memorial weekend at the cabin

Does two years in a row mean it’s the start of a tradition?

I hope so.



We spent Memorial Day at the cabin with my entire family. It was a little “trial run” before our official family vacation in July. We had a great time!

My parents were at their dear friend Babs’ “ta-ta for now” party (scroll down to the previous post to read more about Babs) so on Saturday it was just us kids. Which I have to say was kinda fun. We rarely get time with just the siblings. We did a few things {well, Wes/Tripp/Sam did a few things while Ali and I manned the kiddos} around the cabin like hang swings from the back deck & we bought and “installed” (dug a hole) a fire pit for my dad for Fathers Day. We took the kids down to Duck Creek Village during the day to let them play on the playground for a little while. We had yummy BBQ for lunch. And then went back down to the Village for the “Duck Creek Days” annual dinner and dancing. Unfortunately, this year it decided to rain. (last year it snowed). Even though we stayed under the canopy or in the dance hall the entire time – it was still fun. It will be a fun tradition every year.

On Sunday, we went to church in Alton and then while Nate was sleeping my dad, Wes, Sam & I did a little exploring. We drove over to Cascade Falls to check out how far the hike was to get to the falls so we could possibly do it in July. Turns out the trail is closed because it’s slipping off the mountain but we took a short ¼ of a mile walk and saw some amazing views. When the kiddos woke up, we went down to a pond near the cabin and did a little fishing. Abbie has been asking Papa to take her fishing for a long time so she finally got to go. It was a good trial run – now we’ll know where to go and what to bring in July! We spent the night out by the fire pit making smores. Abbie loved her dessert sandwich and Nate loved eating marshmallows and graham crackers with peanut butter. It was a great day in the mountains.

On Monday morning my dad rented 4 wheelers & we had a great time. Nate and Abbie absolutely loved the Rhino. Anytime we’d even slow down they’d both ask for more. And you can imagine Nate’s {the lover of hats} excitement when he realized he got to wear a helmet. He was in heaven. When the road got rocky, he’d want to hold your hand but other than that he was thrilled to sit and ride around all morning long. Wes even took him on a short ride in the cul-de-sac on the actual 4 wheeler. We did some exploring and rode on some trails and had a great morning outside. Around noon, it started to rain so we decided to return the 4 wheelers. Sam lead the way, then it was me, and then my dad/Wes/Nate on the Rhino as we rode in to town. The rain quickly turned to large chunks of hail! Talk about pain. Our faces were pelted with ice chunks as we were trying to drive. As soon as we got to our destination, it turned to snow. Go figure.

It was a great weekend. I’m excited to know that Nate will have great memories of the cabin over the years. My parent’s owned part of a house in Lake Tahoe and I have many memories with my family there. Nate’s memories will be in Duck Creek and I’m excited about that. Another great part about the weekend? It was in the low 60’s the entire time. A perfect escape from our already hot summer.

One thing to mention - Nate developed an obsession with his big cousin, Abbie on this trip. He must have said Abbie more than 100 times. He'd wake up at 6am (vegas time) crying for Abbie. Big cousins rock.