Taking it easy for the winter

The boys playing at the pond on our 75 degree day in december

Snow starting to fall.... looking towards a deer feeder

Frank and Amber on one of there first weekends here together

Siding and the start of our porch

Winter of 2007/2008

Mike, Frank, and Rich have really made this cabin feel like home. I can not believe how much they have done with so little time to work. They added a front porch, windows, and a woodburning stove right in time for winter.

We spent some great long weekends at the cabin over the winter and thanks to them no one froze. I never would have thought that we would be able to be there during the winter, but it has proven to be some of our favorite times.

Goodbye to the Outhouse!

I think the fall of 2007 included my favorite addition....yes that is the outhouse burning! Since Frank is a plumber, of course the plumbing was added right away. The Septic System did not come until November (we had to remove some large trees), and from what I am told, it was the worst phase of the process so far, but well worth it!

Next Phase...Summer 2007

Once they got through build week, it was amazing how fast things started to happen. By the end of that week we went from sleeping in the camper to sleeping inside! The next steps included interior walls, shingles, and a front door!

I should not forget to mention all the great friends and family we had come to visit...yes Mike turned 30 and of course we had to have a party! Jackson Lake is only a couple miles away so we spent some time fishing with the kids too. Here are some pics of our progress throughout the summer of 2007.

Build week May 2007

Mike, Frank, and Rich took a week off from work and built the walls, took delivery of and installed the roof trusses, put up the roof decking and tar papered. They also found time for a round a golf and as always had plenty of cold "POPS".This was one heck of a hot week, hovering around a 100 degrees all week.WE end the week with a cook out on memorial day.

constuction continues

Finally the weather was getting warmer and we were able to all get out and get some work done. Here the post already have concreted in , so we start on the beams, floor joists and laying the floor.The front of our cabin endedup being about 5 feet off of the ground in the front and level to the ground in the back.

Major Progess in 2007

April 21, 2007--Exactly 1 year to the date of purchasing the property, we broke ground. We had many family and friends their to help us set the posts of our new cabin. That was one of the most difficult steps of building, but it wasn't as bad with lots of people to have fun with. I think that this was the first time that I could really invision how this was going to work. Mike and Frank invisioned the cabin standing in thick woods before it was even ours. Wow, was their vision right on! Below are some pictures of our first building days. Thanks to all of you who helped!

Land for Hunting and Camping?

In the beginning Frank and Mike talked about buying some land to hunt and camp on. Which we did. But, after several weekends of camping in the cold (with a generator that ran out of gas once) they began to shift to talk about building a cabin. I did not complain once I found out we would have indoor plumbing. (Below is our outhouse--try using that in the winter--not fun! Here is a picture of Mike in his hunting gear and a picture of "Beaver Creek". There is a pond at the back of our property that was formed by beavers building a damn at the base of a creek that runs through our property. It needs a lot of work so we can fish there someday. But, that is where the name Beaver Creek was formed.

2006 and the beginning of 2007 was a lot of fun--and a lot of work. We had many family members and great friends come to visit. We spent many days at the near by lake. The guys cut down hundreds of trees to clear about 3/4 acre for our cabin plans. How many people can say that they watched TV outside. I won't go into the stories of the antenna that pierced the top of the TV in our efforts to get a clearer picture...

February 2006

On Presidents Day, February 19, 2006 we (Mike, Frank and I) decided to take a drive to see a piece of land that we found on the internet. We had no idea how many memories were to follow that 90 mile drive to Oak Hill . That day, we took a hike through the 17 acres of woods and decided to make it ours. Here are some of the first photos that begin to show the progress we made to make it ours. We have cut down many trees, slept in tents, and finally moved up to a camper (even in the cold.)