I know the phrase “cabin fever” often refers to someone who has been confined to a small space – aka a cabin – for an extended period of time to the point where they can no longer take it and need to get out. But in my case, “cabin fever” refers to the need to retreat into that small confined space – aka a cabin – which is why our family decided to head north this past weekend and do just that!
Our family is fortunate enough to own some land in northern Wisconsin that has been in our family since the early 1940’s, when my Great-Grandfather built a cabin for vacations during the summer and a place he and his hunting buddies could use during the fall & winter. Over the years, ownership has grown due to older relatives passing it on to their children, and so on and so on. Despite the fact that there are many owners who share it, we still lovingly refer to it as “our cabin” because, honestly it is our favorite place to be together as a family. My grandparents recently decided to build a second cabin on the lot next door to the original one, so it’s convenient for us all to come up at one time. We hold family reunions here, spend vacations together, and overall, try to use it as often as we can.
Secluded on a tiny lake, surrounded by pine & birch trees, this place is a little slice of heaven. Growing up, our family never took elaborate trips to Disneyland or anything major, we just went to the cabin. It was our version of Disneyland, but cheaper and better! We primarily come during the summer months, but sometimes will take a trip during the winter, and that’s what we did this weekend.
It was my mom’s birthday and we surprised her with a weekend trip up to the newer cabin. We winterize the older cabin from Oct. – April because the cost to heat it without pipes freezing would be outrageous. My husband & kids, my brother & his wife, and my sister and her fiance were all there. We had such a blast!
Even though outside it was below zero temps and snowing, inside the cabin was warm and toasty by the fire. We did spend part of the weekend outside snowmobiling, building snowmen and sledding before the temperatures dropped too low. It would have been fun to ice skate too, but even up in northern Wisconsin, the temperatures haven’t completely frozen the lakes solid yet due to our mild winter this year.
Inside we listened to music, danced, played games, colored pictures (therapeutic for kids & adults alike), read books, watched movies and just enjoyed being together. What a blessing it is to have a family like mine. I am fortunate enough to have parents, a brother and sister (and sister-in-law and soon to be brother-in-law) that all get along and have a good time when we’re together. My kids are blessed to have such loving grandparents, aunts and uncles who care about then and spend time with them. It really does take a village to raise a family! I’m thankful for my village!
Shoutout to all my village people! DJ Katie in the house! (Inside joke – hopefully my “loving, considerate” family won’t decide to post that video of me mixing it up on YouTube or anything too embarrassing!)
I can’t wait to show you all some more pictures of our cabin during our summer trips that we take there every year. But for now, I guess I’ll have to wait out the next 5 months until our next trip back when it’s warmer. I’ve got the fever already! (Photo below is capturing a cabin sunset my husband took last summer)
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