a christmas tree and hot springs.

 

Yup, you read it right... our uber fun winter combo, perhaps a new tradition... cutting down a christmas tree in the idaho wilderness.... then taking a swim in the silver creek plunge hot springs. 

Oh my gosh....INCREDIBLE.

Cora couldn't stop laughing and smiling in the hot springs. So much fun.

 

...here cora, hold the axe sheath for dad.

 

Matt would like you to see this crazy picture... him scaling the side of a mountain for our christmas tree...when we found "the one"...
 

 

But he wanted me to crop out the road. Less impressive right?! Sorry matt, Cora and I still think you're amazing.
 

 

Anyways, we wanted a tree to put in our out-cropped window seat, so we were looking for a half-a-tree.  One with branches only on one side. This way it is out of reach of sweet, grabby-crawling babe. Well, we found it!

 

It was raining, foggy, cold... so dreamy. Cora loved all of it, what a trooper.

 

Then we drove a bit further to a pool-type hot springs that was just fresh mountain water, maybe 102 degrees, and no sulfur smells! We were the only ones swimming around. Usually the road is closed to get up there in the winter with all of the snow, but thanks to global warming...we had open roads for our hot spring fun!

 

We did the blow-in-the-face and dunk baby thing, super fun. She didn't even take on any water! Then just swam around for about a 1/2 hour. We didn't want to leave that's for sure.

 

So we  got home, decorated our charlie-brown-esq tree, and now we are a little closer to the holiday spirit.  I just need to stop dreaming about the hot springs, wishing they were in our backyard.