At the Cabin

Aaahhh, the cabin. Is there a better place to relax? Hang out with family? Play games? Roast marshmallows and eat s'mores?
Especially when you use the ginormous Campfire brand marshmallows. Those suckers were huge and oh so yummy! We were all in marshmallow heaven.

Playing travel-sized mah jongg.

While the boys worked their way through the clues for a treasure hunt that Andy made.

We made them run all over.

We had to tire them out, right?

The final clue led them to the old pine tree up the mountain where their bounty awaited.
The next day, not only did Beau and Amanda surprise us by showing up, but we also had another visitor.

A young bull moose.

He grazed about 50 yards away from our cabin while we had our final night of marshmallow roasting.

Good times.

The Cabin-Day 2

Every morning after breakfast we always hike up to the water tower. It is about a mile hike, so a perfect distance for little ones, especially when you are at 6500 ft and your body is used to being at only 900 ft elevation. Love the view.

Ewan walked hand in hand with Pappy.

Abric and Daddy had fun on the hike.

It was so nice to go to the cabin and to just get away from the hustle and bustle of life. To slow down and to "live deliberately".

I went to the woods because I wished to live deliberately, to front only the essential facts of life, and see if I could not learn what it had to teach, and not, when I came to die, discover that I had not lived.

Henry David Thoreau, Walden (1854)

The Cabin-Day 1

Ahhhhh (sigh)....the cabin. A trip to Utah isn't complete without a trip up to our family cabin in the Uintah mountains. Harrison made sure it was cobweb-free. Thanks, little buddy.
Happy Birthday, Dad! We love you and the boys love their Pappy Gibbs. (And we loved that strawberry cream pie.)
Sugar over-load? Not problem. After the pie, we went outside to roast marshmallows. The coals were ready, after all, and you can't let some good coals go to waste.
No, you cannot. My dad is the master marshmallow roaster. He has reached Jedi status, if you will. He has taught his children well. Beau roasted this beauty.

Cabin pics

Here are some pics from our trip to the cabin in the Uintahs. Enjoy!

Wild Roses

Our morning hike to the water tower before breakfast. This is how Ewan hikes. "Pappy, hold you."
We're only at 8200 feet!
The boys overlooking Soapstone Basin. Jamie, Jens, and Zach in the same spot 26 years ago.

(Sorry, Beau, you were just a twinkle in our parent's eye.)

Grandma, Pappy, and the Coy Boys.
Our growing family.
Zach and Stacie.

Indian Paintbrush

Lost Lake

(Click on photo to enlarge.)
Harrison, Zane, Grandma, Pappy, and Andy hiked all the way around Lost Lake while I stayed with Ewan as he napped. We figured it was about a 3 mile hike. I was so proud of my boys!

Great Grandma and Grandpa Gibbs and my cousins, Amber and Janelle, joined us for dinner that night.
Doesn't every family dinner have a kids table?

We had a nice picnic feast. . .
Andy got his footrub from Janelle. . .

and for dessert, S'mores!
Great Grandma and Grandpa Gibbs with Ewan.

I always have had such happy memories at the cabin. It was an awesome trip!

Going to the Cabin

We had a happy surprise visit from my cousin Jared who was down visiting from Spokane. I haven't seen him in a couple years. Zane, as you can see, bonded with him immediately.
Andy and Dad packed up the van. You could say it was packed to the max: 7 people, plus luggage, food, and climbing gear.
Jens and Tiffany were already up at the cabin. It was fun to visit with them. The little boys had fun playing in the ash in the fire pit.
Connor's cutie-pie face.

Ewan's messy hands.
Logan struck a pose. (He didn't get into the firepit until later that day.)
Dad, Jens, Tiffany, Zach, Stacie, and Andy went to go try some rock climbing. Too bad they forgot the ropes. (doh!) They just had to settle for some bouldering and a pretty view.

Here's the gang at the fire pit, stoking up the fire for some coals to make S'mores. (Note: no children got in the firepit after we started the fire.)