Something Smells Fishy Around Here!

Out of curiosity, I am wondering if it’s possible to leave the ‘high country’, Greer, without fishing?! After much pondering, I’ve come up with the final answer…NO! I think it would be next to impossible (…well, unless the waters are iced over, but even with that harsh circumstance, I’m still not convinced).
This time, all three kids grabbed a pole with Daddy and Papa John and eagerly desired a catch in the ‘back lake’. What a true blessing we experienced because within the first 15 minutes, each kid’s pole had a bite that they successfully pulled in to shore! Isn’t that remarkably mind-blowing!
Baylee was the first…{so cool}. Although it ended weighing in as the smallest, it didn’t’ matter in her heart. Owen was next, needing a little help with reeling because his was enormous! He caught the biggest, weighing in over a whole pound! Nathan, our avid fisherman caught the final one then took them all back to the cabin and really had a blast, cutting, gutting, deboning, and playing with his finned friend’s eyeballs and heads! {Such a curious boy!}

4th of July Parade in the White Mountains

There is something about the ‘small town feel’ that I love. It’s as if we’re flashed back to the past and that’s exactly what we get each year when we watch the Springerville 4th of July parade. It’s a great start enjoying the holiday commemorating our magnificent country and being together as a Party of Five (plus two…Dad and Pat)!

A Thanksgiving Surprise!

Thanksgiving is my “dad’s holiday". It has been for 18 years or more that we’ve been with him and Pat. And for ten of those years, it’s been spent in Greer (even before my dad and Pat’s cabin, Mountain Spirit, was built), a truly beautiful place to be, especially for the holiday.

Usually we spend it with Pat’s kids too, but this year neither set could come. I was going to miss their absence.

My dad and Pat had other plans, sneaky ones! Without telling us, they talked to one of our dearest friends, the Keller family, and invited them to join our traditional long weekend and feast. As our van pulled into the lot, another van was before us, unveiling the surprise, and on the front deck, my dad, Pat, Tim, Lisa, Daniel, Benji, Ethan, and little Noah were all waving as the Kellers pulled in just 20 minutes prior. You should have seen my family’s faces in the van. I wish I had it in photo form! I don’t know how they pulled it off!
(The cabin was so warm and welcoming. This is the view from walking in.)

(Where we hang out, the family room)
(This is Barney the Bear, our mascot you can say...carved from a tree by the deck. He dresses for all occasions!)

We had a wonderful time altogether. We went Geo Caching, hiking, played frisbee golf, lots of games,

great conversation, cookouts by the fire, playing in the snow,




animal watching, go carting,






baking,
tree decorating,

and much more. The best part was… we were together and ever so thankful for kindred hearts.

This was another, never forgetting Thanksgiving celebration and I thank Dad and Pat from the bottom of my heart for their hospitality and love. I also thank the Keller's for leaving behind their family in the valley to warm our hearts. We were truly honored! It wouldn’t have been the same without you!





(I had to add this in here. It's "the guys" in the kitchen, doing dishes!)

Vacation Time

What a fantastic time away we all had! Being in Greer for six days and five nights was wonderful. Papa John (my dad) and Grandma Pat were amazing hosts to us, as usual and we had a lot of great laughs, smiles, yummy food, and times we will all put in our ‘memory banks’. Besides our Fourth of July activities (other blog entry), we did so much more, mostly outside to take in all the beauty and cooler weather!

First off, on Wednesday we all went fishing (well, Pat and I were spectators/cheerleaders). We have a little fisherman on our hands! Our Nathan was a fishing maniac! In the first 10 minutes he caught 3 trout and was jumping up and down for joy. My dad and Jon did well too, making the other fisherman around come asking for advice. Baylee too was a trooper, determined to catch one on a new fishing pole. Thank God her perseverance and patience paid off. Just minutes before we said we’d all be done, she got a ‘catch’. She’s very proud of the fact that she has the title of being the “first” to catch a fish off that pole! In the hour and a half that we were there, twelve fish were caught, pretty good, I’d say!


(No squeamish boy here. He loved having Papa teach him how to cut, clean, and cook his fish!)
(Nathan was very proud of the fact that he cut open the fish, right down to its "guts".)



We found some new sights in Greer, which is funny because I thought I knew that place inside and out. Little did we know that we could easily get to the backside of the lakes. What beautiful sights we saw, from a waterfall to a beaver swimming.


The beaver and fish weren’t the only animals we saw! We even had a bobcat in our front yard one evening, elk other nights, our customary chipmunks, squirrels,cattle, a coyote, and a new friend…a Horney toad, named Spikey! The kids were a little bummed that they didn’t get to see a bear yet, although we know they are in the close vicinity (and have been to the cabin before).

We pulled out the go cart for the first time to take up the hill in front of the cabin which was a lot of fun (except for hiking up the hill with it each time).



Baylee and Pat had some special "girl time" playing beauty shop and making some homemade, all natural popsicles for us all that were very yummy!

We also hiked, played in the rain, had our Frisbee golf competition, watched Enchanted and old Batman classic TV shows, Baylee and I crafted, we wrote letters, practiced our target shooting with the bow and arrow, hung new birdhouses with the kids' names on them, and much more. Once Jon and I got the kids tucked in for the night, we played Four Up Four Down (thanks April) and watched an entire season (3) of Lost.

Truly our time together as a family was a blessing and invigorating.