Feast At Keesic Cabin

Robert is preparing the goose  (and hot dogs!)

Phyllis is preparing a big Jackfish to be baked

Auntie Helen is preparing her famous bannock!

Bannock Patties ready to fry

Frying...

Christine made the goose, then turned it into stew..

Jackfish baking over the fire..

While some cooked others were busy putting a roof on the porch

Tea

Moose nose.... (I didn't try this!!!)

What a wonderful feast!  Everything was so tasty!  

Thank you Mike and Helen for having all of us out to your cabin for a fun day!
Full of new learning experiences for my family!

Fiddleheads

 Check out youtube for videos on how to wash and prepare Fiddleheads.
We tried it this weekend. They taste similar to asparagus.  I really enjoyed them with fresh Walleye!
Make sure you don't get the ones with white fuzzys on them. They are not edible.
The kind with the "brown paper bag"  look are the ones that you want.

Trevor and Daddy's trip to the cabin

My sweet Dylan...

Dylan feel off a dock, about 6 feet.  He broke his elbow at the growth plate.
We had many trips to Thunderbay.  At least the first trip was Dylan's first airplane ride!

My Beautiful Family!

Our Family on the Skating rink 2011 December

My Big 4 year old!  Dylan

Tia with her friend Jamie and Cousin Logan

Alabama and her friend Meaghan

Trevor and his cousin Scotty

Thanks to Stephanie Wright for taking the colorful pictures!

Merry Christmas!

The song "to us a Child of Hope is born, to us a Son is given..." is going through my head.
What would we be without hope?  When I see the expressions on my childs innocent faces I remember the hope that filled my heart as a child.
Gradually the trials in life started slapping me in the face trying  to steal away my hope.
Some days it sure worked, I've had my days of feeling hopeless.  More so than not, but this time of year I am reminded of the hope of Heaven.  
You know with all the stink about not saying "merry Christmas"  , or if you watch the news at all you soon realize that not everyone has the same point of view as you do.  That is okay!  We are free to believe what we want.

I choose to cling to the hope that Jesus came to this earth as a baby, died on the cross for my imperfections and sins and was raised to life again, Giving us HOPE!

Without that hope I don't know why I'd want to go on with life.
 Life is Hard!  It is full of hurt and pain.  Conflicts and fighting, it makes me sick in my stomach.

An innocent child has hope!  Until life starts to hurt too much....

I don't know about you, but through my journey I've clung to the HOPE I've found in Jesus!
Life is such a journey.  I'm sure glad that God doesn't expect us to be perfect. To have it all together.
To understand everything,   We'd never make it.  Through God's love and forgiveness,  I am drawn to Him.  May you find Hope in Him this Christmas season.

"He will wipe every tear from their eyes.  There will be no more death or mourning or crying or pain, for the old order of things has passed away." Revelations 21:4

Winter is here to stay

This picture was taken last week....

After a week inside, winter is here to stay!
Today was my first time out since Music class on Monday night.  It is absolutely gorgeous out there.   Could it be because I've been stuck inside all week?  Maybe, but the sun is shining and it is pretty!

This is taken this morning, you can see the lake is starting to freeze over.

The pit that filled up with water

Meet Velvet  or as Trevor says,  "Melvet"or "Melva"

A load of kids going to the mine "ruins"

Exploring

Iron ore pellets

Old loading station on the old railroad

A lesson in life, this closed down about 30 years ago, the value of this place was incredible until most of the non renewable resources were taken out.  Now it if left for.....?  No value, at least not to the people who once mined it.  

Makes me ponder life.  Just how in 30 years of neglect this place looks so worthless. 

If we don't take care of ourselves, our bodies, we neglect to care for ourselves how do we "Look" after 30 years?  Hmmmm.....

Anyway, just thinking.....  any thoughts?

Griffith Mine

This weekend we went with our little troop out to an old mine to go camping.
We had heard about it, but had never checked it out. What a neat place to explore.
This town is all about Gold mines, but this mine was apparently an Iron Ore Mine.
I'd like to do a little reseach about this mine, because it looks like it has been deserted forever.  Then Jeff informed me that it closed down in the 80's.  "Oh," I think, "that's not very long ago, why do all the buildings look like a ghost town?"  Then I realized that the 80's was 30 years ago.!!!
Wow, It gave me something to think about for sure!  




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Snake in the playground :D

This is what the guys and Tia were up to while we girls were scrapbooking!

Yuck! I'm glad I was scrapbooking!

Video of Ice Crystal Day!

Ice Crystal Day!

Jeff's birthday  Jeff  and Alabama 

Jeff grilling for the first time this spring!

I love this day, I am naming it "Crystal Day!"
It is the days, that the ice thaws enough to create Ice Crystals by the dock, but
it goes quickly, soon it is too far away to play in!
Last year it came and went to fast and we missed it!

Dylan feeling the cold water!

Alabama having a blast with the crystals!

Tia trying to get the ice a little closer to the dock for Dylan

Trevor thought it was soooo warm!  

This is what it looks like.  

Otter Ride

Tax season!

A relief, I am all finished for the year!

Just put the finishing touches on the GST/HST forms tonight.

Hopefully I've learned enough over the years that this years attempt to be organized with all those

reciepts make next years Tax season a bit more bearable.

I love Turbo Tax though, soooo much easier than a calculator and a pen!

We have just come through a very complicated tax season, selling one portion of our business.

And starting another, or continuing...

We said good bye to the Otter!  

What a fun and profitable adventure that was.  I am so thankful to be able to have come through the experience of starting a business, and selling it.  Jeff really enjoyed that, but it was time to pass it on.

Now we are....

J. Yutzy Flooring

It is official, well, it has been for about a year.

Just this week Jeff had a few shirts made up with his logo on it.

We will do this until we know what the next step is....

We are waiting..... for some answers......

In the meantime ..

I placed in the mail today our application for Canadian Citizenship!  

After 12 years of living here, I guess it is time.

Jeff has been here since the 70's!  I think he deserves to be a citizen!

So much legal stuff on my mind today... 

I'm glad I'm not an accountant.... I would not be very happy!

Dylan 2, Trevor 4,  Bama 6 and Tia 9
Summer 2010

The day the trailer pulled out of our driveway!
Last summer 2010

Our Otter Ride Logo!
Les Fabian our former neighbor in Madsen designed and painted it.





Below is a picture of what is to come soon!  I will try to post pictures as soon as I have them of this sucker season!

Sucker Fishing will soon be here!
Trevor and his cousin Scotty 2 years ago!