Christmas in Montana

For the last nine years it has been a family tradition to spend Christmas in Costa Rica. Unfortunately, my brother couldn't get out of working this year. That coupled with the fact that he'd been asking us to come visit him while he's in college at Montana State for the last few years, helped us decide that maybe we should go the White Christmas route this year.

The Mr. and I decided to head out a few days before my mom and sister so we could get some skiing in at Big Sky. Then they joined us in Bozeman at an awesome rental cabin located on the banks of the Gallatin River. We even took a day trip to Yellowstone National Park, what was open at least.

It's going to be a picture overload so here we go...

After years of skiing we realized we didn't have any action shots of the two of us so we gave in and paid for the professional photos they take on the mountain. They turned out pretty good. I'm currently entertaining offers to be on the Olympic team.

Most of the fam in Yellowstone

Overlooking the Burning River

Burning River Hot Springs in Yellowstone. I didn't have the guts to wear a bathing suit in 24 degree weather, but the Mr. did (the guy way in the back waving, not the random dude about to fall over in the front)

Shopping was definitely on the agenda. At one of the stores I found the following interfaith "display". My mom and I got a kick out of it. 

I did buy these two super-cute candles. They totally fit my natural decorating style. My mom recommended burning them for a bit until they create a hole big enough to hide a tea candle. This will preserve the exterior appearance.

After all that shopping we were super-hungry. Even though we were in Montana, we still enjoyed our traditional Costa Rican Christmas dinner, lobster c/o my brother's work. They were so amazing. I had never cooked lobster before. Neither had my brother, who works at a seafood company, but he at least knew a lot about them. The end result: really tasty, but really messy. I'm talking lobster guts all over! So glad we cooked them in a rental home rather than my own kitchen. My mom cried as we were shoving them in the pots and shrieking (us not the lobsters). She's so cute, she can't even kill a spider.

Arriving back in the 216