Weekend at the cabin

If the start of our weekend would have set the tone for the next two days, it could have been a very long weekend. I am never concerned about the car rides with our kids, we have taken a number of roadtrips and they travel really well. After Friday, I have now had an experience with a less than enjoyable car ride. It started with Landon's ears popping. I totally forgot to pack gum (bad mommy!) - I forgot about that part of driving up the mountain (and coming down). Lance was giving him all sorts of ideas like yawning, plugging his nose and blowing, drinking out of Mauryn's sippy cup and nothing was working. Lance suggested he suck his thumb. Landon told us he couldn't suck his "fumb" because he didn't have his jammies . I had some raisins for him to chew on but that didn't seem to help either. While Landon was complaining about his ears, Mauryn decided she was mad about something (probably the fact that her brother woke her up). She cried off and on for about 30 minutes and NOTHING made her happy. Landon soon forgot about his ears hurting and moved on to the fact that Mauryn was crying and bothering him. We were in Lance's truck so there wasn't room for me to move to the back to help Mauryn - although I do not think that would have helped, it may have made her more frustrated and mad because I couldn't hold her. In the midst of that Morgan thinks she is going to vomit. We roll down her window for fresh air and make a plan in case she does get sick. Thankfully, she just fell asleep and was fine when we reached the cabin. Oh and did I mention that there had been an accident so we were in single lane traffic that would sit stopped for 10 minutes or so at a time for 45 minutes! UGH! We FINALLY made it to the cabin and I had never been so happy to get out of the car!

Once we made it to the cabin our weekend was great. We played lots of games, hiked, talked, laughed and laughed, built a bonfire, ate smores, snuggled under blankets, played outside, stayed up far too late and ate too many yummy snacks. The weather was gorgeous! The trees had started to turn color, the air was warm, and the mountain air was refreshing. The kids enjoyed exploring outside and playing by the river. The guys played horeshoes, rebuilt the fire pit, and spent time playing catch and entertaining kids. The girls played games and enjoyed plenty of good conversations. Morgan and I were able to take a walk together. It isn't often I get time alone with her (sort of alone Mauryn was in the Bjorn) We had fun finding pine cones, looking at cabins, and just enjoying time together. We went for quite a long walk (for her almost8 year old legs) and she was a trooper! There is just something about being at the cabin that made me wish we could stay there forever. It was the time without the distractions of home, the peace and quiet - it really just stilled my soul. You could sit and just listen to the river run by the cabin and just feel at peace. It was so serene. Even though I came back very tired, it felt really nice to get away for the weekend.

The Three Musketeers racing up the dirt hill on our hike

On Saturday morning, a few of us decided to hike up Lightning Creek. It was so beautiful. It was early enough that at the top of the mountain you could see a bit of fog hanging over the trees. At the creek, it was beautiful with the fall colors on all the trees. The kids all enjoyed throwing rocks into the creek and playing on the rocks.

The view at Lightning Creek

When we were hiking out to Lightning Creek. Lance found a woolly bear caterpillar. He was so excited to show the kids, but they were not to sure what to think of it. Landon did get brave enough to touch it. Morgan found one when we were walking and brought it home. She is researching what to feed it and taking a poll of her friends to find a name :o)

My boys on a rock at Lightning Creek

Landon taking a break from throwing rocks

Waiting for the bonfire (really waiting to make Smores!)

Mauryn hanging out with Miss Janna

Finally, we get to eat smores, we have been waiting all day

Morgan and Lance roasting marshmallows

Family photo before we left
The funny thing about this picture, the kids were all loaded in the car and we were taking a photo for another family and Lance pulled all the kids out for a picture. It was a perfect spot for it BUT the kids were all a mess and I hadn't done my hair (it was the air dried look) - all in all it isn't too bad!