Let's start with a pig.... and end with a tour.

Last weekend we had a fantastic weekend at the cabin, and at the lake house in which my sister in law's family likes to visit a few times a year.  However, I am seriously kicking myself.  I took ZERO pictures.  Nothing of everyone swimming, or being pulled in a tube by a boat.  Or eating peanut butter pie at East Texas Burger (it seriously was the best piece yet.. but Mike keeps telling me I say that every time).  We had a smashing time!

But .... I finally took my camera out when the big finale of the weekend was when a few guys in the family & Maddie (Katie took off early) went hog hunting.  Then Mike shot a hog.  Actually, the rule was "Uncle Ben and Papa gets to shoot first" .... but Uncle Ben couldn't see the hog until he had the binoculars, so Maddie was told to take the shot.  Mike tells me she went to adjusting her hot pink ear plugs then settled in to take the shot.  Then she said "which side of the tree are they on?"  SHE couldn't even see the huge family of hogs either!  So Mike grabbed the gun out of her hands, and shot a piglet (aka.. a year and a half hog that weighs about 100 lbs).  He didn't want the big sow.

So our neighbor brings it over to us in his big green tractor (in the bucket), deposits it and Mike lifts it in the tree.  Then I was told "get your camera".  Now, we had an amazing moon at the same time, so I tried to do a little (snort) creative photography of what I'm sure is the ONLY picture known to mankind around of a moon and a pigs head. It's terrible, but here it is for your enjoyment.

My brother in law Ben with the hog 

 



 

OK ... now that the hog business is done, let's move on to the newest addition to our cabin.

 

THE FLOOR!!!

 

Mike put in bamboo flooring a few weeks ago, and we absolutely LOVE it.

Now it gives me opportunity to do the one thing I love more than life itself.  Mop.

Just kidding.  I abhor mopping.  I pay my kids to mop so I don't have to do it.

 

 

Also on the same trip, Mike finished texturing and painting the walls!!  it's done!

Cue the "Hallelujah" chorus!

It is a bad photo ... but you get the idea.  it's done.

Now to get a steer head w/ LONG horns to put up on the wall. 

If I can ever find one that isn't $31,984.92.  (just kidding, but they aren't cheap)

 

and here is another fashion show of the floor..

 

during the same time period (he was up there for a week), he built a closet!

Now we have a place for our toilet paper to call home!  You can never have too much toilet paper.

Or water.

 

another view of our amazing, yet super-small-but-it-works-perfectly-for-us cabin!

Now I have gotten quite a few requests of what our property looks like as a whole.  So I took pictures through each step of the way, so you can feel like you're there as well!

 

In the beginning.... it was a huge mess.  HUGE mess.  I couldn't envision what Mike saw when we bought this.  I saw a jungle.  Now I see beauty and I'm so grateful for Mike's vision.

This is looking AT the gates from our property.  This is looking at the road that we will come off on.

 

 

OK, this picture is looking from the road to start the journey...

 

 



Now right as soon as we drive onto the property, on the immediate right, there is a small trail that was made for the girls to drive around on.  It never gets used though b/c the rest of the trail has a ton of thorny grapevines growing, and we can never seem to cut it back fast enough.

After you go around the corner, this is what you will see... a huge open space

 



 

 

 This is where that trail starts .... it is a nice trail, if we can ever abolish the thorny grapevines

 

We love our little area in the piney woods.  We may not have anything "Piney" growing yet ... but hopefully someday after we clear more out, we'll be able to grow some Pine trees on the property. 
It's the perfect place to sit on the porch, enjoy the peace and quiet and tranquility. I am so proud of Mike for having this dream for his family -- he has truly created and built a beautiful place for hopefully generations to come.  Many happy memories have already been made here by our little family and other families who have come to visit, and hopefully many more happy memories for more years to come!

 

 

Thanks for visiting!!

More cabin updates to come in the near future!! 

psst.... we're expanding!!  Yikes!