Christmas 2009 Decoration Highlights

Back to two trees this year; one traditional and one SciFi. The SciFi tree is decorated with Star Trek and Star Wars ornaments from the Hallmark Christmas ornament collection. Both Star Trek and Star Wars ornaments are complete series (every ornament issued) and date back to 1991. Bracken and Camden, with help from Grammie, carefully placed each ornament on the tree.

The traditional tree now includes Mom's collection of Ty Beanie Baby Teddy Bears.

Grammie (Joyce) painted the Nativity scene approximatly 30 years ago.

Decorating the Cabin for Christmas

Bracken, Camden and Ainsley help decorate the cabin for Christmas. We got 10" of snow 5 days earlier (Sunday/Monday) but the rain washed most of it away by this weekends trip.

Stealth CAM

I recently changed position of our outdoor stealth CAM and this is what was captured.

Annual Pictures of our Grandchildren (Rowley's)

This year Brent and Melinda's family photos are pictured...from left to right are: Noah, Paige, and Jacob.

Annual Pictures of our Grandchildren (Dahlberg's)

This year Shawn and Jeff's family photos are pictured...from left to right are: Jenna, Jesse, and Shanna.

Annual Pictures of our Grandchildren (Hay's)

Each year around Christmas time we receive pictures of our grandchildren. This year Stephanie and Matt's family photos are pictured...from left to right are: Brackcen, Ainsley, and Camden.

Let's Go Fishing

Since returning from their vacation at the Sacramento River Delta, Bracken and Camden have been asking when they can go fishing at the cabin again. Well, this weekend was the perfect opportunity as their cousin Noah had a special opportunity to spend 3-4 days with Pop and Grammie while his brother Jake was away at camp and his sister Paige went shopping with Mom. We headed out Saturday morning to pickup Bracken and Camden and arrived at the cabin around 9:00 AM. I rigged up 3 fishing poles, grabbed some bait and off we went to the PMC fishing hole. We were on a mission to catch some catfish. This was Bracken and Camden's second fishing trip with Pop and was Noah's first; all 3 were excited. Our first fishing outing the year before lasted about 10 minutes (short attention span) but this outing produced more excitement (3 boys) and last slightly over 30 minutes. The boy's got several bites...from fish, not mosquitoes but didn't land the big one everyone was hoping to take home. All in all everyone had a lot of fun. We went back to the cabin for lunch and playtime and then headed home. I'm sure they will be talking about the fish trip for sometime to come. Hopefully the next fishing trip will produce FISH.

Dahlberg's at the cabin planting tree

Grandchildren planting trees at our cabin in PMC has become a tradition. Jesse and Jenna planted pine trees at the cabin during their 2005 visit. This year Shanna planted her tree. You can see that Shanna and her tree are about the same size. Jesse and Jenna pointing out just how much their trees have grown (see before and after pictures below).

Stealth Camera

In May of this year I purchased and install a StealthCam i590 on a tree facing our cabin. We have a water feature near the front entrance and suspected that wildlife had been using it in the evening to refresh themselves. Here are a few pictures we've captured worth posting. Most have been birds flying by, squirrels, and a raccoon.

Trout fishing opening weekend

Due to poor fishing last year we decided to take it slow and easy this year; opening day is the last Saturday in April. We started our trip Saturday morning, stopping in Bishop for breakfast. While driving north of Bishop on 395 we noticed numerous boats heading down the hill and commented to each other that it was weird; boats leaving early. Later we found out that there were 35 MPH winds on Lake Crowley Saturday morning making fishing all but impossible. We arrived at Wally's condo in Mammoth Lakes early Saturday afternoon, unpacked and settled in (taking it easy), and headed for Convict Lake which is nearby, for a late afternoon attempt at fishing; no luck. Sunday we headed north and checked out June Lake, Gull Lake and Virginia Lakes. Virginia Lakes were still iced over (ice fishing only). While talking with the owners of Big Rock Resort at June Lake (Stephanie was on the high school swim team with their daughter) we learned that a boat was available for the afternoon. We drove back to Mammoth Lakes to get our gear and have lunch. A few hours later we were fishing on June Lake. It took me 5 hours to catch my limit, nothing to brag about; all small fish. On the way back to the condo we discussed options... get a boat and fish Gull Lake Monday morning or possibly give Crowley Lake a try Monday and fish Gull Lake Tuesday morning. We optted for Crowley. We hit the lake a little after 6:00 AM and fished until 2:00 PM. On average fish at Crowley were bigger than last year and we came off the lake with full limits, not the least of which was a 5.25 lb brown trout caught by Wally; he out fished me that day. Our plan was to head out early Tuesday morning, get a boat and fish Gull Lake, but the weather, namely the wind had other ideas. The wind blew all night and into the morning so we looked at each other and said...better if we just head down the fill and get home early. All in all we had a very good trip. I smoked two large trout Friday and plan to enjoy them this weekend. Sorry... no pictures this trip.

Happy Birthday Stephanie

Seems like only yesterday our little “China Doll” was born.
She walked at 6 months,
Wouldn’t talk until she could talk full sentences, no matter how hard we tried.
Had to have clothes with pockets,
Loved to sing in kid’s choir,
Loved to dance in dance recitals,
Loved to swim on swim team,
Now all grown up, married to a great guy, she’s a great Mom and now
is watching her own kids grow.
Happy Birthday Stephanie, we love you.

Happy Birthday Camden Jackson Hay

Today is Camden's 3rd birthday (March 3rd). His birthday celebration began last Saturday (February 28th) when family and friends joined him at the Santa Barbara Zoo. Everyone had a fantastic time and many rode the train around the zoo. Stephanie and Matt had reserved the elephant patio for the party. The elephant patio overlooks the elephant exhibit featuring 2 elephants. There was a special time when zoo staff brought a large lizard for show and tell. Everyone got to pet the lizard. Here are pictures of the patio view and also of Camden's special events. Again...HAPPY BIRTHDAY CAMDEN.