Vacation, Part 2

After a wonderful four days at the cabin, we headed to my parents' house for the remainder of our week.  The main motivation was so we could go and view the fireworks for the Fourth, but with great side benefits of lots of sleeping out on the deck and an anniversary date night for Dan and I.  And with being down at the house, we got to spend a lot more time with my dad. There was baseball, water gun fights, a hike in the lava caves, and swimming at a nearby resort. But some of my favorite moments were the ones where we could just sit on the back deck and check out the gorgeous view.

Baseball with Papa

Playing soccer in the parking lot while waiting for the fireworks

Ready for the fireworks!

If you look closely, you can see the boys out in the field helping Papa change irrigation pipe

Hanging out by the ditch

Swim time!

The amazing view

Our beds for several nights

In the Lava Caves

Exiting the Lava Cave

The Cave from the outside

Ready for date night

It was a great vacation - and we're so lucky to have such great places to go with very little notice, planning, or expense. The time together was just what we needed, and we found a good balance of hanging out and being active.  If only all vacations were so easy!

Vacation, Part 1...

About three weeks ago, my amazing husband was offered a new job.  We knew that in starting, he wouldn't have any vacation time until Christmas.  So, he decided that he would take the week between finishing his previous job and the new one for an impromptu family vacation.  After our Disney trip this spring, we had a very small vacation budget, so it needed to be close and inexpensive.

Lucky for us, my parents have two homes - their primary residence (and where I grew up) is near a popular recreation area, and their cabin is up in some small mountains just  few hours from our home. They were kind enough to loan us their cabin, where we stayed for the first four days of our trip, and then we finished our week out at their house. It was a wonderful week of relaxation and outside adventures.

Here's the first half: Life at the Cabin

How can you beat a giant gravel pile and a dumptruck?

Max on Topper

Luke's first ride on Topper

Sleeping in the yard with Papa

Can't beat hammock time!

Moving logs in Walton Lake

Our 13th anniversary diner 

The cabin was perfect for crossing things off our summer bucket list!  The items we were able to enjoy were:

1. Sleep under the stars
7. Eat watermelon
8. Read.  Read a lot.
10. Roast marshmallows
11. Swim in a lake
13. Have a sleepover with the grandparents
16. Take a nap in a hammock17. Dine outdoors
19. Cuddle.  Cuddle a lot..
20. Spend time strengthening relationships - with each other, our families, and our friends

That's half our list - in FOUR days!! As you can tell, this trip really hit the spot.  Tomorrow I'll post the second half - our time in Bend.