Cabin Trip with Fonbuenas

Every year we have a tradition of going to the cabin with the Fonbuenas.  This tradition started at least 6 years ago when we had our first cabin at Mack's Inn.  I miss the old cabin!  We would pack 17-20 people into a little cabin and bunk house with one bathroom, and somehow everyone was happy.  (you can do anything for a weekend).  The best part of the old cabin was that it was close to the water and the kids could run down and play whenever.

Look how little they were!

One of our favorite traditions that we still do is to go on an early morning "girls float" when the water is still misty and no one else is out.  It's fantastic!

We still manage to have fun at the new cabin!  Here's Braeburn and the girls playing soccer out back.

After church we decided to go take family pictures.  We almost got eaten by spiders and fell into several gopher holes, but survived.  (You can see that only Mr. Bechtel and I stayed in our sunday clothes.... I remember now there was a small rebellion on that point and I lost!)

Fonbuenas posing.  Leslie and Nathan are on missions here.

When we got done we looked behind us, and this is how the boys were entertaining themselves.  

I'm looking forward to summer!

Braeburn Turns 18

How could 18 years go by so quickly?  I remember holding Braeburn right after he was born, looking at his perfect little hands and feet, just like it was yesterday.  The midwife asked if I would go through the whole process again, and I remember thinking that was such of dumb question.  Of course I would. 

Braeburn taught Mr. Bechtel and me how to be good parents, how to put others before ourselves.  I dropped out of college after he was born because I couldn't bear to leave him.  When he was one I thought maybe I could take a class or two and leave him with friends.  No way.  Neither of us was happy.  I realized then that no amount of formal education could compare with what I was learning every day being a mom.  

We went on lots of walks, read thousands of stories, and played with blocks and puzzles for hundreds and hundreds of hours.  I don't regret a single second of that time.  They are choice, precious memories to me.  We grew up together.    

Now, here he is, 18, and ready to head off to BYU.

He requested creme puffs for his birthday.

May all your best wishes come true!

Favorite Eagle Pictures

The Spy Twins helping Braeburn paint and stain his sign.

Testing out the flagpole.  Grandpa donated a flag to the cause and it worked just perfectly.

When the project was almost finished, the head of the Iona Historical Society, ZoAnn Simmons, came over to check on everything.  She said she had been working for over 3 years on the old tithing house to turn it into the museum, and this was the first definite sign of progress she'd seen.  Then she started to cry and gave Braeburn a big hug.  Just her gratitude was enough to make it feel like a worthwhile project.

The finished project.

2nd Eagle Scout Work Party

Braeburn gave the concrete several days to cure and then on tuesday night for mutual, the young men -  and Golden Delicious - came over to help him finish the project.

First, they attached the rope to a screw type thing at the top of the pole (Grandpa's good engineering) and then slipped the pole into the ground pole.  It fit perfectly, and the flag pole was 18 feet high.

 Putting in the rope holder thing.  (I am challenged for appropriate technical words!)

 Mr. Bechtel and the other leader getting part of the sign level.

The Eagle Project

Braeburn's 18th birthday was happening this summer, and so, not wanting to rush into anything, he started his eagle project in May.  After jumping through lots of hoops he came up with the perfect project:  Build and install a flag pole and a sign for the Iona Historical Society.  Figuring out how to build a flag pole for low cost (he provided all the materials) was the trickiest part.  We went to steel shops, and called custom places and everything was way too expensive.  Luckily Grandpa helped him figure that out.  They got a 20 'length of 1 1/2 " galvanized plumbing pipe and an 8' length of 2" pipe.  The idea was to set the short, larger piece in cement, and then slide the smaller, taller piece in as the flagpole. 

 He also found a cabinet shop that would carve the letters into the sign he built. After he got final approval, the actual construction part took only two days.  

Early Saturday morning Mannie Sanchez brought his tractor over and dug Braeburn three holes;  one for the flagpole and two for the sign.

Here is Braeburn finishing digging the holes.

Figuring out how deep to set the first pipe.  I think they put at least 4' underground.

Braeburn's best buddy, Spencer, helping with the cement.  Spencer is an absolute gem.  

And the mother's contribution:  Donuts.

Bear Lake

For the 4th of July we went down to Bear Lake with some friends.  We went to the little community parade , and then had a cookout at their cabin on the lake.  They had a huge water trampoline you could jump off of into the lake which was a blast.  Braeburn got very sunburned and we all had a great time.

I don't have any fun pictures of that.  Only boring family pictures.  Sorry!

Random Reunion Tidbits

Gravenstein making a Perfect Cobbler.

(It was done perfectly, not burnt, and had none of that "icky cast iron taste" Grandma doesn't like.

Grandpa with the child who has two names.

Baby Check-Up

and just to keep it realistic:

Mr. Bechtel, attached to his phone

Family Reunion Hike

Grandpa came up with the perfect hike for all of us - even the little kids could trek along.  Cousin B. brought his bike to coast down the hills.  

Prairie Spy, Loaded for Bear. 

 Well, not really.  It's just a coolness factor thing and for target shooting.

Stopping for Lunch along the Trail.

The Patriarch and Matriarch of the Clan.  

(Ma and Pa Sackett)

 The Scenery.

(We were right on the Idaho-Montana border)

Keep on Hiking.

(Only 5 more "norms" to go!)

Family Reunion 2011

We have family reunion every other year, and this was my year to plan the event.  Our cabin in Island Park is right next door to a huge lodge.  Last year the lodge owner called to see if he could borrow our cabin when he had his family reunion.  (even though it's a huge lodge he still needed more room).  In probably my only bit of brilliant negotiating ever, I arranged to swap him time for time.  When I found out he charges over $900 a night I was even happier.

We had a great time.  The food was especially good - as you can see from the Spy Twins here.  The only inconvenient part was that the water was not safe for drinking because of all the snow melt so we had to use bottled water.

The lodge also has this very strange picture of the prophet Joseph.  I just had to include it too.

More on Rolf

Just for posterity, I think I'd better write down what Braeburn wrote for his biography in

The Sound of Music. 

This is where he is supposed to write lovely things about himself, how skillful he is as an actor, and the names of all the other productions he has been in.  Then bored theater goers can flip through their program and read about the cast while they're waiting for the play to finally start.

I quote:

"Braeburn has lived the majority of his life in Idaho Falls.  After a relatively uneventful childhood, he was bullied by his female friends and relations into musical theater.

Although he has forgiven them, most audiences never will.

When he is not busy, he participates in his school choir and mows lawns.  Although he is a rather poor actor, he has won several awards as an amateur filmmaker. 

He has no ties with the Nazi Party." 

.

Braeburn as Rolf

The Hills are Alive.... with the Sound of Music!

This summer Braeburn was bitten by the acting bug.  We did not know this bug existed for Braeburn, who is normally extremely taciturn.  We suspect there was a girl involved somehow... but since he's so taciturn, we still don't know for sure.

Anyway, he decided to go try out for the community musical.  He was only going to be a member of the chorus.  He came home and described the whole process for us while making himself an enormous snack of some kind.  (At one point he was going to write a best seller about teenage cooking using only things like tortillas and cheese as ingredients - sort of a "survival because there is never any food around here" kind of a book, but I digress.)  He said he was slightly nervous, because as he was singing his tryout song he heard a bit of the "mellow richness" coming through.  Then they asked him to read the part for Rolf.  

Sure enough, several weeks later, when the parts were posted, Braeburn was listed as Rolf.  

The Spy Twins got a big kick out of this whole event because it involved dancing and singing with a girl on stage - something none of them was ever, ever going to do.

When opening night came I didn't know what to expect.  Braeburn told us not to even come.  Right!  My brother, Winesap,  even came up from Utah to support the budding star. 

Well, he was fantastic!  Mr. Bechtel and I just kept looking at each other the whole night with our mouths wide open.   We only missed 1 night of the 4 night run, and Rolf was a huge hit.  Braeburn actually had a great time - not to mention that he had all these girls suddenly wildly in love with him.  

This year the musical is Seven Brides for Seven Brothers.... We'll have to see what happens.  

What Fictional Character Do I Identify with Most??

Cocoa, over at Chocolate on My Cranium, asked this question today.

She thought it was hilarious her children would joke with her about being Ma Kettle.  I can relate to Ma Kettle!  I LOVE the descriptions of Ma Kettle in the original book, The Egg and I, by Betty MacDonald.  Ma is gracious, loving, and kind in a household of absolute chaos.  I can't really say, though, that my life is anything like hers though, because my husband is very kind and helpful, and I'm not plagued by stinky outhouses and escaping bulls, etc.

My all time favorite mom is Nell McLaughlin from the My Friend Flicka trilogy by Mary O'Hara.  I don't think I'm very much like her, but I relate to her exactly.  When we lived in Wyoming we went to the Goose Bar Ranch where Mary O'Hara wrote her stories, and it was exactly as I imagined it.

In one book, Nell is so tired of the cold, and the wind, and the barrenness of a Wyoming winter, she walks down to where the railroad crosses their land and watches as the train flies by on its way to California.  She sees little squares of light flash by with picture vignettes of people inside.  They are laughing and dressed for dinner.  Then she walks back to her ranch house in the dark, cold night.  I've lived in Wyoming and that scene seems so vividly real to me.  I'm sure Mary O'Hara did that in real life many times.

My favorite thing about Nell, though, is her sensitivity to her boys and their needs.  She is tender, caring, and yet allows them to grow up.  I always thought Maureen O'Hara should have played the mom in the movie, with Brian Keith as Rob, the husband.  Sort of a Parent Trap on the Wyoming Ranch.  That would have been a great combination.

Crabapple Farm in Summer

Every summer we rent a skid steer to clear out the barn.  Then we put all the old compost into the fantastic old manure spreader and fertilize the fields.  The manure spreader actually works!  Not only is it  great for photo shoots, but it also is an honest to goodness manure spreader.

Last fall our grass in the lawn was in a very sad state.  Our sprinkler system was broken and the lawn really needed to be fertilized.   We happened to be cleaning out the barn that weekend and so we decided to use the compost on the lawn instead of on the fields.  

Mr. Bechtel drove around and around the house spraying clumps and globs of compost all over the grass.  I followed with a rake and tried to spread it evenly.  It looked terrible, but we just ignored it.   Three weeks later the composted just disappeared into the grass, the grass greened up and it looked like we'd had chem-lawn come spray. 

I decided I wasn't doing any new chickens this year.... ha ha ha.  Well, we had a hen go broody back in the barn.  She waited and waited and none of her eggs hatched.  Finally I took pity on her, and without going out to the barn to check on her, I blithely drove to the feed store, bought 5 little chickens and came home.  I was going to tuck them under her and make all her dreams come true.  When I went to the barn she had given up and left her nest!  She had no interest in the babies.  So, then I was stuck with 5 chickens to raise myself.  I decided If I was raising 5, I might as well raise 20, so I went and got some more from the feed store, and then everyone was happy.  Then I sold the old hens, and since the new hens weren't laying yet, I had to buy eggs at the grocery store for the first time in 4 years.  They taste awful and are a very sickly yellow color.  Ughh.  We're very spoiled with our beautiful brown eggs.

Birch Creek

Remember back when Golden Delicious and I were trying to take care of Cindy the cow and her new born calf by ourselves?  This is what the boys were doing....

They were just having a terrible time, I know.  So terrible, that when they got home, Mr. Bechtel went right out and bought a fly rod, and vest, and whatever else a true fly fisherman needs.  He loved it.  

Birch Creek is a beautiful, beautiful stream, and I can hardly wait to have Mr. Bechtel show me how to fly fish this summer. I wouldn't care about catching fish at all.  I would just love to stare at the water, and let my troubles slip downstream.

The Big Concert

Wow!

Miss Golden Delicious and I just want to say that Michael Buble really is just as fantastic in real life as he is on the radio.  We had so much fun at the concert in Boise!  

We drove over with friends, went to the concert, stayed at a hotel, went shopping the next day, and last but not least, went to the cheesecake factory.

I ended up standing by a guard at the gate for awhile because we had to take our HUGE camera back to the car.  ( It wasn't allowed.)  And I had a nice conversation with the guard about concealed carry laws in Idaho.  (very interesting conversation)

Michael Buble is a phenomenal showman.  His opening number was "Cry Me a River" and Golden Delicious and I screamed like fanatic fans as the curtain opened.  We continued screaming for the rest of the night, and completely lost our voices - such groupies!  The lady we were with was not impressed with the music or anything, really, and we felt bad, but not bad enough to stop having a great time!

My only disclaimer is that Michael Buble's mother should have washed his mouth out with soap more when he was a child.  His language was terrible.  We just wanted him to stop talking and sing!

At the very end, after he came back for an encore, he sang two songs, and then sang "Singing My Song For You."  He took off all his mic's and sang without any backup or mics at all.  The entire audience went quiet and it was just him, singing his song to all of us.

It was fabulous.

Hail the Mighty Fisherman!

Granny Smith went with the Spy Twins and Mr. Bechtel up to Henry's Lake to do some fishing.  

Even though it was June, it was still VERY cold.  But it was all worth it, when he made his big catch.  Mr. Bectel also had good luck.   The Spy Twins saw that several big fish had gone up a little creek by the lake and so tried to catch them with their hands - to no avail.  The fish was yummy.

..... And now.... For the Rest of the Year!

Well, folks, after a very long siesta, I realized if I didn't jot down a few things about the rest of last year, I was going to forget everything!

Since my journaling is not so great, this is an important part of family memory documentation.  So, here we go with the second half of the year.