Frozen pipes and spinning wheels

We once again had the opportunity to spend the weekend up at Grandma and Grandpa Hendricks' cabin in Island Park. We learned some invaluable lessons this time:

• No water in the cabin can mean a variety of things, and it takes quite a process of elimination to figure out exactly what the problem is. (In our case, it was a combination of the drain not closing properly and the pipes being frozen.)
• There is a trapdoor under the closet floor where the water pump is located. It may look scary down there, but it's not so bad once you've been under there a dozen times or so.
• When going through the trapdoor and crawling through the tunnels under the cabin, watch your head. Seth will be delaying his haircut until he has healed.
• If you're going to be without water while at the cabin, it's best during the winter because of the abundance of snow ... although we wouldn't have been without water if it were warm and the pipes weren't frozen. Catch 22.
• A cooler-full of snow will not equal a cooler-full of water once melted; instead, it equals about three pots of water, which equals about one toilet flush.
• We have no idea how many cooler-fulls of snow equals one bath. It's easier to pack up a day early and come home to a nice, hot shower in time for church.
• When melting and boiling snow for drinking, be sure to (1) let the boiling water cool for a time, and (2) scoop the water off the top to avoid the sediment that has settled on the bottom of the bowl.
• The extremely loud, crashing sound in the middle of the night is not a burglar; it's the snow falling off the metal roof. And yes, it's loud enough to wake up your children who are sleeping downstairs.
• The van is better on the icy roads than the car was, but always drive the truck up in the winter; four-wheel drive has got to be better than digging out your vehicle.

Despite the hang-ups, we did have fun playing in the snow, drinking hot chocolate, watching Snow White and eating gummy worms. And we're very grateful to Grandma and Grandpa who are always so generous to let us stay at the cabin, and to Seth's Uncle Greg who talked us through the many attempts of getting the water to run.

Lessons learned. Now here is the evidence of the aforementioned fun:

Seth and Analee sledding. Seth had just helped Ana go down the hill. Despite looking like a turtle stuck on its back, Ana did enjoy the sledding.

Bekah the Snow Bunny. We were barely out the door in our snow clothes when she plopped herself down in the snow and started eating it.

Analee constantly had her mitten in her mouth. Mmm ... snow.

Seth sledding down our steep sledding hill.

Analee, Seth and Rebekah sitting on the unplowed snow.

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