Cabin Fever

Our home away from home has become forest service cabins. We have tried two different ones in the area and love them both. Whenever it works out - we pack up and head to "our" cabin. This cabin is only 1/4 mile off the road so was really easy to get to (kids skiied, I walked, Hannah rode in her sled and Brock used the snowmobile to bring in all our stuff). We stayed two nights and enjoyed relaxing evenings, reading, sledding, skiing, snowmen, snow forts, board games, wood gathering, simple meals, beautiful star filled skies and lots of time together. Something about no electricity, no running water, no indoor plumbing, tiny quarters and beautiful surroundings beckons us over and over.

Samson loves the cabin too - he runs and runs and runs. Thankfully he stays close by and hasn't gotten into a fight with an animal yet :-)
Every time he was out he managed to find some burrs :-)
Brock took the kids sledding while I took a nap. They used the snowmobile to find the best hill. Unfortunately, I forgot to send the camera with him.

We used our self timer to try get a family picture and capture the beauty of the mountains behind us! I was happy to get a picture of us all but the best part was watching Brock run like crazy through the deep snow to make it in time for the picture :-) Of course we had to take a few so he got some good exercise.

The kids got creative with their snowmen, using whatever they could find for hair, eyes, buttons, nose etc.

Brock stayed busy chopping wood and the kids stayed busy carrying it in. Hannah was especially proud that she was able to help.

Out for a walk one cool, clear evening. The stars were so amazingly bright and there were SO many of them. It was so beautiful.

Out the front of the cabin was a big hill that the kids sledded down or skiied down over and over.

The gained enough speed to go really far

The definately got their exercise trudging up and down the hill

Although we hated to leave it was time to head home. The kids skiied and Brock, Hannah and I walked. It was a beautiful, sunny day.

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

Missing Minnesota

I am finally getting my visit to MN posted :-) Whenever I do something that produced a lot of pictures it is overwhelming for me to get them onto the blog. So, instead of tackling it I procrastinate. My goal in the next few days is to get my MN trip all posted :-)So, here I go . . . .

A few fun filled days in Lancaster MN with the Streges. Izyk, Andi, Madison and Isaac enjoying a yummy snack. Berlin joins the picture and has the perfect expression to match Isaac's. Can't you hear her thinking, "What in the world is wrong with you?"

Hannah and Berlin - experiencing the "love" part of their love/hate relationship :-) They were your typical 2 year olds - fight, play, laugh, scream, yell, hug, etc. Denise and I laughed one day as we heard Hannah shrieking "no" as Berlin tried to fix her hair! Funny girls!

The boys releasing some of their abundant energy on the trampoline

Berlin the hugger! Isaac was upset about something and she raced over to give him a hug. It wasn't too often that Hannah and Berlin both wanted a hug at the same time :-) As you can see in this picture Hannah isn't interested - she is pulling the stiff arm hug! Actually, looks like she is doing worse than the stiff arm she is trying to push her away! Poor Berlin, I guess she will have to rely on Isaac for the hugs!

It is always fun at Strege's. The kids have SO MUCH FUN together and of course so do I :-)

I love this picture of Andi and her cat Flicka way up in the tree. I zoomed in a bit so i could see the two of them better so didn't get the ground - trust me, they are high.