Vacation Time--Swanlake

I recently returned from my first vacation in just under a year. Seriously I would have not gone farther than Denver in the last year if we had waited until the 11th of July. That my friends is CRAZY!! I am not use to staying in one place for that long I don't think I have ever done it before in my life. Anyway, I did it and survived, but you know what it made being apart harder than I anticipated. I really missed Gaupo. True he was with me for the adventure in Swanlake, but after that we parted ways and let me tell you ALL of Gaupo's girls missed him and were very excited to see him again. That said it is time to tell you about our wonderful vacation starting with our trip to Swanlake.

We left on the 3rd of July. Gaupo took a half day off work and we headed out. I had the car packed and ready to go when he got home, but it still took us awhile to get off because I need to stop by the bank and we decided to get Subway so I didn't have to make sandwiches. It was a great idea it just took time to get going. Then we hit traffic, and lights going through Ft. Collins. It was like some sort of test to see if I would actually go through with taking my family on vacation. Well despite the traffic, bathroom stops including one on the side of the road, and my children taking turns not sleeping we made it and in one piece. It took us like 9 to 9.5 hours. It seemed like FOREVER!! Once we arrived there was playing and enjoying until about 11:00 when we all headed to bed.

One tradition that Gaupo's family has on the 4th of July is to attend the scout breakfast. We went to that and enjoyed potatoes, eggs, sausage, pancakes, juice, and fun. It is always fun to gather around there because everyone knows Gaupo and wants to know how he is doing, how his cute kids are, and where he is these days. It was a lot of fun and pretty good food. After the breakfast we came home and put Tia down for a nap. While she was sleeping Kylee played with Grandma's toys, went out to see the cows, swung on the swings, and jumped on the tramp. She was having a blast. We enjoyed a good lunch  of hamburgers cooked by Grandpa. I have never had Grandpa cook me anything, so I was impressed and enjoyed the burger. After lunch, I put both girls down for a nap and talked with those that were around. I love talking, it is probably my favorite hobby. When the girls woke up they played around for awhile, and then we had dinner. After dinner was cleaned up we went fishing. Kylee had a good time splashing in the water. She slipped once and ended up soaked, so she just continued to play in it. Tia, on the other hand, was hot, tired,and hungry so I ended up having to take her back and put her to bed. My plan was to go to the pond once she was down, but by then Kylee was done too, so everyone came back in and Kylee got a bath and went to bed. I think everyone was pretty tired that night, so it was kind of an early turn in.

Gaupo, Kylee, and Tia on the Four-Wheeler

Kylee and her Daddy Fishing

Grandma and Tia Fishing

Saturday was just more fun and games. While Tia was napping we went on a four-wheel ride with Kylee. Then we decided to go fishing again. Kylee got tired on it really quick and told us she wanted to go back home. I wasn't done yet, so Gaupo took her back and left her with Grandma and the two of us fished till lunch. I love just looking over the pond and the beautiful property that Gaupo's family farms. It is so peaceful. I could really fish for quite a long time because I just love to enjoy the quite and beauty that surrounds me. Oh, and just in case you are wondering we caught 1 fish. After naps, we played and had dinner. Then we headed to my grandparents house for a short visit. It was definitely too short of a visit, but we will make up for it later. Then we headed to my Uncle John's house to say hi and pick up our meat. They have really good meat if you want some just follow this link Brady's Beef. He does grass-fed beef and it is totally worth the price. Especially since out here meat is like crazy expensive and poor quality. I would highly recommend it. Once we got home we home it baths and bed. Then TV watching, and visiting for us older folk.

Sunday was rough. I told Kylee that Gaupo was going home and we were staying here. That made her super clingy. Then she feel asleep in sacrament and when we tried to wake her up so she could tell Guapo good-bye she just said 'No' and feel back asleep. So she missed saying good-bye to him. I still said good-bye and cried. It was really hard to let him go. I love him more than I ever imagined I ever would. After sending him on his way, I went back into church and Kylee was still snoozing, but when she woke up, OH BOY! She was cranky. She didn't want to leave Tia's carseat or do anything. It was so bad. Oh well, we made it though and once we were back at Grandma's she lightened up a little. Most of Sunday was spent visiting, but around 5ish we went up Cottonwood to check water. I love going up there and the girls seemed to really enjoy it too. Bedtime luckily came and so after the girls were in bed I just kind of hung out because it was such a relief.

Monday was crazy, fun, happy, and sad. The morning was just like most of the others with breakfast, playing with toys, hanging out with Grandma, and seeing cows. However, there was also packing up our bags, and getting Grandpa's stuff for girls camp ready. After doing all that and waiting for Grandpa to get done talking to the water master we had lunch. Then we packed up the car and headed to Ogden. On the way, we stopped at Grandma Hammond's house. She immediately took us downstairs, which is like kid kingdom. We visited while playing on the jungle gym and with the kitchen stuff and it was a really good visit.

Tia, Me, Kylee, Grandma, and Grandma Hammond

Grandma Hammond with Tia 

Grandma Hammond playing Kitchen with Kylee

 Around 4:00 we piled in the car again and headed to Ogden airport where we met my mom and grandparents. We had to say good-bye to Grandma which was very sad, but we were also excited to get on the 'air bus', as Kylee calls it ,to go to Oma's house.

We had such a good time in Swanlake. I love watching Gaupo return to his old stomping grounds, because he knows what he wants to do and he is just so happy and comfortable. I love watching Kylee and Tia with their Aunts, Uncles, Cousins, and Grandparents. I love that they can experience the playful side of country life and have a time in life when there is just tons of open space that they have to learn to work with. I am so grateful for the opportunity we had to go and just enjoy. I am so glad God made families and that I was blessed enough to get to marry into this one.