tetons

The drive to and from the cabin, by way of Wyoming, is breathtaking. We pass the Tetons every time we go, but have never stopped to explore them. We want to try to stop for a night our next time through. 

Wyoming side.

Idaho side. 

I regret I did not get any pictures of my mom this year. My mom really is the heart of the cabin. She brings fun things for the kids to do, spends quality time with each of us, organizes and cooks fabulous meals, goes on walks with me, snuggles her grand babies, rescues little cries of help, scratches mosquito bites, rocks babies to sleep, warms up meals for late night fishermen, and always listens to their fishing stories. I love you Mom. Thanks for making the cabin special for each of us!

Dad, thank you for providing such a fun place for us to go up as a family.  There are so many memories made there, I cherish every one. We have quite a history there as a family, and I look forward to many more years of memories. What is the cabin without a Papa who tells bear stories and can get his boys into some big fish? Love you too Dad. Thank you. 

swing swing

The swing was a hot spot for the kids to hang out again this year. Matthias got some great shots of the boys.

troubled bridge over water

We were the first family up to the cabin this year and saw that the bridge over the Moose was in bad shape. We usually reserve one day during the trip to fix up or improve the cabin in some way. Matthias, Brad and Eric built a lovely new bridge.  The kids gathered kindling for the wood stove.

Before.

Almost there.

 

After.

ps. For those of you who play Smurf Village, Matthias builds bridges much faster than Smurfs. 

big springs

Big Springs is one of the largest natural springs in the world, only miles away from our cabin. The spring creates the headwaters of Henry's Fork, which we float down every year, and the Snake River.  It pumps out 120 million gallons of water a day, and is one of the most beautiful spots I have ever seen. 

Marci and I took the kids to Big Springs one morning to look at the enormous trout that are usually there. Being June, it was very quiet, visitors had not arrived this early in the season. We almost had the place to ourselves. Marci supplied the kids with fish food which they tried to feed the trout, but they mostly wanted to look for minnows. There were only a 2 or 3 giant trout to see.

It makes me laugh at what a rough bunch we look like. That's the beauty of the cabin, becoming one with nature.  :)

fishing the Moose Creek

Though my dad caught the biggest trout of his life, the fishing wasn't anything to rave about this year. Matthias spent his fishing time between the Madison and Henry's Lake and caught a few. The boys went out several times on the Moose and also came in with a couple. Between the mosquitoes and the Juneness, it was just a tough year. Ty and Cole also spent some time catching minnows with plastic cups. 

Here's my dad as a 2 year old at the cabin in the late 1950's, and then my dad with his monster of a fish in 2011.

the year of the mosquito

Moose Creek Cabin 2011

The title says it all, well not all, but most of our dealings up at the cabin this year were with the mosquitos. We opted to go in June this year because Matthias is taking the UT bar this July. A mistake we will likely try to avoid at all costs in future years. The mosquitos were pure evil. They sat in a swarm right outside our door, and as soon as you walked out, they attacked! After the first day, we did a mosquito bite count on all of the kids. Ty had about 80, bex had about 100, Kali was much the same, and Cole came in with a whopping 130! We stopped counting after a while. Try as we might to keep the kids covered in bug juice, and clothing, they still found their way to the kids' necks, hair, ears, everywhere! I am surprised one of them didn't end up with yellow fever.  

Despite the mosquitos, the cousins had such a fun time with each other. Its an amazing thing to watch them get a long, make believe, smile, laugh and love each other. They have grown very close and are such great friends. 

Ty and Cole played the Dynamite song over and over and over. They loved break dancing to it. This picture is of all of them around the breakfast table, singing their hearts out to Dynamite. It was so cute. And what's cousin time without jumpin' on the bed? Every night Matthias and I told stories to the kids before bed. They especially loved hearing stories of mischievous Uncle Brad and his escapades.

Nana helped them all make their own Tie-Die shirts. Baby Jarris' onsie was precious! Beckham wore his for four days straight after the cabin. I couldn't get him to take it off to wash it! Aren't they adorable kids?

And how can I pass up the fun time Bex had with his Uncle Eric? He LOVES his Uncle Eric. They have such a fun time teasing each other, and Bex still follows him around and sits with him every chance he gets! It was so great to see baby Jarris for the first time and to hold him. It made me want another little one! 

More cabin posts to come!

cabin beauty

I doesn't matter whose view, at what angle, zoomed in or zoomed out, through a camera, and mostly through our own eyes, everyone will agree that the cabin is a beautiful place to be. It is beautiful not only for the scenery, but all can find beauty in being with family and making memories together.

Here are some of my favorite views this year.

The boys spent many hours swinging and the adults spent equal hours pushing. Bex loves to go high, and Ty loves to be twisted up and released.

Interesting thing about this photo. I scooched underneath the swing to catch this moment and took a shot just as Bex fell off of the swing, consequently I was hit in the face.

The boys followed Uncle Eric around wherever he went, and pestered him to keep playing with them. Here the boys are trailing Eric while he works on cutting wood. The best (and saddest) moment of "the following" was when Eric wanted to take Nicole out for a date night on the lake and how crushed Ty was that he was not invited. It took a lot of explaining and consoling. The boys love their Uncles.

Ty wearing his cowboy get-up, deep in thought. I really enjoy meditating up at the cabin. Evaluating life, seeing where I am at and where I would like to go. My favorite spot to do this is on the Moose Creek bridge. It seems like I haven't visited it for my thinking purposes in a few years, but I did manage this year. It was nice.



Chris with Cash baby. Karrie and Chris came in my room at 11pm to have a late night chat one night. The sat on my bed with me for 2 hrs. It was fun.

We had some fun cabin crafts this year. The boys, with large amounts of help from Nana, created their own boon-doggle sticks for their backpacks. Karrie brought up a stash of crafty things, and the girls had a craft night.



Another photo, proof of "the following." Bex is the photographer.



This is probably one of my favorite pictures this year. Bex taking a picture of the screen/glass door with his reflection in it.



The wood shed represents many hours of work for the guys. Logs cut all the same length to be neatly stacked. When you are quiet, you can hear the chipmunks inside.



Chris brought up his BB gun and Eric helped the boys shoot. Ty was a pretty good shot.

floating henry's fork

Our annual float down the river.

Takes approximately 2 hrs (with a little help from the motor.)

the Crew: Captain Chris to row, me the navigator, two fish scouts - Ty and Bex, rescue dog - Hutchy, and sunbather named Karrie.

must haves: snacks, sunscreen, something to laugh about, and a rescue human to rescue the rescue dog. We didn't know we needed a rescue human until Hutchy was thrown in for a swim and, well, couldn't swim after all. Poor Hutchy. Captain Chris hadn't planned on swimming so soon, but saved the dog none-the-less.

Sunbather, Rescue Dog, Captain


2 Fish Scouts



the Navigator up in the front of the boat


something to laugh about


It was a beautiful day.

mugs

We drink hot chocolate every morning up at the cabin. Well, not everybody does, but I do. Even in the summer. I've always loved the hodge podge of mugs at the cabin. I am certain each mug has it's own little story, though they have been there ever since I can remember, so I wouldn't know the history. Here are our favs.

My favorite because of the shape and painted scenery. To me, it is THE cabin mug. I like my hot chocolate with enough milk that it is drinkable, but not too hot. I don't want to blow on it.



Hoosier Daddy likes the tall and slim mug, just like him. He likes his hot chocolate hot hot hot and to sip slowly.



Ty's favorite is the Phantom of the Opera mug, only because the mask is gray to start and then changes to white when you add hot liquid inside. Cool. Ty likes his hot chocolate warm with milk.



Well, Smeeky loves Christmas mugs. This or the one with the Christmas tree on it. Bex likes his hot chocolate cooled as well, with marshmallows, and to sip it from a spoon.

I would like to start a collection of my own. One from here, one from there. Variety is nice.

cabin fever

I call it cabin fever, not because we were cooped up indoors, but because we couldn't wait to go to the Moose Creek Cabin! Usually only the guys go over Memorial to open the cabin and fish, but I couldn't pass up the chance to get outta town, which was great because Mom, Karrie and baby Cash came too!

Our trip began with a very unfortunate event. We were heading to the East Gate of Yellowstone to cut through the park, as it makes our drive a bit shorter. At the entrance, only one lane was open, so we headed for it. As we approached, the gate guard walked right in front of us and slapped an orange cone down. He stated the park was closed - snow and ice on the roads. NOOOOOOOO! Just like that, our anticipated 6 hour drive turned into a 13 hour drive. The only option was to go up and around the park or head home. I wanted to bag the whole trip, but Matthias insisted we trek on. - after all, he wanted to use his new rod on the Madison. So he drove the night through and we arrived at 4am. My dad was waiting up for us, the fire roaring. Mom had our beds made, it was perfect. They are so good to us.

The weather was not desirable, but we had a great time. The girls went walking and talking every day - even while snowing! The guys fished the Madison every day and all were successful. The Moose Creek was beautiful, the boys had a great time exploring, playing games, tying flies, and "cried moose" about 5 times a day. Ty was on a mission to see a bat. We told him that bats are only found in the log cabin (which is the truth!), where Uncle Dave and Nick stayed. Dave was so awesome and rigged up a "bat" on a fishing line. When he pulled the line, it made the bat appear to be flying. The boys walked around the log cabin with their hands over their necks. It was hilarious!

We did not escape the Moose Creek without a doosy. I was taking some shots of the boys on the bridge. When - SPLASH! Bex took a nose dive, the creek swept him under the bridge and he scrambled out on the other side. He was so sad and COLD!Quite a shocking experience!

Next year's contest: the Ugliest Family Photo