2019 currently Fall in Island Park

 Taking another break from catching up with the past in order to stay caught up with the present...

It’s Fall in Island Park and with that comes mixed weather and beautiful colors!

We have heard a bull elk bugling for weeks now in the trees across from the property and when we went for a walk in those woods, we came across a couple of small pines that had been shredded (bull elk rut activity) and lots of tracks. We also saw about five cow elk crossing the road ahead of us one day as we headed down to Elk Creek gas station.

Coyotes have been very vocal at night, almost nightly. And we have a resident badger that keeps digging holes into our banks around the cabin. Haven’t run into her/him yet thank goodness!

Mushrooms are coming up all over and the elk and deer like them a lot. Some they eat and some they avoid.

The Fall foliage color is already gone but it was so beautiful. We planted several stands of quakes around the property and a few of them actually turned this beautiful gold color seen on the bigger clump pictured here.

We are looking forward to the day when we have big stands of gold quakies on our land!

 The woodshed roof is finally finished...took a lot of days of work and some tense moments of terror but it’s ready for winter and not a moment too soon as you can see from the next couple of pictures.

The weather is very unsettled and we have had a few snow days where it’s pretty cold and miserable outside. There are hardly any other people up here now and the local restaurants are closing up for the winter. There are still a few that we go to when we are tired from working and I don’t want to cook.

The mountains are misty most mornings and then on clear days, the sky brightens up and the air is crisp.

The other day we were very happy to see that an owl is using our property for it’s hunting grounds. It really helps keep the ground squirrels and the bats from taking over.

We have seen piles of little bones around, what’s left of the owl’s digestion. Owls make a huge mess! But it’s a small price to pay for the extermination service.

I like how this little guy is staring at me through the window. He looks a  lot like Mafia!

Woodshed

I thought I’d mention our experience with our woodshed that we are “modifying “ up at the cabin...

I guess I should mention that Kevin and I retired this past March so we have “ all the time in the world” to do these horrible projects... as though we don’t have enough to do with finishing our master bedroom and bath!
Anyway, we had this shed built to house the wood that we will eventually use in our wood burning stoves. But it doesn’t have any porch roof or any overhangs to keep the snow off the sides of the shed. AND it doesn’t match our cabin or garage so we had the builders leave the siding and roofing off so we could put our own on. When it’s done, I’ll be glad..
So Kevin designed and built overhangs on the sides and back of the shed. He will build the porch roof next year on the front.
Everything would have been just peachy if Kevin hadn’t hurt his right arm (tennis elbow). I naively said I would help him with whatever he needed to do on the shed. Little did I realize that meant actually having to physically work HARD basically all day every day for five days, climb up onto the roof, climb up into the rafters inside, handle drills and drivers, carry 4x8 sheets of plywood along with Kevin, combat sun, wind, torrential downpours, and insects of every  description!
I learned a lot about what I can tolerate and what I can’t. Kevin learned that about me too:/
At one point I lost my sh*t and cried “I just want I go home...”
Today, we finished the roof as far as the extensions and the weather proofing. The only thing we need to do before we go back to Boise is wrap the shed with tyvek house wrap.
The actual roofing and siding will be another trip. Hopefully Kevin’s arm will feel a whole lot better by then!!

Tamarack trip

All of us decided to get out of Boise for a weekend in February and rent a cabin up at Tamarack. It was so fun! Cold and snowy but cozy.

Anna got to hang out with Chelsie and Michael and get used to Michael’s funny faces. She loved interacting with him. 

Chelsie got some cuddle time in…

And we all went for some amazing walks on the groomed trails around the area. It was a special weekend because we hardly ever get a chance for all of us (with our busy schedules) to get together for this long. It was almost like Christmas again!

Tamarack has fallen on hard times since the housing and real estate bust in 2008-2009 but they still rent these making cabins.

 

Anna turns One!

 

Ann has turned One! So fast. She was very excited to see all the balloons and presents. The cake was a hit (a turtle that looked just like her pacifier turtle) and she loved pulling stuffed animals and toys out of bags. She got the hang of that right away!

She wasn’t thrilled with her headband though…it didn’t last long.

Polina and Jasper are having so much fun with her. She’s typically pretty happy. And when she isn’t, her pacifier does the trick almost every time.

She loves her stuffed animals and likes banging them together for some reason, one in each hand. She also loves the family dog Bentley. Likes to hang out with him on his pillow in the living room. She’ll put her head on his legs or his back and Bentley just sits there. He’s such a good dog.

2018

 

Kevin and I took a trip to San Diego early in January to visit my Uncle Dennis (a surprise gift from Kevin for Christmas). Dennis was recently diagnosed with Parkinson’s Disease and it really hit me hard. That’s what my mom had and it was still so fresh in my mind what she went through that I felt very strongly that I wanted to see him. 

We visited with them for a day and then spent the night there. They have a beautiful home and it was so nice to see them. Dennis was really doing well.

The rest of the time, Kevin and I stayed at a nice hotel in La Jolla. We went to the beach to see the sea lions and also on a winery tour, which was really fun.

We got a little tipsy but that was kinda the point. So beautiful there.

My mom loved La Jolla and I couldn’t help but think of her the whole time we were there. She used to love going down to see the sea lions and just listen to the waves. It was her favorite thing to do. So this post is dedicated to you, mom!

Late 2017

 It’s the holidays once again and we are gearing up. I made these dolls for Anna (for Christmas) out of a kit. Then I embroidered a few spots to add detail. They turned out super cute. I love it when I can make gifts instead of buying them. It’s so much more fun to give.

The annual Ladies Brunch was another special one because Jeri and Annette were able to come! I love it when they can be here for it. We decorated mini Christmas trees again. A repeat craft but everyone seemed to enjoy it. 

Annette is in the background there :) Heather came as well and really enjoyed herself.

Love these girls!

Swimming lessons

Anna is in swimming lessons and she couldn’t be any cuter!

Grandpa is holding her for a minute while Jasper and Polina get all the other things ready for the lesson. It’s pretty basic at this age. I was worried they’d push her under water and make her “swim” on her own like I’ve seen videos of!

But it was very friendly and gentle. Jasper held her the entire time and she looked vey comfortable.

She loved going after the floating toys. 

Catch up post 2017 (4.0) warning graphic x rays of broken bones!

 As the title suggests, one of the more traumatic things that happened this year was Chelsie’s jet ski accident involving her and a friend up at Island Park reservoir. 

Chelsie and Michael were up to the cabin with friends and they rented jet skis for the day. Chelsie and her friend Jessica were criss crossing and going in circles when Jessica accidentally ran into Chelsie. The front ski on Jessica’s machine hit Chelsie’s leg and shattered the lower bones. Chelsie managed to stay on her jet ski but Jessica was thrown into the water.

Long story short, Michael got them to shore (swam out to them and retrieved Jessica’s ski, towed Chelsie’s ski in, then went back out for Jessica). There were some campers near by that happened to be search and rescue people so they took Chelsie off her ski and kept her safe and warm until paramedics arrived. She was helicoptered to Idaho Falls and had surgery that same night.

Michael then had to get Jessica and Andy to a hotel (which Jasper had arranged), grab all their belongings and the two dogs and head down to Idaho Falls. What an ordeal!

Here’s Chelsie after her surgery. She was on a lot of pain meds. Kevin and I drove over to Idaho Falls as soon as we heard about her accident.

This picture impressed the hell out of my coworkers! The surgeon did a great job pinning the tibia. It took months of rest and physical therapy to get her back to normal functioning. But we all feel she’s lucky to be alive and to have the use of her leg again!

JuJu decided she had a hurt leg too and needed to put it up on a pillow!

Catch up post 2017 (3.0)

 A really nice thing happened in April when Polina’s parents were able to come visit for about six weeks! We got together with them several times during their stay. One of the activities we did was to go up to Ponderosa State Park and do some walking.

It was so nice to have them here. Polina is back at work now so her parents were able to keep Anna with them for the whole time they were here. 

Jasper with Anna. Anna loves her “sosha”, her pacifier.

Anna had to have her eyes dilated to check for a possible abnormality but she was fine. She wasn’t too happy with the pediatric ophthalmologist though!

Time with Grandpa

Catchup post 2017 (2.0)

 Second post for 2017

Anna continues to grow and develop her little personality. We are all in love with her! Aunt Chelsie loves to hold her and talk to her. It’s so sweet to watch her with Anna.

Anna loves to be on the floor play matt as long as she’s facing up. She HATES tummy time and cries to be turned over.

I’ve started taking oil painting classes at a local art store. It’s really fun and rewarding. The teacher, Fred Choate is very patient and goes through his set up and painting technique every time. His repetition is very important because it’s so easy to get off track. I’m really excited to be learning a new medium. I was so discouraged with watercolors but was intimidated by oils. Fred makes it understandable and doable.

The painting above was one of the first I really liked. And the rooster is my first attempt at painting animals. Annette liked it so much she wanted to have it for her kitchen (which is chicken themed).

I’m on a path that will hopefully lead to my selling some of my work. In any case, I love oils and can’t imagine trying to go back to water colors.

I’ve met a couple of people in art class and feel like this is a great way to make friends. It takes time though. There are many people who come one or two times to class and then never show up again. So the “regulars” don't take any trouble to know you or talk to you until you’ve shown up enough to prove that you’re serious.

It is frustrating to learn a new skill. Fred says that the brain develops an “eye” for what is supposed to be there but the body struggles to catch up. So when you make mistakes, the brain knows it but the body can’t seem to figure out how to fix it. So you get frustrated trying to fix something that is beyond your capability.