Far in the woods, on a snowy mountain

a family gets ready for the expected party,

the Santiago family carefully decorates a rented cabin,

waiting for the normally separated family,

time, family and work were the usual excuses,

but this year they would meet, even if they are not punctual,

and from this point on I will put the rhymes aside

otherwise the story would be very complicated.

(This rhymes in Spanish).

The 13 members of the Santiago family were known in their city for causing a lot of noise and fuss, but this would be a gathering that promised to cause a lot more noise than they are used to.

The Santiago family was preparing the cabin to receive the family, and mother Lori was especially excited, because this time they would have to spend Christmas in the company of their sisters and brother, and anticipating the large number of guests, they all cooperated to rent a big cabin in the woods so as not to disturb anyone.

-This is exciting- Lori said -Don't get me wrong honey, I'm glad to spend the holidays with your family, but I missed being with mine at these parties, although it's a shame that some were missing because of their jobs- she was saddened a little bit

-I know how you feel darling- Bobby replied -living in different cities we don't always have time to see Ronnie, I'm glad to see her at Christmas- they both smiled and gave each other a little Christmas kiss, and then they went to see how their children were and if they were fulfilling their decorating tasks.

From oldest to youngest, they saw Héctor and Loreline placing the curtains with Christmas drawings to give the house a more cheerful touch, Victoria and Joseph placed the logs in the fireplace and prepared to light it, Barbara was sitting in the armchair tuning her guitar While he practiced some Christmas songs, the twins Hailey and Harvey decorated the tree, Amanda and Martin placed the garlands on the stairs, while Luis decorated some cookies, without realizing that his little sister Rosa, stole some to eat them.

As the family finished making preparations, the sound of cars parking and doors opening and closing interrupted them, and Lori immediately headed to the door, followed by her 11 children to greet her family members.

The first to arrive were the Lori's parents, Lynn Sr. and Rita Loud, accompanied by aunts Lana, Lola and Lily, who were received by their nieces with a big hug, and immediately afterwards they were all hugged by grandmother Rita who took care to give a loving kiss on the cheek to each of their grandchildren.

The second to arrive were the McBrides, Lori hugged Lynn and Clyde tightly, only for Lynn to return the hug with double force, squeezing her sister and her husband equally, and when she finished, Lori and Clyde regained their air and they greeted Bobby, who tried to avoid Lynn Jr.'s hugs, and then went on to greet his nephews who had entered later.

Lynn III and Darwin McBride were the children of Clyde and Lynn and seemed to share personality traits of both parents, as soon as they entered they cheerfully greeted their grandparents, their aunts, and their cousins, whom they had not seen since the Thanksgiving, Third was happy to see them all again, but Darwin, as always, presented himself in a more demure way, because even though it was his family, he had always been shy in crowded places.

Right behind them entered the Loud-Sharp family, Luna and Sam were received with great joy, especially by Barbara who stepped forward to receive her favorite aunts with great enthusiasm, as they shared with her their love for music, a welcome that she interrupted when he noticed the presence of his cousin Leilani who was hiding behind the door, but he immediately took her out of her hiding place to give her a big hug, it was not that Lani did not like Barb, but she was very enthusiastic, and Whenever he saw her, he tried to invite her to any kind of musical competition.

Fortunately for Lani, Barb interrupted her hug to welcome the third family, the Louds, Lincoln and Ronnie Anne were greeted by Lori and Bobby, who were especially excited to see them, since they had not seen them for the holidays in a long time.

Their children entered one by one greeting their uncles, aunts, ​​and cousins, especially those with whom they were approaching in ages, Roosevelt arrived greeting Lani, Third and Barbara, Roxanne felt nervous seeing so many people together, but she was reassured when she saw Darwin, and Hailey and Harvey came over to greet her.

Ramona and Rebeca were next, reaching out to Amanda and feeling especially excited to see Hailey and Harvey, another set of twins.

Rita ran in and was received by Martin, they both shared their love of extreme sports, in different measures, but they were happy thinking about everything they could do on a frozen mountain.

And Ruby, the last daughter, hit the wall when she entered while reading a book, and immediately closed it while realizing that they had reached the cabin and was excited to see her cousin Luis, whom she greeted immediately.

They were all very happy, since they had not gathered for the same celebration for a long time, but those present were not the only relatives who would arrive that frosty morning.

-I'm glad they finally arrived, I was worrying, but quick, sit down and have something hot- Lori said as she closed the door, without noticing that Lincoln was yelling at her not to close it.

Suddenly a huge white figure knocks on the door, knocking Lori down and entering at full speed, was a huge lanky-looking white dog, who quickly went through the entire cabin from end to end, as if tirelessly searching for something, it was Snowflake , the Loud family pet; Three years ago on a dark night, while Lincoln was returning home, he was distracted for a second and almost hit a small black puppy with his car, fortunately he had stopped in time and had only scared him, mortified, he took him home, where he gave him a bath and discovered that the black puppy was actually white, the original plan was to take him to the animal shelter, but his family became fond of the puppy and ended up staying, but after a year discovered that the little puppy was an Irish Wolfhound puppy, and now it measured 31.4 in. to the withers.

-Lincoln! - Lori yelled as they helped her up -Why did you bring that colossus?

-There was no one who could take care of it, and since we were going to be in the forest anyway, I thought there would be no problems.

-Yes of course- said Ronnie Anne ironically -you just felt guilty about leaving your little friend alone at home while you went on vacation, you spoil that animal a lot.

-Yes of course- said Lincoln imitating his wife -I was not the one who put that old sofa in the garage to use as a bed.

-I just hope I'm not going to destroy the whole cabin, it's rented- Lori said as she watched annoyed as Snowflake didn't stop moving.

-Snowflake doesn't do that, just give it a second- Lincoln answered as he watched nervously as his immense dog approached every fragile thing in the cabin, he finally reached the living room, he placed a plaid blanket that he carried on his snout on the couch for two, he lay down and began to snore - I told you, it won't cause any more problems... but now the sofa is his.

None of those present knew the reaction when they saw how the white typhoon that had traveled the cabin in a second was now motionless on the couch, but for the McBrides and the Loud-Sharps, this was a normal scenario, used to seeing Snowflake on an almost daily basis.

Lori was only grateful that that dog had calmed down and hoped she would not receive any more scares, when suddenly they knocked on the door, they immediately opened it, but there was no one, they all wondered who had touched ?, but the answer came from their back, upon receiving Lucy's greeting who scared everyone present, and was immediately embraced by all her sisters and Lincoln.

-All of you know what I think of prolonged displays of affection- said Lucy said wint expressionless tone.

-Hold up- Lori said before cutting off the hug, but only to let the children hug Aunt Lucy, who always came with gifts -I'm glad you could come, your job at the funeral home almost always has you busy.

-Yes, since he left I was afraid of not being able to deal with all the expenses alone, but thanks to her investments, I was able to get ahead, and now the business is going very well, there are almost always new clients.

-I still don't know if that's a good or bad thing, but in any case, I'm happy for you -Lori continued -It's good that you took some time off, and tell me, where are the twins?.

-Hi Aunt Lori- said two children's voices in unison from Lori's back, scaring her in the process -We're glad to see you again, and all of you -they said while they saw all the uncles, aunts ​​and cousins ​​in the room -this It will be a very happy party, it is always like this when the family gets together- they said before slowly beginning to sing a Christmas carol, causing more than one of them to put on a nervous smile, with exception of Roosvelt and Victoria, who thought they were adorable.

Those girls were Harriet and Harriot, Lucy's daughters, 6-year-old twins, who shared a strong resemblance to their mother, both with black hair that glowed blue, covering their eyes, with pale skin, and a great taste for dark things, but unlike their mother, the twins had longer hair, they liked to smile, and they differed from each other because Harriet had a mole on her left cheek, while Harriot had her mole on the right cheek, the two were known to speak in unison, as if reading each other's minds, although they most likely practiced before meeting someone, it was rare to see them separated, and like their mother they shared the bad habit of appearing out of nowhere to scare.

When they finished their song, Ross and Tori were the first to clap, moved by the song of the adorable girls, although the others felt a bit nervous, but they only limited themselves to bow and started walking towards their cousins.

-Well- Lori interrupted the nervous applause -That was ... adorable, but I think it's time for breakfast, let's prepare the table and we can ...- Lori was interrupted by the sound of the door, which caught her attention because I wasn't expecting anyone else, but as she opened it, she let out a high-pitched cry of joy.

Worried, the other sisters went to the door to see what was happening, and when they saw it, they also let out screams of joy that hurt the ears of everyone present, even Snowflake woke up to howl before continuing to sleep like a log.

Lincoln wondered who it was, and was completely happy to see that it was Leni, who they thought was in New York, but who had decided to come to spend the holidays with her family, everyone hugged her for a long time, until they realized that she was not coming alone.

Behind Leni, entered a 16-year-old girl, she was tall, slim, with blond hair and fair skin, she was similar to Leni when she was her age with the exception of a lock of hair that adorned her head, and an expression of strange pride .

-Good morning family, I hope you have not forgotten me- he said, showing a slight English accent

The youngest of the family did not know who she was, the older ones remembered her nervously, and the adults approached her with extreme joy to hug her.

-Ruth- Lincoln said with a hug -long time no see, but I thought you were spending Christmas with your father.

-This time not Uncle Lincoln- replied the girl -the family does not always meet in this way, and when mom told me, I decided that I could not miss it, I really wanted to see them reunited... to all- she said while looking at her cousins with a smile and furrowed brows.

Normally Ruth lived alone with her mother in New York, her parents had divorced ten years ago and since she used to spend the holidays with her father, she was the family member that her cousins ​​saw the least, aware of this, Ruth introduced herself with all her cousins, it was as if she met them for the first time and that filled her with joy, and although the younger ones accepted her immediately, the older ones couldn't help but feel some mistrust, maybe it was her accent, maybe her expression or its motives.

-Cousin Lori, cousin Hector!- she said as she approached the Santiago family -I don't remember when was the last time we saw each other.

-It was July 4th of last year- Loreline said seriously -the day a firework burned my hair and you put it out with a jug of punch.

-It's true- Ruth said, remembering with surprise -your hair was badly treated, luckily I could fix it with scissors and a hat, I also lent you clothes, everyone said we looked like twins- she smiled.

-Yeah, like five years earlier on Halloween when you wore the same costume as me, and then they stole my bag of candy.

-That was sad, luckily I had some extras and I shared them with you.

-Yes, like when we were 6 years old, on Thanksgiving, and you shared your cake with me, without knowing that I was allergic to strawberries.

-You inflated like a balloon that day, luckily I was able to find Aunt Lori with your medicine just in time.

Ruth looked at Loreline with a big smile while Lori looked at her with an obviously forced smile, and anticipating what might happen, Hector interrupted.

-Very good, family, I don't know about you, but I'm hungry.

Without realizing what was happening, the whole family agreed, and they went to the table to place the plates and start eating, even Snowflake got up at the promise of food, leaving Lori and Hector alone in the room.

-Are you okay?- he asked worried about his sister.

-After everything she have done to me, she think can come and ruin Christmas just like that?- Loreline said, obviously annoyed.

-Don't you think you're exaggerating? Those were just accidents and she tried to solve each one.

-She solve them to make herself look like the good one in the story, and they are not the only examples, 79% of every time we meet something happens that she fixes later, I would not be surprised if she caused them herself.

-That may be fine for you, but the rest of us mortals need something called evidence, all that is circumstantial, for goodness Lori, you speak of her as if she were some evil mastermind, or the villain of some soap opera.

-You want proof? I'll give you proof, you just pay attention little brother, and you will see how she shows her true identity by herself, it is only a matter of time.

Loreline left the room, leaving Hector alone and very concerned for the well-being of his little sister, and although it bothered him, he decided to keep an eye out, not for Ruth, but for Lori.

Finally the whole family was reunited, Christmas would be in three days, and everyone was happy to be able to meet in that way, and although some doubts and disagreements persisted, what better than Christmas to solve any evil that may be in their hearts.

And when they were about to take the first bite of breakfast, the door rang again, Lori got up grumpy and not knowing who else it might be, but she was glad to see the funny surprise that was at the door.

-Luan, Maggie, Lois, Lara, Benny! They could come.

-Sorry for the delay- Luan apologized.

-The road had more snow than we anticipated," Maggie continued.

-And when we got here we had to maneuver through all this sea of ​​vehicles- Benny finished, as he pointed to the cars of the whole family parked.

-Well, better late than never, come in, we are all seated, this place is huge, and it feels much better with everyone gathered.

The Loud-Stein Family entered the cabin and were immediately greeted with joyful greetings, on that frosty winter morning, before Christmas, everyone was in a Louder House.