Our Cabin

We love to go to Sanpete County to our cabin.  We looked for a long time (4 years!) before we finally found the right place for us.  We ended up doing a LOT more renovation than we originally planned, but we are almost done.  Now we are getting down to actually getting some art up and building a shed for the 4-wheelers. My "Soda Spot" is on a deck that got built last fall. It has a great view of the woods, some bird feeders, and the hot tub.

 

Ed's favorite spot is the front deck.  I was standing right in front of the hot tub, but I forgot to take a picture of it!

This is a view of the cabin from the kitchen.

We love the rocking chairs- both inside and out.

Here's the kitchen.  The wood stove is our main heat source in the colder months.  We didn't plan to totally re-do the kitchen, but the original cabinets were so nasty that I couldn't clean them.  When  we started tearing them out we found mouse nests, so we are really glad that we tore them out.  All the holes got plugged up and now I know that things are clean!

And this is the back deck/playground area.  The firepit area is behind the playground.  I am pretty sure that one of these days I will get to the cabin only to find that this area is torn apart.  The deck is in a great spot, but not in the best shape, so I know that this project is rising to the top of Ed's list.  I imagine that a re-make will include a bigger deck, a bigger sand box, and the swingset in a new place if it sticks around. . .

It is a wonderful place to relax and just be. . .

Ahhh. . . summer!

Summer has finally arrived.  It is going to be in the 80's and 90's all week.  That is welcome news to those of us who don't really enjoy the snow!  It has been a cool spring, but there is a benefit- Utah is beautiful and green.  Quite possibly the greenest I have seen over the past 16 years of living here.  That probably means we will have a lot of fires later in the summer, but I am going to enjoy it while it lasts.

The weird thing is that I haven't planted any flowers this year.  Not one.  I usually get flower baskets and seedlings for Mother's Day, but it was so darn cold that Ed didn't buy any.  I think that was wise as some people have planted two or three times!  My backyard is a jumble of color with my roses and perennials and the front yard looks awful.  I am not pleased with how the landscaping has evolved, but am too lazy to want to do much about it.

We spent the weekend at the cabin where the scrub oaks are gorgeous.  We managed to get two sides of the cabin stained a very dark brown that I love!!!!  Murphy's Law was at work, but we triumphed.  Now we just have to schedule the other two sides. . .  Ed had a load of gravel dropped off as well and I cannot believe what a difference that has made in the look of the front of the cabin.  I will post photos when we are all done.  Right now we still have two sides and a mountain of gravel to deal with.

Thanksgiving at the Cabin

There is nowhere that makes Parker as happy as Sanpete County. He lives to go to the cabin. . . and he loves turkey. . . so Thanksgiving was a hit this year! It was nice to have a few days to relax and enjoy each others' company.


Big Lew was quite photogenic this weekend. His new short hairdo is my favorite because I don't have to deal with picking a million stickers out of his coat. This is a rare photo because he doesn't have a tennis ball stuffed in his mouth.

We had a lovely feast with all the traditional family favorites. Basically we ate. . . and ate. . . and ate!
It was great having Judy here for Thanksgiving again this year. She had a lot of fun shooting at targets with Parker and Reed. I think they may have been surprised that she is a good shot!

On Friday, Ed cooked his traditional Prime Rib and a crowd showed up! We had enough people that we were able to move the hot tub from the trailer to the new deck. Now we will be able to get it working when we have some time to spare.


Clark loved snuggling with Aunt Judy. He was happy to sit with her anytime that she found her way to the couch!
Love these photos of Ed and Parker out on the deck. The sun was just setting and we were enjoying its warmth. It had been a lovely day, but as soon as the sun went down it got cold in a hurry. One cool thing that we saw this year was the Space Shuttle and the International Space Station orbit overhead. It was amazing how fast they moved across the sky.

Oh, Deer!

Last Sunday/ Monday we were down at the cabin. It was absolutely gorgeous down there because there was no nasty inversion. Ed, Colby, and Brayden R. were hanging out on the deck with no jackets. We noticed that we had some deer that kept appearing in the back driveway, so I started watching for them. It turns out that there was a four point buck and two does. I noticed one of the does eating some of the spilled birdseed off the surface of the snow. Then the buck climbed the two or three stairs to get on the other side of the feeder. He started nudging the feeder so that he could eat the bird seed. He even spilled some for the ladies! I took this picture from inside the kitchen, but it tell the tale. No wonder we are going through so much bird seed!!!

Reed was really excited that he got to have a friend at the cabin. This is Reed with Brayden C. hanging out watching TV!