Lowes Kids Clinic

Ty, Grace, Eli, Kesse and Yvonne signed up for the kids clinic at the Lowes where Alys works, to build a racecar. I think there were a total of about 50 kids attending, and loud hammering was heard through-out the store for about 1 1/2 hours! The kids get goggles, an apron, the kit, a certificate and patch to keep. Some kids have over 10 patches sewn on their aprons, and come to the clinic regularly. Irene, Bud, and Tuff came along to watch the parents help the kids build their racecars. I hope that Grace, Ty and Eli become regulars at the clinics, it's so much fun for them! Click here to see more photos of the morning.

Sledding at Dr. Lawless Park!

Since warm weather was in the forecast Tuff wanted to plan a sledding/picnic day at Dr. Lawless Park. During the month of February they normally turn the outside flood lights on the sledding hill and are open late. They also have a wonderful pavilion with a huge stone fireplace with fire-wood provided! It's a great place to sled all day, and have a nice fire & warm food. So, Tuff did all the prep work, made the chili, loaded up the truck with sleds, food, grill, crock-pots, hot cocoa, and lots more!
The snow melted faster than anticipated, and there was a pond at the bottom of the hill, but even with the thin layer of snow the kids had no problems getting the sleds to move pretty darn fast! The park cancelled the lights due to the lack of snow, but we all stayed anyway and told scary stories in front of the fire. Kesse, Lauren, Drew, Elizabeth, Madison and Morgan had a great time, as did all of the adults. Here are some photos of the day. Thanks to Tuff for planning such a fun time!

TOO MUCH SNOW!!

Tuff headed up to the cabin after Pete called and said there was too much snow on the roof!
This has been a record year for snow, and our neighbor Pete said he hasn't seen this much snow at Wolf Lake for 25 years. Tuff headed up on a Wednesday and stayed until Saturday. He had to snow-blow all around the cabin first just to make a path to walk around it. He then used a snow-rake to pull the snow off. One of our other neighbors brought him an electric snow-blower to use on the roof, and that worked much better for him. It was just Tuff and Buddy on this trip, but we are planning on heading up late February or early March for about a week just to relax and maybe do some ice-fishing or 4-wheeling. Here are some of the snowy cabin photos!

Sledding Day!

Kesse, Lauren and Drew recently spent the night with us. We had a "build your own pizza" night, followed by a night-time sled ride! Tuff pulls the kids through some trails with the 4 wheeler, and Buddy is never far behind! Everyone had a blast! These are great memories being built, and it's going to be so much fun looking back at these photos years from now. Click here to see more!

Winter Scenery

We've really had alot of snow and record cold temps this year! We have gone from temps in the 30's with snow to temps that are -15 with wind chills of -20! We've also had a few mornings with freezing fog. Now that's something you don't see everyday! Here are some of Tuffs awesome nature photos.

Let It Snow!!

We had a pretty good snow recently, with a heavy frost. This was a perfect morning for some awesome photos! Tuff is becoming quite the photographer...check out his photos here.

Pheasant Hunting

Tuff, Scott, Perry, Cory & Dalton went Pheasant hunting at Rolling Hills in Marcellus Michigan. This was Scotts first time bird hunting, and also Cheese, Perry's Lab. Buddy has been hunting before and loves it! The snow was pretty deep and the birds were sitting tight under cover, but the dogs worked hard at flushing them out. A great time was had by all. Here are some photos of the day.

Ricks Deer

Rick is also an avid hunter and called Tuff over to see his deer. The guys were pretty lucky this year! Click here for photos.

Deer Hunting 2008

It's that time of the year again! Deer Season at the cabin. This has always been one of our favorite times; Tuff has a perfect hunting area on our 10 acres near the cabin, and I get to explore northern Michigan for new areas to Christmas shop! This year was very successful for Tuff, he got his Buck on opening day just after daybreak! He hasn't got a deer for a few years, so this is very exciting! We have some great friends at Wolf Lake that also hunt, they have land that joins ours, and the guys have fun sharing stories and planning the days strategy. Buddy loves to be at the cabin, too, and can't wait to go exploring. Click here for some photos of our annual hunting trip!

Annie Oakley (Lauren) & Wild Bill (Drew)

Lauren & Drew spent the weekend with us and had a blast learning how to shoot BB guns! Tuff had a safety session first, and then they got busy with the targets! They were both very good, and Lauren has earned the nickname "Annie Oakley"! She is a very good shot! Drew is good also, but not as accurate as "Annie". I'm sure with just a little more practice he will be knocking down those targets as fast as Lauren does! They had a great weekend, and Lauren showed her tree-climbing skills to us. She sure is some climber! Here are some fun photos of the weekend!

Sandhill Cranes & Amazing Acres with Kesse & Yvonne

If you ever get the chance to view the fall migration of the Sandhill Crane, do it! It's one of natures most amazing things to see. There are literally tens of thousands of Sandhill Cranes landing at the Jasper-Pulaski Fish & Wildlife Area in Medaryville, Indiana, between 4pm and sunset. The park is beautiful, and there is a large tower with ramp and platform that's big enough for many people to enjoy the view. You will also see many deer out feeding with the Cranes. Click here to hear the Sandhill Cranes. Here is a map of the Jasper-Pulaski park. And finally, here are some photos of our trip. We also stopped at a huge pumpkin farm which is just on the way, and you will also see some photos of our day at Amazing Acres corn maze in Michigan with Kesse & Yvonne. They were amazed at how the Cranes would just come out of nowhere and land in the fields.

Pumpkin Carving Party 2008!!

Our annual pumpkin carving family gathering was a huge success! Everyone had a great time carving, going on a hayride, bobbing for apples (even Murphy & Buddy got in on this event!) visiting, and of course enjoying all of the great food! Thanks everyone for making this a great day..we can't wait for next year, and we are already planning for some new fun things, so make sure you don't miss it! Click here for some great (and maybe scary) photos! UPDATE: You may have noticed that I added a photo to this post...I ran across the top photo of Madeline Leers (Mom) and Kesse carving pumpkins in 2002! They really had fun that day, and I thought everyone would enjoy seeing them.

Autumn at Wolf Lake, Kidders Cabin

This is probably our last trip to the cabin before the snow starts flying! It was a perfect weekend, and Scott, Micki, Grace, and the dogs, Toby and Sydney came for a visit. It was Graces' first time here, and we all had so much fun. I'm sure you'll enjoy the individual posts of our activities. Before you get to them, click here to see some beautiful fall colors! We took so many pictures, and had such great photo opps...click here to see them!

Graces' First Trip to Kidders Cabin!

This was Graces' first trip to the cabin. She had so much fun! I'm sure this will be the first of many more in the future! Grace was willing to explore and go anywhere we went. I think we have a future mushroom huntin', fishin' kayaking, campfire Kidder in the family! Click here to see more cute photos of Grace at Kidders Cabin!

Buddy, Sydney, Toby

I think the dogs had as much, or even more fun than we had!! They swam, fetched, played, took a boat ride, explored, and then started all over again. They were so exhausted after our 5 mile hike that they all flopped down and took a nap in the yard. It was so much fun watching them have fun! I'm sure they will be coming again, and Buddy will be looking forward to having his friends Toby & Sydney back. Click here for some hysterical photos!

A 5 Mile Hike

Another of our favorite things to do is to hike the 5 miles around wolf lake. Especially this time of the year. It's a great way to see all of the unique cabins and "trailer parks", and it gives the dogs a chance to meet some of the neighbors. All of the dogs did great, they all stayed right with us and we only had to put them on the leashes a few times when traffic got heavy. Click here for more photos.

Touring the Pine River Corridor

When you come to the cabin, you just have to take an hour and take a trip down the two-track that runs along the Pine River. It's a great way to see what the river is like without getting into a boat! The colors were awesome, and we had a great time exploring, looking for bears, and gathering stones, leaves, and bark for Graces' project! Click here to see our photos!

One Last Boat Ride!

We just had to take one last trip around Wolf Lake before taking the boat & pier out..besides, Grace just couldn't wait to drive! It was chilly, but a beautiful day for a cruise, and the dogs just loved it! I think it was Toby and Sydneys first time on a boat! Click here to see some more pictures.

The last of Hurricane Ike

The remnants of Hurricane Ike came through Elkhart September 13 & 14, dumping up to 12 inches total in some parts of northern Indiana and southwestern Michigan. Bud & Irene have lived on Christiana Creek since 1955 and have never seen the creek as high as it is. There are many lakes that feed the creek, and it continues to rise even today, 5 days after the rain stopped! Here at our house, the Washington ditch, which drains all of the farm fields around us flooded its banks and ran over the field next to us and flooded our pond. The Washington ditch went down back to it's normal level within just a few days. Click here to see some photos of the creek at Bud & Irenes house, and here at our house.

Late Summer at Kidders Cabin

We finally got a few days to go up to the cabin! It was so nice to be up there, even if it was only for a few days. We had not been up since early June, and were ready to get going! We had a couple of nice days to get some chores done, mainly mowing the grass and trimming some trees along the paths on the 10 acres. We also went on a sunset kayak trip on Wolf Lake, and got back just at dark. What a relaxing way to end a day! We also got to kayak the Pine River again. (see the post below) We had nice weather, and finally some rain! It's been dry up there, too. We also got to visit with Chuck & Joy and see the big Buck that Chuck got some photos of. (Of course, the location is top-secret!) We were sad to see our "Kidders Cabin" sign was missing. Leo & Bud made the sign for the cabin in 1996, and it was a treasured part of the cabin. We will have to make a new one to replace it, but it just won't be the same. Hopefully whoever took our original will return it one day. Click here for some photos of our trip.