06 | February | 2017 | Over The Backyard Fence

It’s time for my annual family cabin blog. Since we started renting a cabin each winter back in 2002, this was our fifteenth annual weekend! This year was also extra special because we needed to heal as a family. After losing my mother last August, my Dad passed away in early January. He was 89 going on 16, and we called him the Energizer bunny because he had so many medical problems, but just kept going, and going, and going. 🙂 I will miss my pinochle partner, but I am so happy for the life he had that I got to be part of.

Anyhow, all the sadness in our lives made our time together at the cabin even more special. All five of our kids made it this year, as well as 3/4ths of our grandchildren. So we were eighteen strong. This particular cabin has a bunk house with a gym, which was kind of a life-saver this year as it was bone-chillingly cold. Our first night there, it got down to one degree Fahrenheit (minus 17 Celsius). And that was without the chill factor. Brrrr.

So there was a lot of badminton, basketball, and volleyball playing. As well as dragging the youngest around the court on exercise mats.

Their laughter echoed through the gym and brought smiles to all.

We played games. Sorry, Farkle (aka Zilch or Ten Thousand), Hearts. Worked puzzles. Ate, ate, and ate some more.

Some even braved the cold to snowshoe and sled.

I took this picture. That was about as much time as I wanted to spend outside this year. I love the snow, but picked up a bad cough right after Dad passed away, so needed to stay inside.

And we watched the deer and wild turkeys from our deck:

Remember that crocheting project I was talking about? Here’s my granddaughter and I as I’m teaching her to crochet a headband in the colors of her favorite football team. Success!

We didn’t take a group picture this year. We just relaxed and enjoyed each other. I did manage to corral the grandkids for a pic.

So another successful cabin adventure. I am more than grateful that we all still try to do this every year, and I hope we get at least fifteen more under our belts. 🙂 2017, for me personally, started getting better with that weekend. I’m slowly moving my gaze forward and upward and am looking forward to many good things for the rest of this year. I hope you all are able to do that, also.