Return to the Cleaver Cabin...in style

 

Me: Soren, I'm going to tell you a story about when I was a little girl.

Soren: No! Only a Teeny and Moe story

Me: Okay, this is a Teeny and Moe story about me. 

Me: When I was a little girl, my grandparents invited all their children over on a Sunday evening and they began to talk about building a family cabin. They talked about how we would all go snowmobiling together and play games together. There would be enough room for everyone to sleep - all the cousins, aunts, and uncles. And we would build it ourselves.

Me: For the next couple summers, we would go work hard on the cabin. And when it was all done, we would go on family vacations there. All the cousins, aunts and uncles could stay and sleep in it. We would snowmobile all over the mountains, go sledding down big hills, make snowmen and drink lots of hot chocolate. The end

This weekend, Soren and Lucas had their first winter cabin experience. It wasn't at our traditional family cabin in Washington (due to a long drive,  lack of electricity and plumbing at the cabin). But we did stay at a beautiful home in the middle of Island Park (with plenty of hot water, electricity and flushing toilets).

 

In keeping with family tradition, my dad brought snowmobiles for us to play on. I grew up with a love/hate relationship with snowmobiles. They were terrifying to ride on when I was behind one of my crazy cousins, but at the same time they were an adventure. 

It was important that Soren had a positive, first experience with snowmobiling. My goal was for him to just want to sit on a machine - with it parked and silent. 

That is what we did our first day. Soren and I played in the snow and he climbed on the machine. Then quickly climbed down. 

But the second day, his younger cousin Jett rode on a snowmobile. Soren wasn't going to stay behind. He asked to ride one too. Uncle Ryan drove him around the drive way. Despite the cold and wind, Soren couldn't wipe his grin off his face. That smile appeared every time he climbed on a snowmobile.

 Lucas is still a little young for riding, but we did bundle him up to play in the snow. The poor guy could hardly open his eyes, it was soo bright. His dad had the same problem (and so did I). 

 Lucas was all over the place inside the cabin, following his cousin Jett and big brother as far as he could. He even attempted climbing the stairs! Thank goodness that didn't work out for him yet.

 Soren always has mixed feelings about Lucas playing with him. He doesn't want to share his toys or his space, yet sometimes Lucas is fun. Above, Soren is giving Lucas his stern "no" look. Which, of course, Lucas is oblivious too.

 The first couple days were snowy, but our third day was beautiful. This was the view off the porch shortly after the sun rose. If kids are going to wake me up at 6:30 a.m. then I would at least like a beautiful view.

 Here are the three boy cousins. We only have boys in this new generation! Both my sister and sister-in-law are pregnant with two more. My dad is pretty excited to have his own basketball team.

And in the meantime, they are all in snow fun training camp.