitchen all day while the six of us went on the 17-mile drive along Pebble beach. Kristen and Brendan got into town the day after.