In a way I'm glad that I've waited a thousand years to write this post. Life's been such a blur lately that stopping to look back and reflect on our most recent getaway was pretty relaxing....or it could have possibly been my desperate attempt to jump back into the pictures for just another moment of relaxation. Our second annual Labor Day family vacation was the perfect retreat that left us feeling refreshed, renewed and extra thankful.
We opted for warmer temps this year which was a stark contrast from last year's trip to Red River where morning temps were in the 40s. Hot and humid was what we had in Beaver's Bend but it didn't stop us from getting outdoors everyday and having fun. Let's start from the beginning, shall we?
We left a little later than planned because Hal gal had a fun day at school planned and I didn't want her to miss it. After we picked her up at 11:00 it was off we went. We made a quick stop for lunch in Yukon where Hal kept herself highly entertained.....
The car ride was also full of entertainment....
There's really not much to say about our drive there....uneventful....long yet not excruciating....Hallie watched at least four movies....I took a little nappy....Riley drove the whole seven hours....and then we arrived at our cabin. Yippee skippee!!! We were so excited to see where we'd be staying for the next three days with Kylie, Michael, Katie, Luke, Carmen, Papa and Nanny as our next door neighbors. Nanny had booked the three cabins which sat all in a row right in front of a little fishing pond settled back from the highway in some tall, tall trees. Speaking of tall, tall....Hal took to climbing up to the top of her tall bed immediately.....
Nanny made dinner for the group that night and then we sat around the fire....YES, the FIRE....and sweat our booties off! Or at least I did!
These pretty girls seemed content though....
By 10:00 the three of us were pooped. It took a little bit of enticing to get Hallie back to our cabin but this bunk bed helped me plead my case.....
The next morning was beautiful. The sun shinin'. Crickets chirpin'. Breakfast cookin'. Babies smilin'....
We mosied on over to the Shirley's cabin where Katie and Carmen were busy tracking down a teeny tiny lizard. He sure was a cute little fella....
Happy time
Picture time!
Coffee time
Goofy time
Tai Chi time?
Chatting with Uncle Luke
Nanny filled our bellies with a big breakfast before the guys the dads and daughters brought their poles out for some fishing. We captured some priceless precious moments....
Time to load up and beat the heat!
What better place to stay cool than a freezing cold river???
Sentimental me was pretty stoked to watch our baby girl, now out of my belly, play in the water.....
The girls were brave and Carmen was quickly lying on her belly soaking wet in the cold water....
Thinkin' about it....
....warmin' up to the idea.....
.....all in!
BURRRRRR!
Nanny, Dora (Hallie), Diego (Riley) and baby Jaguar (me) took off through the woods along a path with a couple of trusty walking sticks. Our hiking "abenture" with Hallie lasted a LOT longer than I thought it would and she even took over as our hike leader telling us which path to take and which spots were dangerous. ;) Cute to say the least....
We stopped along the way a few times to cool off in the water and rest....
Splashing the momma
We trekked back to the car and found a cool little "beach" area where Hallie could swim in shallow water. Oh...and eat snocones!!!
After some time in the sun and picking seashells from the water she was one tired little gal. Oh, and hungry....but what's new!? Sis joined us at a cool little place in Beaver's Bend called the Blue Rooster. The atmosphere was right up my alley and the food was fantastically fried to perfection. Yum!!! Hal made herself at home coloring all over the gigantic table that we sat at....
See....tired....and right at home....
And here's the hungry part....
We took some extra long naps late that afternoon which turned out to be much needed....
I woke up feeling pretty crummy with a body aches and just a general sense of yuckiness. While I moped around Riley helped Hal do some fishing from the little pond with her barbie pole and low and behold they caught her first fishy.....
Carmen's willing to kiss it but Hal's not so sure
Michael grilled out steaks for the crew that night and I sat on the couch without a bit of an appetite. I hear they were good though! After taking some medicine I felt immensely better and enjoyed the rest of our night watching the girls play and just talking with the group. Hal was hardly ready for bed that evening since she had napped for nearly three hours so we had to do some convincing. A lot of stalling was done on her part....
Rocking and singing
Counting her worms
Sunday was girl's day! The guys (plus Nanny) were going golfing at Beaver's Bend which meant Katie and I had a fun day planned with our little ladies. They were up exploring around 8:30 or so in search of something fun...
We started off the morning at the little play area by our cabins where the girls played with their telescopes they found...
It was a gorgeous site of green and tall trees all around....
All four of us were pretty pumped about checking out the train station after the park. The moms may have been even more excited than the littles...but it's hard to tell. ;) We arrive just in time to buy our tickets and hop on the train....
It was a cute little train with wildlife all along our journey....
The ride ended after we flew down Wahoo Hill....which ended up to be more like a roller coaster than a train. The conductor speaking up front said "I'm not going to derail like I did yesterday." Comforting. Ha! Very fun nonetheless!!!
Hal was a sport and posed next to "Thomas" for me once we hopped off the train...
The rest of our morning was spent at the little swimming area....
We met up with Kylie and Michael there and swam, hunted for seashells and ate snocones.....
The girls' favorite part was definitely THIS....
Which led to THIS.....
Zombie babes
I made some lunch back at the cabins while we waited for the golfers to make it back. After lunch everyone made their way back to their cabins for the afternoon. Hal and I (okay, maybe just me) had been dying to get our hands on some of the fresh fudge up at the front desk. So that's what we did. She got sidetracked by all of the pretty suckers though...
The golf gang had a great time out on what they described as a beautiful course.....
Hallie and I shared the bed for another glorious long afternoon nap that day. Nothin' better than curling up next to this....
Papa assisted....
The rain was coming in and the weather was perfect and cooling things off a bit. Fun times were had by all out on the porch....
Pretty sisters
The fish fry was fantastic and the girls shared some ice cream for dessert....
Feeding her baby
We sat around eating ice cream, listening to Riley tell "ghost stories" with laughter coming from the other room as Papa watched the girls jump on the bed. Hallie broke Michael into the family by continuously calling him by his new nickname....it's a good one...wait for it.....Poopoo Head. The entire three days were every bit of the relaxation I'd anticipated. Beaver's Bend holds a special place in our hearts. Until next time when the trees start calling again.....
