Christmas in pictures

Deb's cabin was an awesome place to spend our Christmas holidays.
No running water, a wood stove for heat, a generator for a bit of power...



We got comfy pretty quickly!  



Although we were taking care of the cabin and 22 sled dogs, there was still lots of time for crafts



And relaxing! Thanks for the brilliant gift, Jennifer!



It was not long after we arrived that we made a visit to Tina and her new family. They live in a separate pen from the main one, with a toasty living room (covered with the sleeping bag) and an open space for playing. The puppies don't go out into the snow yet. 



The puppies were a bit nervous of us at first, but since they were so cute, we perservered

They are just discovering their tongues, and lick like crazy!

Deb is going to name them after the 8 reindeer! This one could be Blitzen?

There were another 21 other amazing dogs to hang out with, so we didn't spend all of our time with Tina and her puppies



Smiley and Cookie had  a great time staying at their former stomping grounds



It wasn't hard at all to remember all 22 dogs' names- we had them down by the first day. Although Deb did help us out by writing them on the boxes :)

Indy

Forrest

Earthling (she was a really fun one!)

200 square feet of cozy!

Colin went over to the community centre to make new ice on Boxing Day, since we heard that it's many families' tradition to go for a skate

Then we came right back for some quality time with the puppies

None of them are coming home with us, but we sure are going to visit them at Deb's often

The sun didn't ever get overhead, since the black spruce blocked the horizon

A boxful of puppies! Heaven!

They are even softer than you can imagine

Awww

Ohhh awww...

The food-stealing ravens kept the dogs entertained, but there were no bird fatalities

The puppies and the sledding were tied for being the best parts of the holiday. It was so fun to hook up Smiley and Cookie with teams and see what they could do! This time, Smiley was a lead dog, with Cookie as a wheel

Off to the trails- through the forest and out into meadows overlooking the Gray Mountains!

As you can see, we had a great time There were lots of great conversations with family, good meals cooked on the propane stove/oven, and time together to reflect on our incredible luck to find ourselves here. We hope you all had great holdiays too, and thanks for all the cards! Your thoughtfullness touches us all the time.

Love Lauren and Colin