For many pre-Huck years, Troy and I often pretended we were in a Vermont cabin in the middle of winter. It was our imaginary dreamy world of coziness and contentment, though we’d never even been there. Vermont was our symbol of Happy.  This time last year we revisited Vermont in our minds by deciding we would escape the insanity of city living and move there.  We weren’t really serious about it, but in the midst of frustration it helped to say, “This wouldn’t happen in Vermont,” or “Just wait till we move to Vermont.  Everything will be fine there.”  For a couple of Kansan New Yorkers, Veront was our symbol of Hope.

Finally we got to spend a few days there in real life, and it was a dream come true.

To celebrate mid-winter break this week, our good friends Jennifer, Carl, Allie and CJ invited us to join them in their friends’ beautiful home overlooking some lovely New Hampshire mountains.  There really aren’t words to describe my love for mountains, houses, fireplaces, a clear night sky full of stars, and cozy winter weather, so just picture me smiling from the second we arrived until we sadly left.  Along with all the general relaxation, guitar playing and wine drinking, we also visited a fantastic science museum that we had to physically drag Huck away from, enjoyed lunch near the beautiful Dartmouth campus, played a delightful game of family charades (Huck did not inherit his mother’s charades champion skills), and spent an incredibly fun day snow tubing in Killington.

In short: I’m ready to actually really move to Vermont.  Who’s with me?