Over the river and through the woods

to Mimi and Papa's we go!

We made a spontaneous decision to go to the cabin this weekend so Van could see some snow. It was just an overnight trip but lots of great memories were made.

It was a typical Utsey adventure and we were all sad that Derek had to stay in Charlotte. Thank goodness Josh drove us because we ran into quite the detour when we discovered that part of the very windy, mountain road had washed away and we were forced to take a rocky, single lane dirt road up the mountain at dusk!

Our drive was beautiful and at first we didn't think Van would get to see snow or do all the things he had been talking about doing in the "know"; like "fredding" or building a "knowman" or throwing "knowballs". For the better part of our drive the mountains looked like this:

No "know"!

Detour: ROAD CLOSED! uh-oh!

The detour road we had to take in the light of the next day. It was close to twilight when we had to originally drive it.

Beautiful old barn

Then as we turned onto the dirt road the cabin is off of, this mountain pup was on patrol. And look - there is "know"!

So much snow!

Since it was close to dark when we got to the cabin there wasn't any time to play in the snow so we enjoyed some chili and s'mores by the fire and watched the movie Brave.

Rory did a little light reading by the fire. Thanks for our new book Mrs. Barksdale!

The next day Van was able to play in the "know"; build his "knowman", throw a "knowball" at Papa and go "fredding"!

Bear helping Papa & Van make a "knowman"

"fredding" is the best! #vanism

So, if you follow me on instagram (@melissautsey) you've seen some of these photos already. A comment that made me laugh out loud was from my friend April about how we do sledding in the South: in jeans and rain boots! I have never given it much thought but she's right as you can see in the photo above! I mean, why spend money on expensive snow pants and snow boots, especially for kids, when you only get to wear them every 5 years (unless you vacation out West in the winter).

While Van was playing out in the snow, Rory was taking her first snow in from the comfort of the wrap-around porch.

snuggle time with Mimi & Papa before leaving

pretty snow covered trees

And I'll leave you with a little glimpse of the serene landscape surrounding the cabin. At night all you have to do is crack your bedroom window and you have your very own white noise!

Girls weekend getaway anyone?