Papi's Cozy Cabin

Its become a tradition to go up to Strawberry and stay at least a few days at Papi's (Phil's Dad's) cabin. It has been fun because every time we go it is different. Our family just changes so fast that no visit is ever exactly the same.

This year we went at the end of Phil summer break which is the end of June. He had one weekend left before he went to work and then he would go directly back to school after that. You better believe that we took that last weekend and put it to good use.

We left at 7:30pm on Thursday night and got there late and set up our sleeping stuff and went to bed. Our kids actually did pretty good sleeping. Not the best but better than in the past. Bennett has a hard time falling asleep all the time so it was good that he did well while we were up at the cabin.

The next morning we got up, got ready and started our first adventure of the vacation and went to hike West Clear Creek. It is a beautiful place that starts with a hike down from the top of a "canyon" and then at the bottom is a beautiful valley with lots of greenery and a creek. 

The only hard part is that the hike is kind of steep; and on top of that we had two kids that we wanted to get to the bottom. We tried to get Bennett to be brave and hike down but he just slipped too much and didn't like it. (I don't blame him.) That's when Phil stepped in and was basically a beast! He carried Aftyn in a pouch on his chest and then carried Bennett on his shoulders. I have no idea how he did it. He is amazing! Bennett didn't like that he had to be on daddy's shoulders and not mommy's but there was no way in heck that I could do what Phil did. 25 min later we made it to the bottom. Phil's legs giving out and totally exhausted but the kids were totally happy to see the rocks and the water.

The canyon was so green and pretty! I could have stayed there all day!

We had a blast at the bottom! Bennett (no exaggeration!) threw rocks in the water for at least an hour and a half. He would toss them in and then wait for the splash and then throw his hands up in the air, "Yay!" He tried different sized rocks or throwing more than one at a time, etc. He just loved it! We were surprised by how simple it was and how long he played that way. He also loved the water! It was pretty cold, it hurt my feet and yet Bennett didn't seem to be bothered by it at all. He just stood in it like it was bath water. I love that boy!

  

We lounged around the creek for a while, went on a few jaunts down the creek which involved carrying the kids on our shoulders because it was too deep for them. It was fun! The sun was shining down on us but it wasn't too hot. It really was just a really nice day at the creek.

After sitting and relaxing for a while, we finally geared ourselves up for the hike out. We were dreading it! It is pretty steep and if Phil had to carry both kids back up like he did on the way down, then this hike was going to take 2 hours instead of 30 minutes.

But....it went great! Bennett decided that he wanted to be like daddy and mommy and hike the way out himself! He probably did 50-75% of the hike himself with some random lifts and pushes from Phil and I. He thought he was probably the coolest thing to walk the earth! He did awesome!

We all got to the top extremely exhausted and beyond dirty! Bennett's face had dirt marks all over it along with Phil and I. Aftyn looked like such a scraggly muffin! Her red hair was all standing up all over the place and she had dirt all up and down her arms and legs and random smears on her face. We were pretty good looking at this point.  But we made it out in like 45 minutes so it was a success and I cant wait to go back!

 We spent the rest of that day relaxing and going on walks around the cabin. We went to Pine for ice cream and watched a movie on Papi's projector.

The next day (Saturday) we lounged around and packed up our stuff. The neighbor next to the cabin has an amazingly beautiful lot that is covered in wild flowers as tall as I am, apple trees, cherry trees, an always jam packed garden, and lots of squirrels. I knew I couldn't leave without making a walk through again. I love some of the spots. I have taken pictures of the kids in the same spot every year and its fun to see the progression. 

Papi's Cabin 

June 2012

June 2013

June 2012 (Pregnant with Aftyn)

June 2013 (not so pregnant with Aftyn)

June 2012 (Phil looks so young! Right Before starting Medical School)

June 2013 (Phil looks like he as aged because he just finished his first year of Medical School)

Its crazy to me how much Bennett changes over the year and how much our family has changed since last June! I cant wait to see where we are at next June! He had a good time walking through the wild flowers and chasing the butterflies and the bees that come along with it. Its one of my favorite parts every year.

After we got our fill of the wild flowers, we filled up the car with our stuff and headed to Pine "mall". Its just a thrift store but I like always making a stop because I keep finding little treasures there. I have gotten good books and toys for Bennett and I have scored a few things to make crafts out of for a great price! This time Aftyn got a jacket and PJ's, Bennett got a siren fire truck, and I got spoons to make rings with, a few old books to make an activity book for the kids, and 8 sturdy milk crates (for $1 each). I have been looking for milk crates all over! I scored!
Anyway, once I was done, we started the drive home. We knew we would probably make a detour along the way, just to make the drive more fun.We ended up turning off at the road for Potato Lake. Phil had gone there a few times growing up and he wanted to spot out a good camping spot for maybe later this summer. We found his old camping spot and decided to take a car break there. They kids loved playing in the ferns. It was so green and pretty there!

Bennett loved finding the little hills and climbing to the top and then roaring his victory with his hands in the air; or playing hide and go seek in the ferns with daddy. It was very fun to watch him lose Phil in the ferns and then have him pop up right next to him.  I would love to go camping here!

Phil went camping here a few times when he was younger. One of those times is about when he was 14 yrs old. He showed me while we were at this spot the tree that he carved our initials in back when he was 14.  I was surprised he ever did that! It was sweet! So of course I took a million pictures of it!

Aw! Young Love!

Unfortunately our fun time exploring Potato Lake ended on our way out. About 10 minutes from the main road, we blew a tire.  It was sad considering out tires are not very old at all.

 Phil worked hard in the hot summer sun to change the flat. It was much hotter here than it had been in the cabin. It made everyone a little on edge and unhappy.  Phil put on our spare and out spare was literally a piece of junk. We had not looked at our spare since we bought the car a few months ago and the metal was rusty and chunks of metal were coming off when Phil was tightening the bolts, and when we tried to drive on it till we got to the mail road, we didn't make it more than 2 feet. The rubber was coming off of the rim! It was just junk. So we were stuck. No tire. Barely phone service. Hot summer sun. Grumpy kids. 2 hours from home. Waiting for someone....anyone to come and help us. After 20-30 minutes of just waiting for anyone to drive on this back dirt road, a car/rhino came by and I flagged them down. They offered to take Phil into Clints Well to see if there was something that could be done there. The kids and I couldn't come on the rhino so we had no other option than to stay with the car. It wasn't fun just waiting, and hoping for something to happen in Clints Well. Bennett was fine. He enjoyed playing in the dirt and the big boulders. He threw rocks and explored the area. I only worried about how hot it was. Aftyn on the other hand was very angry staying in the cool car, so I ended up having to take her out in order to stop the screaming.

In the end, Clints Well sold Phil a used tire that was slightly a different size than the tires we had. We changed the tire AGAIN, and then were on our way. We were sure to drive safe and not too fast on the way home and so our drive home took 5 hours instead of 2.

All in all, we had a great time at the cabin. We are already trying to plan our next trip up there.
We cant wait!