Tag Archives: Family

The Burr-Mansion

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Drum roll please… ddddrrrr…. Introducing… bbrrrrdddrrr…. the BURR-MANSION!

Of all of the things going on in my recent life, my move to the Burr-mansion has received the most questions. PICTURES of the cabin please, has been your plea.  I have made you wait, because I wanted to teach you some patience. And so I could get rid of the 6 brightly colored camping chairs that was our furniture for the first two months.  Waiting makes things much sweeter… the torture of trying not to get comfortable in a camping chair during a two-hour movie.  Not going to happen.   But now, we feel luxurious with a new couch…full with reclining ends.  We lead a cushy life.

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This house was custom designed and handcrafted by my brother Jonathan and my Dad, who traveled each summer for the last four years to build this house.  Many crews of people have come through to pour their skills into this home.  The unique creative designs are in every corner, and many of materials are recycled.

I never thought in a million years I’d be living with my brother, but I also didn’t think Taylor Swift would win artist of the year. I am so appreciative that I get to live in this amazing house, even if hunting videos take up half the bookshelf. We get along well and enjoy hosting people, talking about finishing touches and watching The Office.

I never thought I’d have a dall sheep mount, black bear rug or ptarmigan in my house, I’m try to creatively introduce some color and spice to the house decor. When shopping at little boutiques in the States, I just have the typical decorating questions like, “How do you think this fabric will look next to a dall sheep head?” Eye roll. I have many DIY projects on my list like curtains, pillows, a bookshelf from reclaimed wood, and adding my own mount to the wall. A stuffed ermine?

Our door is always open … so no excuses about coming to visit! The Burr-Mansion would love to host you.

Home for Christmas

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The journey begins to go home for Christmas!

Sandpoint, Idaho

To the log cabin in the woods, built by my dad’s own hands in North Idaho.  To curling up in the antique rocking chair that sits in front of the roaring fireplace. To visiting with my mom with a cup of coffee in my hands.  To playing with my nephew and niece.  To snowshoeing through the fields and woods.  To games of scrabble.  To visiting old friends who are like my family.

To be home with my family who I love for Christmas!

I. Am. Ready!

Cousins Mob Estes Park

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Estes Park Colorado.

Just those words bring a flood of memories and emotions to mind.  The smell of the cabin, the sense of adventure, the joy of family, the many wonderful memories spent in this small town on the edge of Rocky Mountain National Park.

My grandparents bought this house when dinosaurs roamed the earth and paid like $37 for the cabin. The inside of the cabin is like stepping back into a 1972 tiny mountain chalet. Our family has been making memories here for many decades with family reunions and individual family get-a-ways. After my grandpa’s memorial, a group of cousins dashed up to the cabin for a night.  It’s so fun to be here as adults together and build more memories.

It was in Estes Park that one Christmas, we decided that there are “so many of us” in our family we should go by the number system instead of names.  Naturally.  Doesn’t your family do that? Makes it so much more personal, I think. So Laurel and I devised a system.  Grandpa and Grandma are the 1st generation, so they are 1.1 and 1.2… then their children are the 2 pointers and as a spouse is added to the family, they are added into the number system.  Then my generation is the 3 pointers… and I am privileged to hold the 3.6 spot. Woo! With spouses now added we are at 3.18, but if everyone gets married, we’ll shoot up to 3.28. And the great grand children are the 4 pointers.

You’re family doesn’t do this.  Weird. It’s so much easier.

You know you want to steal it.

We didn’t have very much fun playing in the snow or mobbing downtown Estes.  Nope.  We’re boring. Maybe we should start speaking in code with things other than our birth order.

Many more great memories made and look forward to the next time I get to spend time at the cabin in Estes Park!

Legacy

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John Wesley Gibbs and Doris Elaine Bennet met on Howdy Day at East High School in Denver, Colorado…Grandma says he was attracted to her nice legs, and I’m sure she was charmed by his quick wit, good looks and gentle spirit.  They were married for 63 years in 2009, when my Grandma passed away. Their engagement photo below is one of my favorites. My Grandpa was reunited in heaven with the his lovely bride on October 27, 2011.
The legacy they left is not tangible but one of immense blessing!  I just spent a week with my family, the four siblings, their spouses, my 18 cousins and 9 great-grandchildren in Denver to celebrate their lives. We came from Alaska, New York, Washington and Idaho to gather at the family home, built in 1917 by my great-grandpa. It was one of the best weeks I’ve had in years! The legacy they left is one of strong family bonds, a love of their Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ, a passion for mountain tops, ski slopes wind in the pines, the sound of waterfalls, creativity, ingenuity and lots of laughter.

My grandpa was a highway engineer, who had a mind that could fix any conundrum. He was quiet and patient, teaching most of the extended family to ski, including myself at age three.  An avid mountain climber, he ascended 34 of the 52 14,000+ peaks in Colorado and many others with his family.  One recent story we found out about, was during college in the 1930′s he built a small 9′ X 12′ cabin in a mountain saddle with some buddies.  They dubbed it the Quintet Chalet and used it as a hostel of sorts so they could make the most out of Colorado’s dry mountain powder all winter long.  Buried by snow, they dove down to the entrance next to the stove-pipe that stuck out of the snow like a snorkel.

My grandma was not an outdoorsy gal when they met.  Yet she accompanied him on many adventures and this wasn’t just day hikes, but full mountain treks many times with the fully family in tote. I love this picture of them and their frame packs, headed out into the wilderness.  My grandpa looking dapper as ever…in nice slacks and a dress shirt! Wearing his classic trademark hat. My grandpa and grandma passed along the love for the mountains their legacy has taken many family members on mountain treks around the world.

Skiing in the Swiss Alps in their 60′s was a lifelong dream.  They skied free as part of the Colorado Mountain Ski Rescue team and relished the fact that they could once again ski free with their senior discount…and did so often!

But the biggest legacy they have left is their enduring love for the Lord, and trusting him for fulfillment in life. I have one of the most incredible families and am so blessed to be so deeply loved by so many. To be persistent, patient, generous, creative and full of grace.  Thank you grandma and grandpa for your legacy and may my life uphold it and carry it on to a future family.