To the Ranch. {Day 1}

I've put this off for a week--hoping I'd feel more in the mood to write about our family vacation. And even though I still feel too tender and unready to write this, I know I must. The whole experience had such a profound effect on me that it filled my heart to the brim and within those 5 short days a thousand memories were made. It was all so grand and spectacular and simple and tender. And here I'm left trying to put words to emotions and tell stories of the memories that played out. I'm feeling thoroughly inadequate--as I always do when I sit down to write. I just hope I can do this justice....

To begin, I can't really talk about this trip without saying that I have been researching a suitable family vacation for our family for over a year. And it took me util January to find the perfect place. One not too far away for a toddler to travel to, one within our budget, a place where we had never been before with beauty and quiet and solitude. And when I finally stumbled upon the "Island Ranch Retreat" I knew I had found our ticket.

While ideas circulated in the back of my mind through the long winter months, I didn't start officially planning until July. I had to get June out of the way. It was just too busy. So after the 4th, I diligently set to work planning and researching and preparing every last detail. I was more thorough than I have ever been planning everything from travel journal smash books, to road trip activities, to our food menu and grocery list, to bags and bags of carefully organized treasure hunts and special things to do at the ranch. I left nothing to chance---well, almost nothing. After planning sufficient activities to supply our vacation days and evenings, I left the exact timing and itinerary of how the days would play out to chance. I knew that as long as I had plenty of "items in the bag" so to speak, we could go with the flow of the days and meander through the days at a slow and steady pace. After all, this is exactly why I wanted to take my family to a 700 acre ranch...to get away from it all, to connect on a deep level, and make lasting memories. And I can honestly say we did just that.

{The first message in a bottle found before we left}

We left at 10:00 am on Monday morning--only one hour behind schedule. Our 5+ hour trip turned into 8 hours with frequent stops (since Maylie was potty trained literally the week before).
We stopped in Boise for "Linner" and then stocked up on groceries at Winco before heading up to Cascade.

As we started the trip, I hung up a green yarn timeline that we added to every hour of the trip with a hand drawn milestone of something we could see. And all during the trip I had my "Mary Poppins" bag well stocked with new activities for the children to do to prevent the fighting and crying we usually experience on road trips.

After all was said and done and we finally pulled into the ranch, I realized we had not even had to pull out my backup plan--a portable DVD player--borrowed from my parents. It was a miracle!

Pulling into the Ranch took my breath away. It was magnificent and even better than I had dreamed.

The sweet hosts had left us a snack basket, banana bread, and fresh fruit, along with a map of the property, and a description of all the trails around their acreage.

 I spent the remainder of the evening taking a tour of the Ranch house and settling in...

 I was in love with this little desk!

 The kitchen was beautiful (it even had granite countertops!)

 The view of the Ranch from one of the picture windows.

 The boys quickly got comfortable building all sorts of creative things with the blocks that the hostess lent us.

Each bedroom had it's own sink. See those pink flowers there? They were real. There were others in nearly every room. It was the little personal touches like this that made our stay so homey.

As I sat looking out over the Ranch on that first evening, I was in awe. All these creations of Heavenly Father right before my eyes and little me right in the middle of them. I felt so small and yet so connected to heaven. So blessed to be standing on the threshold of a never-to-be-forgotten vacation, and so eager for the days that lay ahead.

Sunset Camping.

Our annual camping trip with the Johnsons took us to Logan Canyon for two nights. We left Monday after our eye doctor appointments--which made us feel so dizzy for the rest of the day because our eyes were dilated. Even though the doctor said it would wear off after an hour, it took me until the next day before I could take my sunglasses off.

It was completely crazy trying to pack up and make our last minute Walmart trip before leaving Logan. But when we arrived just in time for dinner, I remembered why we go to so much work for camping trips....it was so peaceful and relaxing and perfect to be together.

That first night we sat around the campfire and had a special little family home evening lesson from Dad about enjoying the moments and the memories with our families and then we played our traditional "Fruit Game" where everyone chooses a fruit and has to talk without showing their teeth while passing turns between one another. As always, we played more for the fun of listening to Mr. Mango, and Pig (Fig), and Passion FRUIT, and Marindacitrofolia sp?? banter back and forth. It was wonderful as it always is.

The first night I could not fall asleep even though I was exhausted, probably because it was the first time on our new air mattress and I was stressed I wouldn't wake up in time to cook breakfast. We each took a meal to plan and prepare during the trip and we were assigned Wednesday morning breakfast. We made homemade whole wheat pancakes, scrambled eggs, and bananas, and Patrick got teased for bringing Cups of Noodles for lunch last year since I wasn't there...

After breakfast we loaded up and drove over to Bear Lake where we spent the whole day in the water. We played on the kayaks, water skied, tubed, and jet-skied. I rode on the tube with Tate, then Patrick and Payton showed us all their tubing skills--getting dumped at least 3 times. Patrick even water-skied for the first time. I loved watching him. I wished I had brought my phone on the boat so I could have taken pictures of him and Dad and Mom water-skiing as well.

My favorite part was just riding in the boat with the wind on my face, soaking up the sunshine. The water was so turquoise and beautiful. We were so blessed with good safety and perfect weather. The rules for the kids were life jackets any time they were in the water and always staying with a grown-up. We had such a lovely day and the weather was pristine!

After our skin all turned cherry-red, we drove back to camp and had dinner. Then afterwards, we played "King Elephant" which was most definitely the hit of the trip! No one could do my Zebra sound quite right, Holland's ant lifting won the most creative award in my book, and watching the humor of the game--I laughed so hard. Mom thought she was the ant for most of the night, Patrick gloried in getting everyone out by throwing the turn right back at them, Easotn's gorilla smacking was worth paying to see, Melissa's "Kevin" sound was spot on, and Payton's firefly "Blub" was the coveted animal. All in all, it couldn't have been better!!

The night ended much to early and we headed off to bed, where I went to sleep much faster and slept much better. The next morning after breakfast, we broke camp and headed home to pick up our little Maylie whom we missed so much. But before we picked her up, we couldn't help stopping to get a famous Bear Lake Raspberry Shake!!

Next year Jacee and Chad will be in charge of the Johnson trip...we will probably be heading up to Island Park.  Next summer seems so far away, but I'm sure it will come soon. I so look forward to these annual family trips that we do with both sides of our family. The memories we make together are relived a million times. Families are precious. And I feel so blessed to be a part of my husband's family. They are so very good to us.

Snapshots of a Normal Summer Day.

On any given day, you might find Easton building a city...

 or Tate building an extensive railroad line....

 Maylie loved going to the boys' baseball games since that meant she got to play at the park for an hour 4 times a week....

 {I'm amazed at this little one's ability to make friends with the little girls she met at the park. She had at least three regulars.}

 And that night when we dropped off Easton and Maylie, the boys found two snails who they affectionately named Turbo and Chet (named after the snail characters in their new favorite movie--Turbo)....

 Tate took them home with him in a little sour cream container with holes punched in the top.

 And while I tend to neglect the house during Spring and Summer so we can focus on our yard, I had to post this picture because I'm so grateful for the perfect little cottage we live in and where we can raise our family. It is absolutely perfectly perfect and I love every square inch of the inside & outside. 

My heart is so content.