Dear Kids,
          We had a wonderful Thanksgiving! We’ve never had better food! (Especially Donna’s raspberry pretzel jello and Stefanie’s sweet potato dish) There was enough snow for sledding, but we could still hike the big loop. Best of all was just the magic of the cabin. It loves a crowd. Thanks to everybody who was there!  And for those of you who weren't there, I hope you had a wonderful day, too.
          And now Christmas is upon us. The cousins’ gift exchange has already been worked out, and Nora has the details. If I remember to get it from her, I’ll post it separately. The big cousins’ get-together will be at Nora’s on Friday, the 23rd. Here’s our complete Christmas schedule, which I first posted a couple of weeks ago: (1) The Messiah in Heber, Saturday and Sunday nights, Dec. 10 and 11, with a possible after-party one of those nights. (2) The cousins’ party and gift exchange on the 23rd. (3) Christmas Eve, when we’ll do our annual hike up Memorial Hill in Midway, with hot chocolate somewhere afterwards. If enough people are interested, I’ll do a soup dinner before. (4) Christmas Day, (on Sunday this year,) Dad and I don’t have definite plans yet. (5) The day-after sledding party at the cabin on Monday, Dec. 26. I might try making elk meat chili again, if I can find a promising recipe on the internet. Our next-door neighbors have offered us all the game we could use. They have a freezer full of elk, venison, and moose (from their hunt in Idaho a few weeks ago, including 300 pounds of moose hamburger). Or, if that doesn’t work out, I’ll make the usual sloppy jo’s, but probably not from mooseburger.
          Now that it’s winter, and I’ve finally quit digging in the yard, I’ve turned to indoor projects. I’m making a gallery of family pictures in the stairwell, but most of my pictures are fuzzy black and white prints of images that I’ve lifted off facebook. What I really need are 8 x 10 color pictures of all your families. You can send me a print, or, which is probably easier, you can email an image to me and I’ll have it printed at the UPS store in Heber. I’m anxious to finish my gallery, so all of you can be on display for our guests to see!
          What a wonderful family! Love to all, Mom