Duchesne Cabin

This month my parents sold the family cabin — and with that, we said goodbye to a place filled with decades of memories. We were lucky to go down one last time to help pack it up, but also to soak in all the lasts.

This wasn’t just any cabin — it was built by my grandparents the year I was a senior in high school. It was my grandpa’s baby, and it truly felt like a piece of him. We spent countless weekends there building fires and roasting s’mores, sitting on that old wooden bench (the one that always threatened splinters), laying in the back of Grandpa’s truck watching for shooting stars, and shooting BB guns at old tin cans in the yard. Inside, the soundtrack was old school vinyls especially Queen — the unofficial anthem of the cabin — with old Disney VHS tapes of childhood favorites playing in the background.

We’d play darts, I would read books out on the porch, paint rocks (my grandma was such an artist — her creativity was amazing), and stay up late playing Scattergories. Starvation Reservoir was just outside of town, and we loved spending hot summer days in the water. Duchesne was the sweetest little country town, famous in our family for its small-town rodeo.  Movie nights at the old drive-in just a town away. And of course, the Rhino — everyone’s favorite. The boys could ride it for hours on end.

After my grandparents passed, I was so grateful my parents kept the cabin in the family. It meant more time to make memories in that beautiful place with the most stunning sunsets.

It’s hard to see it go. So many memories packed into those walls.

Thanks for everything, cabin. 

My first and last signature on the door

🩷

Link to past cabin blog posts
 

More Utah fun

After our time in Idaho, Brad headed back to Texas for work, but the rest of us kept the fun going during our month-long stay in Utah. One of the sweetest highlights was Brooks’ baptism. He asked Carson to play a special musical number on the cello—When I Am Baptized. They even rented Carson a cello for the day. It was beautiful and such a tender cousin moment.

We squeezed in so many family moments—ice cream after family pictures, 

a Mickelson reunion in Logan

where the kids’ favorite game, Right-Left-Center, ended with Emily’s son Sam as the big money winner!,

and of course when you're in Logan you have to stop for Aggie ice cream.

There was swimming with cousins,

a cousin Lagoon Day where we came, we screamed, and stayed until closing, Lagoon days are the best kind of tired.

and bowling with Grandma Clark.

Kae and I took on the Ice Box hike near Snowbasin,

Kat spoiled the boys with back-to-school shopping, 

and the Murphy family honored Olivia by continuing our summer mini-golf tradition—followed, naturally, by even more ice cream.

 

We also had plenty of movie nights—so many superhero releases this year! We watched Superman, Fantastic Four, the last Mission Impossible, F1, and for Logan’s birthday, Jurassic Park.

Utah always means time with family, traditions we treasure, and—apparently—lots and lots of ice cream. 🍦❤️

The Last Day

Our last full day in McCall was the perfect mix of adventure and relaxation! We split up into groups again so everyone could do something they enjoyed—Marilyn took a crew to hike to a beautiful waterfall, JP led Brad down the black diamond mountain bike trails at the ski resort (which Brad loved—he’s already dreaming about getting a mountain bike now), and the rest of the gang explored the town and soaked in the charm of McCall.

The kids and I really enjoyed the gorgeous hike— the wild huckleberries, trees, and fresh mountain air. That afternoon we all met back up at Marilyn’s work for some tasty snacky food and shared stories from the day. We all walked around the downtown area before it was back to the Airbnb for a cozy, delicious spaghetti dinner. A full day, in the best way. ❤️🌲🚴‍♂️🍝

In the evening, we rode our bikes down to the docks for an evening swim—but that’s a story for another post. 🛶🌅