Another Walker Cabin Christmas

This year I was out of school as of the 17th and Larry and I had planned to use the entire vacation and just go up and relax at the cabin. However,Larry's work had different ideas. They informed Larry that he wasn't going to be able to have all that vacation after all. He has a pump that is due to be out at the end of January and there was enough problems with it that they needed everyone to work all that they could to get the job done. So we weren't able to leave for the cabin until the 23rd of Dec. and then Larry was going to have to come back down to work on Dec. 28th-30th. It did give me a little more time to finish up a few last minute things and finish getting packed up. So anyway, the morning of the 23rd we packed up the pilot with all the things that we needed, and that didn't leave much room left for the dogs. So we were off and going and as you can see in the pictures Sadie found her a spot on top of the bags, since Brandie was taking up what room that there was.













Once we got there we got our snowmobiles out along with our sled and got about half of our things onto the sled. There was a lot of snow up there, but the roads were well groomed and we easily made our way up to the cabin. We could both see the snow was quite deep, so I waited out on the road with the sled while Larry went in with his machine to try and make a path for us to get everything pulled in without getting stuck...well....that didn't go over so well. The wet snow on top allowed Larry's machine to sink down into the powder and it made for a rough go of it. To make a long story short Larry got stuck about 5 or 6 times. I couldn't really help him because I couldn't walk in to help nor take my machine. Because it was starting to get dark he finally left his machine and waded out and then we went and got another machine and finally ended up leaving my machine out on the road with the sled and just going in on the one machine. Good thing that the cabin is stocked with a few things so we had plenty that we could eat.
The next morning Larry went back out and got a path into the cabin and we finally got all our stuff in. There was about 4 feet out on the deck and plenty of snow that had slid off the roof in the stairway.















That afternoon Shannon, Chris and Jennsen arrived and we finished getting ready for our Christmas Eve. We had homemade Chicken Noodle Soup and enjoyed our evening together. We watched the little clip of the Nativity which brought the meaning of Christmas into perspective. Christmas morning came and without any small children we just enjoyed sleeping in so we didn't get started on the presents until about 9:30 or so. Shannon is big into taking pictures of the dogs since her little girl is 16 and not to much into posing for her mom anymore. Anyway so we put some packages up and enjoyed having some fun with the dogs in front of the packages. Trying to get them to stay there was quite the challenge...but as you can see we got Larry to pose fairly well.


































We found what Santa had left in our stockings and among brandie's and Sadie's favorites were their bones and a duck that Abbie and Maggie (their cousins.. lol) gave to them.










Even little Maggie decided that those big bones looked delicious.



We all were pleased with the gifts we were given. I especially loved my Wii and my digital photo frame, and I think Larry is going to love his auto clay pigeon thrower when he gets a chance to use it.































We finally got around to having breakfast close to lunch time so we just decided that it was brunch. We got a lot of puzzles for Christmas (on purpose) so we went to work putting it together and of course played the wii and had fun with it. The dogs had had so much excitement that they were just plain tuckered out.













Sincw we were up there for a long time we spent our time reading, doing puzzles, playing games and of course playing on the wii from time to time. Larry went down to work Tuesday morning just from the cabin. Since I had gotten him some work clothes for Christmas he didn't have to go home Monday night. Chris just got up early and took him down to the car so he didn't have to put away a machine or anything. It worked out great for him. One bad part about the time we spent up there was that Wednesday evening the power kept flipping on and off and then about 11:00 (good thing we were headed off to bed anyway) the power stayed off and was off until about 6:00 Thursday morning. The worst of it is that the power being off allowed our on demand water heater to freeze and when the power came on it wasn't good. We turned off the water and called Larry, who was luckily coming back up around noon that day. It was truly a blessing that it happened just like that. Larry was able to bring up some things that were needed to fix it with Chris' help. It isn't totally fixed but we did have hot water for the remainder time that we were there. I'm sure that Larry will figure out exactly what is up with it and will get it fixed.
We had a great time on New Year's Eve also. We had our other grand daughter Kylee over with us. Devin and Charity were staying in a cabin belonging to their mother's parents nearby. Every year those that are up at their cabins come down to the caretaker's cabin at the sheds and have a potluck luncheon. Everyone brings something to go with the meal and the assotiation BBQ's chicken, burgers, and hotdogs. It's fun to get to know neighbors and people that are there and they also have a little raffle to raise a little money for the association.














We also went down to the bonfire again this year, but I've taken so many pictures of that in years past that I thought they were starting to look like the same year. Although I kinda wished that I had taken it because this year with all the snow on top it was interesting to see how it burned so differently. However, may I say that it was so cold that on the way back to the cabin it had to have been the coldest ride I've ever taken. I don't think I could feel my fingers under my gloves. That night we also had to dress the poor dogs up for the New Year and enjoyed a little Martinellis to bring in the new year. Of course we also were working on puzzles and played some games. Low key but lots of fun

Time for Relaxation, kinda..

Yeah... I was out of school last Friday. The kids were so wired, but I tried to keep them fairly on track and they tried their best. I guess I'll see if they remember anything I taught them when they come back on Jan. 3rd. For now I'm glad that their parents are handling them for the remainder of the holiday season, and it time for a little relaxation, kinda.. :)
We were going to head to the cabin on Monday of this week, but Larry's work decided that they needed him to stay and get this pump he's working on out in a timely matter. So now it could be Wed. or Thurs., it's a day to day wait. I've been busy trying to get all of Christmas finished up and get the laundry, food shopping and cleaning the house so it will be good when I get back home. We'll be at the cabin for the whole time so I won't have time to do anything when I get back. I'll be glad to just get up there where I can really relax, because for now it's just plain work to get the menu together and get everything all packed up for that extended stay. Not only that but it has to be packed together so that it can make the trip on the sleigh behind the snowmobile. There isn't any of this just throwing it in and getting it up there. After we get up there it will be great fun.
Last night our friends Holly and Stuart Wilkins came out to Salt Lake, because they're headed out on a plane today to Hawaii. They decided since their kids were all going to the other side of the family that they weren't just going to stay home the two of them and stare at each other.. lol Anyway since they were in town we went in and had dinner with them and Stuart's sister and husband, and then went to the lights on temple square. Guess who didn't take their camera??? Well anyway it was a fairly nice evening with snow lightly falling. Not much snow on the ground with all the rain mixed with it over the past few days, but none the less beautiful. So it was great to see them and spend a little time with them. I'm sure they'll have fun in the sun. I told Holly we were kinda going to the opposite extremes.
Well, anyway, I've taken a small brief moment of my busy day to get this posted and then I'll have to post about Christmas when we get back. I'm really looking forward to the time of just enjoying the fire and the beautiful scenery from inside the warm cabin. Oh I'll also enjoy a few excursions out and about on the snowmobiles too. Merry Christmas and Happy New Year!!

Dating my Sweeheart in December

It's been a fun month so far. Larry and I have been to quite a few fun things the first part of this month so far. On December 3rd we went into the Utah Symphony at Abravanell Hall in Salt Lake City. Larry signed us up to go to about 4 over the next few months. The one we went to on the 3rd had a few different numbers. The first one we listened to was Beethoven's Leonore Overture No. 3, op. 72b. Then there was Saint-Saens Cello Concerto No. 1 in A minor with a guest celloist. It was beautiful and fun. The last one was a very fun one, not your usual classical number. It was by Charles Ives from Connecticut and he put in a lot of Americana hidden throughout the song. There were songs like Colmbia, the Gem of the Ocean and Turkey in the Straw and a few other patriotic songs also woven into it. A very enjoyable evening. Thanks Sweetheart for thinking of the symphony.
Then the very next Monday, December 6th we had tickets to see "White Christmas" up at Pioneer Theater. It was one of our season plays for this year. I was so excited to go up and see it because White Christmas is one of my all time favorite Christmas movies and I watch it every year. The play was great! They changed things up a bit on it and some of the details were a little different, but it was so enjoyable. They even added a few new songs to the play and also took some out. Some of the old songs were sung in a few different places also. Anyway.. we loved it!! It's been a good start to the Christmas season especially doing things with my Sweetheart!! Love you Babe!

Thanksgiving in Idaho

Yup... I'm finally getting on here and writing about Thanksgiving. I've not had the chance since we got back. I had to work until Wednesday at 1:30, so we didn't really get a very early start. The weather was pretty bad on Tuesday and a lot of reports said you shouldn't travel on Wednesday, but it was pretty good anyway. So Larry met me at home about 2 and we headed on our way.(Two dogs in the back and all) Our kids were all going other places this year and Marla had invited us to come up quite awhile ago, so I didn't see any use of Larry and I just having a meal together and doing nothing. The roads were a little icy, so the going was a little slow. We also had to pull over for about 20 minutes to let Larry talk to someone at work on the phone. He's so needed there!! Then we stopped in Tremonton to have a quick burger. Once we got to the interchange of I84 and I86 at Rupert we sit in traffic for what must of been 30 minutes going about 5 mph. Finally after making it through we headed on our way again. As we passed Wendell I wished Mom and Dad a Happy Turkey day. It seemed to weird not to stop there. We finally made it to Mark and Marla's about 9:00. Not too bad considering. It was great to spend the time with the Hegerhorsts. Margie and Katie were there along with some of Emily's room mate and sister from BYU Idaho. They were from North Carolina and couldn't go home so Marla had asked them to come. We had a very delicious meal on Thanksgiving along with games and movies and fun!! It was very cold up there so Marla and I didn't go out much...thus no pictures. I should have taken a picture of us playing that one game where we had to wear a hat as the King, Queen... or the Scum. Oh yeah, I think that is what it was called "Scum". Mark and Larry spent a lot of time doing something around the farm or helping the girls fix something with their cars. They even drove into Mountain Home and took Margie's car in for something. Katie would take all the dogs on a run either on the 4 wheeler or her in the truck. So at least the two dogs got good exercise, even if I didn't. All in all it was a terrific holiday. We had planned on coming back on Sunday morning but decided to come back a day early... boy was I glad since it snowed and the road was even closed for awhile on Sunday. Thanks Hegerhorsts for being able to be with family on the holiday. We love you!!

BYU and My Sisters

Early Fall, our cousin, Ron Bird, sent out and email wanting to know if anyone wanted tickets to a BYU Football game. He said he had 6 extra tickets. I emailed him back and asked how much they cost. That very evening he called and told us the cost and asked which game we wanted to see. Knowing how much Larry is TRUE BLUE, I asked him if he'd like to see a game and he said sure. Of course this was before we knew how badly their year would be going. Anyway we decided on the game against UNLV on November 6th. He asked if anyone else might want tickets I told him that Georgia and Richard might like to come out and I didn't know about the others. I emailed the rest of the more local sisters to ask them if they had gotten the same email from Ron and told them if they were interested that we were going to the UNLV game if they wanted to go the same time as us. Ron called back and said that Georgia and Richard were in and then I soon found out Roberta and Keith were in also. Bonnie and Randy wanted to come also, but I didn't know if Ron had any more tickets...there were only 6 that he offered. To make a long story short we all got tickets. Bonnie and Randy got their seats next to Ron and his wife Teri. Soon Roberta called and asked if Larry and I would like to come down Friday night on the 5th to spend the night since Georia and Richard would be in from Vernal to stay and Bonnie and Randy would be up from St. George to stay the night. Since Keith's birthday was Nov. 3rd and Georgia's was Nov. 9th, she said we could celebrate and have some fun together. We thought that was a great idea, plus we wouldn't have to drive down in all the traffic.
So Friday evening we all met at Roberta's in Orem. Roberta had fixed a delicious soup and we enjoyed a great evening together. We had planned to maybe play some games, but we spent the night mostly visiting and of course we didn't get to bed until early in the morning hours. We decided that we'd have breakfast not too early and then make some sandwiches that we would take with us and do a little tail gate before the game since we couldn't take any food in. Everyone had brought something to add to the meals which made it easy on Roberta. The game started at noon so we decided to head up about 10:30 and get a parking spot early and then we would have time to have our sandwiches etc. So we all piled into our Pilot and put Randy's handicap thing on our mirror so we could get a great parking place, however may I say even though it is 8 passenger, the 3 seats in the back really aren't meant for adults as my 3 sister can testify. I really wish I could have had a picture of that. However just so they know after we got home I found out how to work the seats so that there was more leg room back there. (sorry it wasn't sooner.) Anyway...after we got there it was a little early to eat so we went in and found our seats and got settled and then we went back out to the car for our little tail gate. I even have Larry yelling with the others saying "Go Cougars!!"











It was quite the game UNLV couldn't do anything right. We sang the fight song so much Larry almost knew the words. :) The game became a little dull actually, but being together was great. Bonnie and Randy were a little lonely, 'cause Ron and Teri were late, but they eventually got there too. I hope you can see Randy with the Red hat and purple shirt down there in the crowd picture with Bonnie sitting next to him. lol













After the game we made it back home, Ron and Teri came too. We played some games (What's that Europe train game called again??) and visited, until we had dinner. I wish we could have had Cliff and Marla there too (hopefully next time), but it was so great just to be together and have a lot of fun. Before Georgia and Richard left, Bonnie wanted to get a few more pictures that she didn't get of our hands with the cougar stamp on them and as you can see we got a little silly...especially take a look at Georgia and her hand stamp. (tee hee)


What a great time we had together. I really know we have to make times like these happen for us all. Times when we can just be together and have fun together. Love you all my sisters and your hubbies!! Go Cougars and Willards!!