My family has a tradition. Typically a day or two after Christmas, we head for Tahoe. A tradition that started many years ago, is now set in stone. We tidy up the house after the Christmas chaos, pack up the car with all of our stuff and a dog, and drive up to our cabin for a gloriously lazy week.

Occasionally, we are lucky enough to get a fresh dump of snow right before we head up, but the last few years the snow has been in scarce supply. We watch tons of movies, jump in the hot tub, cook great meals, and usually have friends that a day or two before moving on to another holiday event.

Some years, its a bigger group for Christmas Eve, like last year we were 21 total (kids and adults!). This year, was a smaller group. With both my brother and I working full-time jobs, we have come to value our weekends and family time. This year, our group in Tahoe was much, much smaller.

We started NYE off at a neighbor’s party, where I promptly put on this great hat. After a while, we wandered back to my house, where we played board games until the wee hours of the night.

A crackling fire at our backs, fizzy drinks in our hands, good friends by our sides, we rung in the new year.

I’m going up to Tahoe again with friends in a week or so, and I’m looking forward to relaxing, watching movies, and playing in the snow again. Tahoe is one of the few places where we unplug, sleep in, breathe in the mountain air, and relax. I love it there.

Love,

-S