Another Weekend at "Our" Cabin

Okay so it isn't really our cabin but we have been there enough times that it is starting to feel like ours :-) We rented a forest service cabin (again) a couple weeks ago and had a great time. We have been to this specific cabin many times and for the first time there were cows up there. It was so strange to have them freely roaming around - sometimes closer than I wanted. I don't really like going out to use the bathroom once it is dark and now with the cows around I definately wasn't about to go out alone :-) I was afraid of bumping into one, spooking one or just being being startled by their sudden appearance. This may be picture overload but I took alot this weekend and had trouble widdling it down :-)

It was great weather the first two days and the first evening - nice and warm in the day and perfectly cool at night. The second night we had an amazing thunderstorm. It was loud and bright and beautiful. We saw huge bolts of lightning striking the town below (not really but it looked like it) and heard amzingly LOUD thunder. I can't believe the kids slept through the noise! It brought in very cool weather the next day so we had to keep a fire going. The kids loved gathering the wood.
Madison loved having the cows nearby. She tried continually to pet one or at least feed one but it never worked. She had them all named and drew a picture of them.
We brought the Razr, Brock's dirt bike and the kid's little dirt bike. It is actually Isaac's but he can't ride it yet so Madison likes to cruise around on it. Despite the fact that it is quite small for her, she has a lot of fun on it.
Madison and Brock rode to the end of the driveway to open the gate so grandpa and grandma could come visit.
Of course we had to have S'mores one night. We roasted them on the stove because it was windy and cold outside
I have always hated guns. Looking at them, holding them and especially the thought of shooting them makes me shudder. Brock loves shooting and is always trying to get me to try it. He especially wants me to know enough about a gun to protect myself if necessary. Madison had a birthday party in town on Saturday so Brock took the Razr in to drop her off and later to pick her up. I was a bit uneasy while he was gone. That unease coupled with his persistance led me to have my first ever shooting lesson :-) It wasn't quite as bad as I expected although I wouldn't say it was "fun". I feel like I could use one if I had to, which is what I wanted to accomplish. I am not saying I would hit what I was aiming for - something to conquer another time :-)
During my lesson we found Isaac was having some fun of his own! Another benefit to having cows around :-) Breakfast on the porch and early morning art are two perks of "our" mountain cabin. Out for a ride - it was so fun to explore the area and see where we would end up.
It was fun to see the sun shining on the town below. Despite the fact that we couldn't feel a thing at least we could see it :-)

A ladder in the middle of nowhere (it was actually a ramp) that the kids all wanted to climb. Madison (our little collector) begged to bring it back with us but Brock held firm - "NO"

The cows loved gathering around the firepit and chowing away. We couldn't see anything worth eating it there but they sure did. They looked so funny with their soot covered noses.

Just looking at this makes me hungry!! We brought Papa Murphy's up with us for the first night and baked it in the stove. It was DELICIOUS!!

Although they look hilarious and we laughed when we saw them it was a drag trying to clean them up. I didn't have extra clothes for them or even warm soapy water. They did get clean enough and headed back out to get dirty again. You realize it doesn't really matter how dirty you get because you will only get dirtier as the day continues :-) However, they were told the fire pit is no longer a place to play :-)

The view from one of the trails we were on