HAPPY NEW YEAR!!!

 And, another year of building begins!  I really thought this past year was going to be the last building year, but I am looking forward to amazing things happening this year!

Well, Bryce Woodlands has been landblasted with snow the last couple of weeks.  This picture was taken from our door camera a week or so... And, the pile of snow is just getting taller and taller.  We had a picture of "something" falling off the roof in sheets and I was worried that it was the roofing materials.. BUT, it was sheets of snow... lots of it, falling off.. I don't think we are going to be getting u to the cabin any time soon,

After receiving an amazing piece of rock for my outside shower, I felt I needed to start to look for other pieces to complete the project before spring came and I really needed them.  So, I went on the hunt, and found a gentleman in Salt Lake that had pallets of flagstone - exactly what I wanted.  So, we bought a couple of pallets to be picked up in a couple of months when we can get into the property.  If we picked them up now, they would be sitting on our lawn for a couple of months.  No Bueno.

Here's my Christmas rock again... I think it will fit in perfectly with the other rocks!

The gentleman that we found all these flagstones from was really quite interesting.  His name is John and he has been in several types of businesses over the years.  As we were walking around his lot, he noticed that I was wearing my Canadian crocs... actually, they're just white crocs with red maple leafs on the toes and he asked me if I was Canadian.  He said his wife was from Canada, from a place called St. Catherine's.  This is about an hour from where I grew up.  Her family left Canada when she was just 5 so we wouldn't know any people in common, but it was a fun conversation.  

And, I found a guy in Lehi, Utah (Jim) who was actually a rock hound - he collected more smaller pieces of rock than flagstone.  And, I want the smaller rocks to fill in the spaces between the bigger rocks.  He really had some beautiful rocks.  It was pouring rain the day we went to see his assortment.  Before we went to Lehi, he said that it was really muddy, so we needed to wear boots...  I didn't have any boots and Jim's skidoo boots are at the cabin, so we made a quick trip to Deseret Industries (D.I.)  I immediately found Jim a pair of boots and then found a pair for myself...  Did we ever look like rednecks...  it was almost embarrassing... But, when we got to Jim's place, was there ever mud and water to the point my boots were sticking in the mud.  We couldn't pick up the rocks because the gentleman is going to cut the rocks thinner so they will be easier to place on the wall... and, that will take some time.  With his place flooding, we are having to wait to pick them up.

And, I found this gem a couple of months ago.  This little hedgehog is molded with cement and tons of pebbles in him.. But, I want to put him at the bottom of the outside shower.  I think he will be a cute addition...

I was totally amused by this picture... This is my cousin's great granddaughter from Thunder Bay, Ontario Canada.  I believe she is 2 years old - starting on skates!!! I sent this picture to Brianne and Brad and asked them if this looked familiar... and, of course, they remember this same situation with Mahayla, Brea, Coy and Ben!!  It's in our blood!

Here's our Mahayla (wearing Jim's hockey jersey from way back when....) getting a little help...She is almost 12 years old now... So cute!  It must be a law or something... Daddies have to help their little girls.... I remember, Mahayla had a Barbie helmet! And, little pink skates!

...must be a law...

My son Brad sent me this picture and I think it's amazing.  This is his backyard with his winter visitors!  He knows how much I love moose... I think this would be amazing to look out the back window and just stare. We don't have mooses at our cabin - at least I haven't seen any...... seems like we have everything else, but no moose...

Wasilla, Alaska

...gettin' kinda close to the neighbours here...

And, this is our beautiful Bryce Woodlands... slammed with snow... Have I mentioned how much I hate the snow?... 

And, here's our Ice Mice from Wasilla, AK.  Our Ben is on the front row left, blue jersey, looking to the back....  They're all so freakin' cute.

We're at the hibernation stage of cabin building right now....  Every once in a while we find something interesting, but, for the most part, we're playing like bears, or skunks... I just learned that chipmunks hibernate... thank goodness... I just hope they are not hibernating in my cabin loveseat...  

Until something exciting happens - and, we have an amazing adventure to report.....

Love, Jim and Cheri

Christmas with the Streeters

 As you probably know, I love mooses (moosi?) ... I mean, I really love mooses.. I don't care if they smell bad, or are mean or are destructive - I think they are amazing.  This year, about a month before  Christmas, I received the cutest Nativity Scene ever...  Thanks to good friends who understand my obsession with mosses, and the pathway to my heart.  Thank you, Lynn... You rock!

I

The week before Christmas, Jim wasn't feeling particularly well, and spent most of his time just trying to keep anything on his stomach and staying hydrated.  On Thursday afternoon, he finally felt bad enough to agree to go to the emergency room.  His blood pressure was 83/52.  After 6 hours and 4 liters of saline solution, they still didn't really know exactly what was wrong with him, but suggested we make an appointment with his cardiologist.  We called his cardiologist and found out their office is closed for a couple of weeks, so, we wait.  I'll keep you updated.

Christmas Eve, Jim's big job is to wrap Christmas presents... The reason behind this is because there are some things I just can't accomplish with any degree of success...  making pancakes is one of them, decorating the Christmas tree is another, organizing ANYTHING is one of my biggest failures, and right in there is wrapping presents.  So, Jim sat at the kitchen island and it was a couple of hours wrapping.  I truly appreciate it.

And, I love the shirt he is wearing.... "The Slaughtered Lamb".  Do you remember in the movie back in the 70's called "American Werewolf in London"?  It was one of my favourites... The Slaughtered Lamb was a pub in the movie where all the problems started. When we were in England a couple of years ago, we found the pub and had dinner there.  I did a little research on the place, and this is what I found.... "The pub shown in the film known as the Slaughtered Lamb was actually a cottage located in Crickadarn, and the interior scenes were filmed in the Black Swan, Old Lane, Martyrs Green in Surrey."  But, when we got home, I just had to get a Slaughtered Lamb shirt for Jim and this is what he chose to wear on Christmas Eve... Giggle.  

Because we are still stocking the kitchen essentials (bowls, pots and pans etc) at the cabin, there are still some things we don't have - and a set of cutlery was one of them.  Much to Brianne's chagrin, we have been using plastic knives, forks and spoons.  Jim, bless his heart, bought me cutlery for 16... I am absolutely stoked.  Now, along with the china, we have real cutlery. Each piece has a little tree stamped into the bottom of them...  I love it!

One of the things I asked for from Santa, was a flagstone rock. Sounds weird, but I actually asked for a large rock...  I am starting to collect the rocks for the walls on the outside shower, and Jim found me a beauty. You can purchase a pallet of flagstone rock at Home Depot, but, they aren't really pretty and a lot of them are just cement.  I want actual real rocks..  I put the two dollar bill on the corner of my gift so you can see how big the rock actually is.  It was a little difficult to pick up, but I think it's going to be beautiful.  We haven't quite figured out how we are going to build the walls of the shower, ( think we're going to be watching a lot of You Tube videos) but, we're collecting the rocks none the less.

And, I got a couple of dutch ovens that I wanted...  Several years ago, Jim bought me a first edition Julia Child "Mastering the Art of French Cooking", and, I'm one of these nutcases that has it in my mind to cook every recipe in the book.  And, I needed these pots.  I am excited to start cooking! (And, yes, I collect cookbooks... lots of them..."

I am always nervous at night at the cabin... I don't know why exactly - we have lots of security lights and cameras, but being in the middle of nowhere just really makes me feel uneasy.  This year, I bought Jim a quick release holster and belt for his 9mm.  Whatever your stance on guns is, I am hoping this makes me feel a little safer.  I also bought him the pocket knife he wanted...

And, our sweet little Brea is still playing hockey and had her team and individual photos taken this past week.  She is such a happy kid, and loves playing hockey.  We are thrilled she is so engaged in it.  (Have you ever met someone where their countenance reflects their heart?  This is our Brea...  She has such a sweet and kind heart, always quick with a smile, and a kind word and that beautiful smile shines through... She's a gem and we couldn't be prouder.)

As this holiday season comes to an end, and this year ends... we wish everyone health, happiness and good fortune - sounds kind of like a Chinese fortune cookie.. We have welcomed unexpected change, and pull together as a family when needs be. Brianne and Lowell are a strong team that amazingly works together, Coy is sharp as a whip, and we welcome Chance into our fold with open arms... what a good kid!  Brad and Melody are settling well into their jobs in Alaska, and Mahayla is growing tall and more beautiful all the time. Brea is a beauty.  Ben is a little chatterbox, with quite a sense of humour. Jim and I keep moving forward anticipating big changes this year..   As for our cabin building adventure, we are hoping for another year of major progress, and safety for all who help.

Welcome to 2023!

The adventure continues... Love,

Jim and Cheri

Nothing to do with cabin building, but we had fun!

 Christmas time is fast approaching, and so is the snow... Soooo, Jim and I and the family escaped the snow, and took an early Christmas vacation to Disneyland - California!  What an amazing vacation.  We have been planning this for about four months now, and it all came together amazingly well!  The cabin, however, got stuck in the snow!  It is bitter cold at the cabin, and our electric bill reflects it... It went from about $65.00 a month to $130.00... and, remember... We don't have anything running in the cabin except the water heater, and two refrigerators...  I was shocked...

Moving on....The excitement surrounding the Disney vacation was overwhelming...  I think I was more excited to see the whole family together... and, my craving to see the grandkids was over the top...  and, they did not disappoint...

Flights were booked, an AIRBNB reserved, tickets to Disney, droids and light sabers built, excursions to Sea World, Universal Studios, whale watching, NHL hockey, visits with dear friends and an afternoon at Seal Beach... it was tiring, but fantastic... (And, yes, Jim and I had to make a visit to Habitat for Humanity - Orange County, to round things out...).

We stayed at a really cool AirBNB in Anaheim which was about 10 minutes from Disney..  I wanted some very specific things to be included....  each couple had to have their own room, there had to be a huge kitchen and dining room, lots of tv's, a room that all the kids could gather in, and also have places to go to be alone and a pool... And, this place had it all... Lots of bedrooms - even a bedroom where Chance could have his own place and not have to share with kids...  lots of bathrooms... and one room with bunkbeds so the little kids had kid time.  And, it had the biggest refrigerator I have ever seen in my life...It was perfect.. The owner of the home was so nice and looked after us... the perfect host.

Brad's family were the first to get on the plane in Anchorage, flying to Seattle - they had to roust three little kids out of bed at 3 in the morning to drive to the airport and poor Melody worked all night until it was just about time to leave... Brad was in charge of the packing and getting kids ready... All in a snowstorm...... But, they made the flight in plenty of time...  While they were in the air, the next wave of flights (Jim and me, Brianne and Lowell, Coy and Chance) made it to Salt Lake to get on our fight...  We had just left the house when Brianne called me and said that I-15 north was closed... that was a little exciting.  There was an oil tanker truck that overturned at Point of the Mountain (Draper, Utah) and the road had been closed since midnight.. We were coming over the Point at about 8 in the morning.  We decided to take Redwood Road and then over to Bangerter, and Lowell and Brianne took Bangerter..). We got there about the same time.  With a trip that usually takes us about 45 minutes, it took us right at three hours...  It seems that we were only at the airport a short minute before we boarded the plane...

Brad's flight went from Anchorage to Seattle and then Seattle to John Wayne Airport in Anaheim.  The flight left Anchorage at 6 in the morning, and they got to California at 4:30 in the afternoon... Long day... Poor little Ben ran out of steam in Seattle...  But, I like his idea - if you get tired, just lay down on the floor...

However, these two had tons of energy to spare... no napping going on... Except, the big kid (Jim) in the seat behind them - totally crashed... Giggle..

Even with all the excitement,  Coy found time for a project to keep him amused.

The rest of us had an hour and half flight from Salt Lake to Anaheim, and we decided to have lunch at the Chowder Barge in Long Beach when we landed.  We love the Chowder Barge... It's a funky little restaurant that literally is built on a barge... the Clam chowder is amazing, but I think our favourite is the Chowder Burger.  They take a bowl of clam chowder and float a hamburger in it... sounds weird, but is VERY tasty...

Brianne took this picture of Jim and Me..  I absolutely love it!

I didn't have a clue what kind of bird this was - some kind of crane... The wing span was incredible.  Such a pretty bird.

And, here's our Coy posing with the bird...

Thursday evening the excitement began.  The kids and their parents went on a solo adventure without the grandparents... Jim and I seriously needed a nap... There is this store in Anaheim called Polar Playground that specializes in cotton candy... They make all kinds of different figures in cotton candy, and the kids had a blast!  Coy was loving Pikachu... and...

Brea was loving her unicorn!  (In case you didn't realize it, Coy and Brea are best of buds...)

Later that night, Brad and Coy were deep in discussion over one thing or another...  I don't know what, but it was pretty intense.

Friday morning, Lowell was the chef de jour and cooked up yummy eggs and sausage... Actually, every morning, someone whipped up an amazing breakfast.  I know Lowell and Melody did a lot of cooking... but mostly, I didn't!

Friday night, the bunch of us attended a professional hockey game - Anaheim Ducks vs San Jose Sharks...  It wasn't a great, amazing game, (6 - 1 for the Sharks), but it was fun to get together for the game.  We found out a couple of days afterwards, that the Leafs and the Ducks were playing on the Tuesday night... in Toronto... would have been a fun game, as Toronto won 7 - 0, but we were happy to be in Anaheim at the Honda Center...  And, as you can see, Chance wore his favourite hockey jersey... at least, I've told him that it's his favourite... He usually just stares at me...  giggle.

Here's the other side of the row at the hockey game.

And, this cute couple were having fun... AND, Lowell wore the correct hockey jersey also...

After the game, our two little hockey players had to have pictures taken on the patio.. and of course...

had to simulate a fight!   Brea plays for a hockey team in Alaska and Coy plays for a team in Provo, so they wore their respective jerseys... I guess, I'll forgive them for not wearing their Leaf's jerseys...  Ben also plays hockey in Alaska... he plays for the Ice Mice!  It's his first year!

When leaving the stadium, Ben ran into the Anaheim Ducks mascot and got a picture!

Here's my two babies... couldn't be a prouder mama here... I still want to pinch their heads off on a regular basis, but it sure was nice to see them both...

I believe this next shot is on the way to Whale Watching...  It was a cold day, but the kids didn't seem to mind.. crazy people...

And, the whales and the dolphins did not disappoint...  I think it was a great experience for the kids to actually see dolphins and whales - not in an aquarium..

These next two pictures crack me up...  With all the excitement of activities going on....

..they crash...  I guess the excitement of Thursday night totally wore them out, and they crashed on the way...

Saturday was a visit to Sea World and Universal Studios...  Again, kids had a blast!

Lowell and Bri were enjoying the fishes... and..

Brea was enjoying the fishes in a different way!

Mahayla was chosen to be in front of the crowd at Universal studios, where her "wand" chooses her, instead of her choosing it.  It made a good choice!   There were a couple of wands that did not choose her, and they manifested their dismay with lightning and thunder!

And, a visit with transformers rounded out the activity.

Jim and I tried things that were a little less involved.... We did a driving tour of California, and checked out the Hollywood sign, houses of the stars, and the Hollywood Walk of Fame.  It was a little more our speed...

Sunday and Monday were... DISNEYLAND...  Here's a cute guy that decided to have his picture taken with me...  amazing that he was wearing a Toronto Maple Leafs hat... go figure that!  Giggle.

When we initially got into the park, the kids ran into Cruella da Ville... She was so much fun.... asking the kids if they lived locally, if they had puppies and if the puppies were black and white... stuff like that.. the kids had a blast...  

Sunday afternoon was filled with building droids and light sabers... Here's our Chance meticulously building his light saber.  I think it was a great activity for all... It was nice because everyone really got to know Chance a little more, and he's a great kid...  I don't know if he's ready for our sense of humour, but, we do know he LOVES donuts and Cinnabons...  And, these grandparents made sure there were lots...

And, here's Brad building his light saber...

..and my handsome husband building, building, building..  I don't know if this was quite Jim's thing, but he had so much fun building with the kids.

When I saw this picture, I immediately thought of "don't cross the streams", but I think that's from a different movie.  Apparently, crossing the light sabers isn't that bad - that is, if you are on the good side of the force.

Brea, Coy and Ben, at the same time, were busy building droids....

And, all the kids had a blast visiting with Wookie and R2D2...  I guess they all speak the same language.

... such a fun activity...

Here's our droid builders... they each built a specific kind of droid... and, to think I thought there was only one kind of droid...  I think Nana is getting old...

Before we got to Disney, I had each family member pick the mouse ears they wanted to wear...  Brianne and her family wanted Wookies... Brad wanted Avengers....

Mahayla wanted Ariel and Brea wanted a Princess... Ben went with Spiderman...Melody went with Maleficent.  Jim and I went with Lion King...  It really was fun! When we got to the park, I found mouse ears with a Canadian theme... a lumberjack hat in red and black... Jim wasn't particularly impressed, but humoured all of us.

And, here's our little Spiderman....

..and, Ariel and a cute little princess..

Monday evening was so cold, and the little ones were sleepy... Jim and  I had  scooters to run around in - our knees just wouldn't take walking for 10+ hours and Ben and Coy found a comfortable place to drive around on... or fall asleep on...

On Tuesday, these crazy people decided to go to Seal Beach...  it was absolutely freezing, but that didn't stop them from getting into the water and playing.  Jim and I stayed on the shore bundled up...

All in all, we all had a blast...  Brea told us that in a couple of years, we are all going to go on a family cruise... Um... ok?  So, we are planning again....

Brianne had all the shirts made for us, and she did an amazing job...

... was such a fun vacation....

And, remember, your last name doesn't make you family, your heart does...And, my heart was just about exploding...  

We had three birthdays in December - Chance, Coy and mine.  And, we had a couple of cakes to help celebrate.

And, this is what we came home to...  The first picture is Brad and Melody's vehicle at the airport in Anchorage... I believe Alaska got 4 feet or snow while were were vacationing.....

And, this picture is my Kia Soul in our driveway... It wasn't particularly pleasant to come home to.  I couldn't get the car out of the driveway the next morning, so Jim had to drive me to work...  I kinda like the pampering... I must admit...

With all this, I am feeling a little sad and down at this point. I miss those Alaska people something terrible. Brea told me that we have to have another family vacation - and, she still thinks the next one should be a cruise.  I think it would be amazing.

Brianne found this street sign... I think it means a little something to her.  Giggle.

And, so it comes to an end... and, it was magical...

Love, Jim and Cheri; Brianne, Lowell, Chance and Coy; Brad, Melody, Mahayla, Brea and last, but not least, Ben.

My cup runneth over.