Little Cabin in the Big Snowy Field

 Here are a couple views from our little cabin on the clearest day we have had in the last couple of weeks.  The two other views, that I absolutely love from the cabin, are Clarkston Mountain and Cache Valley with the Temple and Old Main at USU. 

Our dogs are SOOOO happy to have space to run and play!  You can see their tromped down area and a couple excursions back to where we plan to build a beautiful home someday. 

For right now, we are living in Logan until we sell our home and we are turning our 400 sq. ft. cabin into a home that will make the best use of the space, so that it will be ready to move in to.  The first 3 pictures are of the cabin when we first got it.  The bathroom was just there in the middle of the bedroom, which Nate and I were not ok with.  :)  The bedroom, with the random wheelbarrow he left for us, and the living room and kitchen with very poor use of space.  But, Nate has great vision and could see what he could do with the place. 

So, the first thing Nate did was knocked out the ceiling in the bedroom and made a vaulted ceiling.  He then built a loft for our bed and made a little storage room underneath the loft that will be able to fit approx. 25  18-gal. totes, along with our filing cabinet and a few other cupboards for other things.  The loft will have a slanted ladder to get up there.  Also, in the loft there will be several cubby areas that are actually above the bathroom. 

 We now actually have an enclosed bathroom.  It's small but will work great!  Nate has been such a handyman and has been able to do the plumbing, electrical, framing, dry-wall, etc.

The kitchen will basically be a hallway kitchen and the funny thing is that we will have the same amount of cabinets or more than our current house.  The idea is to not spend too much on this cabin because it will only be temporary, so ya, the cabinets will be built out of 2 by 4's and plywood.  The living room will be able to have our couch, a nice storage bench, t.v. up on the wall, and of course . . . I know you were worried . . the fish tank!

The reactions to us getting this cabin have been pretty funny.  I know that there are people that think we are crazy, some people are worried about us, others that are upset we are moving, and others that are happy for us.  Ya, it is a little crazy, but that's what is so great about life with Nate because we have huge dreams and crazy ideas to accomplish them and we actually do them.  We will be able to save a huge amount of money living in the little cabin and it will enable us to build our house with much less debt.  We are actually extremely excited to move out there.  I think some people believe that you have to have things and a big house to be happy, granted I will want a bigger house someday, but for now we are and will be happy.  I know many of our ancestors had houses this size or smaller and raised 10 children.  No, we aren't having 10 children.  The theme of this cabin is "sacrifice now for a better future."  I love being married to Nate and the fact that we can support each other's dreams!

It's a Wonderful Life

Wow!  The Owens 2012 wrapped up in one blog!  Here it goes!

 This spring Nate went to Regionals with Utah State's Concrete Canoe team and they took 1st place!

  While Nate was at the competition, I went to DisneyLand and Las Vegas with Scott, Kelli and Katy.  While in Las Vegas, Katy got to have her picture taken with Hunter Hayes! She about died out of excitement!  We had a great time! 

In May, we went to Huntington and Goblin Valley State Parks in Southern Utah, with Wayne and Jackie!  We had a blast!  It was like a big kid's playland with tons of easy rock climbing and cave exploring.  

Nate and Scott both ventured out into the world of tablet owners.  Of course us kids had to have fun with the photo features. 

Donnell was our ward's girls camp director this summer.  It was their "high adventure" camp with a low budget so we got tons of awesome help from friends and family.  

One of our most fervent prayers was answered when Nate got his internship with Cartwright Engineers!  It has been so good for him to get the experience that he needs. 

We also had the beautiful blessing of getting to visit my Grandma and Grandpa Olsen and then head up to our favorite fishing spot . . . Wallace Lake!

It also has been so great to spend time with our family and friends!  There is a million more pictures I could post of all the great times we have had with everyone!

 We also went through two sad events this year with the passing of my dear friend Ali and our beloved Uncle Neil.  We miss them dearly and know that they are in our Heavenly Father's care. 

This summer, we also got to vacation in Wolf Creek / Ogden Valley with the Owens!  We had tons and tons of fun including canoeing, cliff jumping, and going on motorcycle and ATV rides!

For our 3rd year anniversary, Nate took me to this beautiful waterfall called Doughnut Falls because it falls through a hole in the ceiling of a cave and I took Nate to the Living Planet Aquarium.  My favorite exhibit was the adorable river otters and Nate and I got to touch a shark in a touch tank.

This year's winner of the 2nd Annual Golden Gardner's Competition was Wayne and Jackie for growing the largest onion.  Next year the competition is going to be the biggest zucchini. 

 This fall we went on numerous hikes to enjoy the fall colors like the Crimson trail and Bloomington Lake!  Oh how I love the change in the seasons!

These next two pictures could basically explain the majority of Nate's life this past year!  His love for his salt water fish tank and the most time, by far, was spent at the kitchen table working on homework!  Uugghh!  He only has one more semester to go!  There is a light at the end of the tunnel!

 This summer we found some property that we can foresee, in our future, being the place that we could one day build our dream home.  It is absolutely beautiful there and we couldn't pass up the price.  The view of the mountains and of Cache Valley is breathtaking and it puts us out in the little farming community of Newton.  Nate and I are both country kids at heart and this property seemed to fit the bill.  It currently has a little cabin there that we could live in while we build.  It is all hinging on whether or not Nate gets a job here of when we will build.  It may be a case of us holding on to the property for several years while Nate works on getting a job in Cache Valley, we are not sure, but one thing we are sure of is that we both feel like Newton is where we are supposed to raise our family someday. 

So, we have been working on finishing our basement and selling our current home which we will dearly miss, but feel like we are doing the right thing.  

At this time of year, we get to reflect back on our blessings, joys, heartbreaks, answered prayers, and time spent with family and friends and know that our Savior, Jesus Christ, has been with us the whole year through.  We are so grateful for the Gospel in our lives and for our testimonies.  We know that our Savior lives and that our Heavenly Father loves all of His children!  We hope everyone has a Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year!