The Cabin

Golda really wanted to go to Grandma and Gramdpa's cabin before she left, but alas, it wasn't in the cards. I felt bad that we went up immediately after she left! It was a wonderful weekend, though, and it was ok, because I knew Golda was having her own adventure.

Meals at the cabin are always delicious.

Grandpa has installed a dinner bell.  When you hear that, you know you're in for a treat.  Or several!

Sitting around the campfire is the best thing.

For the first time, we tagged along with Nikki and Clint's family and all the Dopps they've co-opted into their Utah State Fireworks tradition.  It was great!

Grandpa and Grandma bought us a 10-man tent.  It was so comfortable!

"Alternate" Plans!

So anyway, it was the alternator.  Just like the mechanic predicted, I drove for about 45 minutes before the car's systems started to shut down.  I was in Sardine Canyon and was able to pull over in front of Sherwood Hills and call AAA.  I've secretly been looking forward to cashing in on our AAA coverage, so this was perfect.  I was within 100 miles of home (50 actually), so I had the car towed all the way to Kaysville to good old Rob's Auto.  Fortuitously, Jennie and Ryan were both behind me.  Jennie pulled over and loaded 5 kids and Don Carlos into her car and took them home.  (Thanks a million!)  Ruby wanted to stay with me because, "Mom, what if you get stranded?"

I said, "Ruby, we ARE stranded.  This is what stranded looks like!"  It was nice of her to stay, and fun.  I think she likes the adventure, just like her mom.  Ryan pulled over and waited with us until the tow truck came.  I told him I would feel better if he didn't stay, and he said he would feel better if he did, so I let him.  ;)  Chivalry is not dead!  Thanks, Ryan.  (Scott was already at home, waiting for the kids.  He had had to leave to get to church.)

It was a gorgeous night to be stranded in Sardine Canyon, and I chose a lovely spot to break down, didn't I?   When your car breaks down, you definitely want to be surrounded by breathtaking views. While we waited, I told the kids about the day in 1983 when my family was spending Memorial Day weekend right here in this very spot, at Sherwood Hills Resort.  We got a call that my dad's dad had passed away.  It was the worst day.  So much worse than anything I had ever experienced in my ten years.  When I told my dad where I had broken down, I asked him if he remembered Sherwood Hills.  He answered, "I most certainly do."

In the tow truck, I opened this letter from Golda that I had tucked into my calendar the other day.  She knows exactly what the very nicest thing I could hear is!  "The house is so clean" is all I ever need to hear to feel like I'm on top of the world, because it's such a struggle to keep order.  So that note was a fun little treat as the tow truck guy careened around the interstate.  I am NOT a good passenger.  I have anxiety when someone else is driving to the point that I'm pretty sure I'm going to die in a fiery crash.  Control issues???

My adventurer and our trusty minivan, getting a free ride.  The van deserves it.  It's the hardest working car in the West!  And now, $500 later, it has a brand-new alternator and shiny new battery cables.  We should go on a road trip!

Cub River Cabin

Our day at Bear Lake was just a warm-up for a weekend at the cabin.  We arrived just in time to add our picnic supplies to the dinner Marlene was preparing.  Our original plan was to eat at the lake, but that second thunderstorm drove us out.  Hot dogs at the cabin were a good choice!

"Genius is the power of carrying the feelings of childhood into the powers of manhood."  - Samuel Taylor Cooleridge.  Bruce and Marlene have built (so far) a cozy, spacious cabin, a giant treehouse, a shed and fishing closet, a s'more station, a screened-in porch big enough to fit the whole family for dinner, and an extensive labyrinth of decks, providing ample space to sit and relax.  I have yet to see either of them relax much, however.  I think Bruce and Marlene are more comfortable working than enjoying the fruits of their labors.  The rest of us, though, have no problem kicking back to enjoy the tranquil, cute, and beautiful setting that Bruce and Marlene have created for us.  Through their efforts, Scott's parents have built for their family more than a cabin, more than a treehouse, more than a family.  They have created a legacy.  They have created a childhood that all of our kids will carry with them into the world and beyond.  They have created magic.

Fishing closet with a secret compartment in the floor for a cooler of worms.  Shhhh!  Don't tell!

Jackson is the official fire tender.

Uncle Wyan!  Uncle Wyan!

Jennie is the s'more queen.  It's good Jackson is in charge of keeping the fire stoked, just in case a s'more craving pops us!

So peaceful!

The treehouse has a slide, a wrap-around deck and two stories inside.  The boys stayed up until 3:31 am, according to Freestone.  Thanks for making the treehouse relatively soundproof, Bruce!

Petting a toy horse.

My car battery light went on when I was close to the cabin.  I pulled into a garage and the guy told me it was probably the alternator.  Bruce cleaned off the battery cables, to see if that would help.  The warning light went off, and we thought I was safe.  (foreshadowing...)

We lost Tizzy about every five minutes.  This time, she turned up at the sink, washing her hands very thoroughly.  So thoroughly, she had to strip down to nothing.

Bruce and Marlene have a birdhouse collection.  It's fun to look for them in stores and yard sales.

4-wheeler ride with my man.  Scott and the open road...just what I love.

Mother-Daughter 4-wheeler selfies.  Hmmm...

Michelle's brilliant idea:  s'more ingredients in waffle cones.  Delicious!

Marlene dragged out an old pool and a sandbag, and "The Beach" was born.  Hours of fun, I tell you.  The kids loved it!  In fact, they love everything about the cabin.  Minus Scott and Golda, who had to go to church, we stayed longer than we were planning.  It's hard to leave paradise.  Freestone even got to stay an extra night with some of the cousins and Grandma and Grandpa.  For a three-day trip, I packed:  Davis High sweatshirts, toothbrushes and swimsuits.  On the plus side, I didn't have a ton of crap everywhere.  On the negative side, we all had to wear the same outfit for three days.  Whatever.  Sometimes you have to simplify.  Organization takes a lot of time, and it takes the kind of brain power I simply cannot muster when I have seven kids talking to me every second of every day.  In fact, if my blogs seem a little scattered lately, it's because I am carrying on three conversations right now, one with an air conditioner guy, Ptolemy is screaming, and Ruby has 10 kids here for camp.  And it never ends.  You just have to adapt.  It's summer.

At the Cabin

 These two marvelous people have carved out a little piece of heaven in a southeastern corner of Idaho, snuggled up to the banks of the Cub River.  They started with a piece of land lovingly referred to as "The Lot" and cultivated it into a spacious cabin, a two-story treehouse, wraparound decks everywhere you look, a s'more station and several trailers, not to mention the four-wheeler garage and all the fun things they provide for us to do.

We were excited to be invited up to The Cabin Formerly Known as The Lot this weekend.  The kids were counting down the minutes.  The drive is gorgeous, and once you turn that last bend, you're out of cell range and disconnected from the world.  You're ready to do nothing, eat everything and take it all in for as long as you're lucky enough to be there.

The best part about being at the cabin, and this is saying a lot, considering you're in heaven, is that cousins are there.  Come to think of it, the whole reason it does seem like heaven is because of the cousins.  The whole time we were at the cabin, we were missing Golda and Ruby.  I asked Bruce if we could come up again this summer after the girls get back.  I said, "They'll be sad they missed this."  Bruce said, "Well, they are in Europe."

I said, "Yeah, but Europe isn't this."  No matter where we go in the world, there will never be anyplace so close to our hearts as this little lot on the Cub River.

My caption:  "What strange creatures brothers are." - Jane Austen
In this case, I couldn't agree more.  :)