Vacation Day #18

We load up the car at 6am.  Pull out of Grammaline's driveway by 7am.  We wave goodbye until we can no longer see her and start the journey home. 

Can't wait until next year.

Vacation Day #17

{Pedicures for the girls}

Vacation Day #16

After a dirty evening up in the canyon--

--a day at the water park seemed just about right.

Once again, Keaton proved fearless as he, without hesitation, slid down the steepest and fastest slides in the park.  Brian overheard fellow amazed sliders remark, "Did you see that little kid on THAT slide?"

Good Times!

Vacation Day #15

We went up the canyon and cooked hobo dinners.  Doesn't Bri build a good fire?  It is one of the many things I love about him.  He is just so darn capable!

Keaton obviously wants to follow in his father's footsteps because that boy could not keep his little body more than two feet away from this pit of flames.  He poked it.  He prodded it.  He kindled it.  When it was almost dead, he resuscitated the few glowing embers with giant breaths of life until the fire danced again. 

He was THE Stoker of the Fire and THE Keeper of the Flames .

I'm not quite done with my story because everyone knows the perfect ending to a campfire story is the perfect golden mallow...

Let's zoom in on that beauty, shall we?

mmmmm...a heavenly confection.

Vacation Day #14

Brian and I ate lunch at a restaurant called Zupas. Dreamy.

Salads, Panini sandwiches, and soups-- the Wisconsin Cheddar Cauliflower soup--yep, still dreamy.

A chocolate dipped strawberry served along side every meal--dreamiest!

Vacation Day #13

Lagoon--Sagoon or The Goon according to Weston-- Here We Come!

We had a great time and, as expected, Keaton was fearless!

He was smiling and squealing with excitement for most of the day.

Grammaline commented, "Keaton enjoys life with his whole body." She summed him up perfectly!

Vacation Day #12

Sunday.

The routine is pretty much always the same, but on vacation the scenery differs.  Church was lovely  (especially because Brian could put his arm around me during the meetings) and Sunday dinner was delicious as usual.

Even more delicious than the fresh corn on the cob and the raspberries at dinner, was sitting out back in the evening cool, listening to Grammaline tell stories of Brian when he was little.  We laughed until we hurt. 

We also munched on homemade oreo cookies, which can make a good story a great one.

Oreo Cookies

• 1 box devils food cake mix
• 3/4 C. shortening
• 2 eggs

Mix together and roll in to balls.  Bake at 375 for 10 minutes.  Once the cookies are cooled, spread your favorite frosting on the bottom of one cookie and top it with another one.

Vacation Day #11

(i know that the vacation day premise is getting old, but i am almost done!)

Lunch at the Old Spaghetti Factory--mental note: next time order the salad instead of the minestrone. Aside from the soup, the food was good and the kids love the ice cream at the end of the meal.

As we walked out of the mall after lunch, we passed through a Pottery Barn. Actually, the girls passed through it, Brian and the boys took the long way around to avoid it. Anyway, Kate spotted a perfect little sumthin' sumthin' for me and pointed it out. She knows her mama well...I just had to take it home with me...

{can you spot the little gem?}

{a-stinkin-dorable!}

Vacation Day #10

We finally made it to Grammaline's house. The kids got lost in the basement with the decades of toys stored down there and I got lost in a book. No, I devoured a book. I could do nothing but inhale and exhale this book. It consumed me. I could not get this book out of my head. I proclaim every worthy vacation should have a day to do nothing but read a yummy book.

Vacation Day #9

This one could be called "The long and winding road..." to Grammaline's door.

Except we did not make it to Grammaline's door that day. We made it to St. George and stayed in the first hotel we saw.