4th of July Vacation

This year I was able to take the kids up to Panguitch Lake and spend a week and a half at my grandparents' cabin. There is always a huge group for the 4th of July, and I was dying to see some of my family members that I haven't seen for quite a while. Peter wasn't able to go, but he ended up taking a short trip of his own out to Oceanside to go surfing with his brother.

Sorry about all of the pictures, but we did a lot of fun things and I took a lot of pictures at the cabin. I got to see some cousins that I hadn't seen in a long time and who my kids met for the first time.

Levi hanging out with my cousin, Sara

Eden hanging out with my cousin, Kristen

We all got a chance to try slacklining again. Kira and Michaela are really good, as you can see.




Here is a picture of me falling off as soon as I got on. Yeah, I am not good at slacklining (yet)!

The kids really liked the 4-wheelers and went on tons of rides.

This is Sara and me after a ride up the mountain on the 4-wheelers.
We had lots of times to play games and just hang around. Levi learned to clap his hands while we were at the cabin, and he is getting pretty good at standing. He's still too chicken to take a few steps...but he sure is a happy guy!
And we got some good quality time with Grandpa and Grandma.
The kids loved being outside and exploring.
We ate some yummy food and made homemade ice cream for the 4th.
Kira and Michaela had to take their traditional "cabin pictures" with Grandpa Packard's old treasures.
I joined in too.
After most of the family left, our good friends, the Chappells, came up. They brought Rock Band and we had a fun time playing. It was really fun once we got the moms playing!
After much fun and relaxing, we had to get going. Eden screamed a lot of the way down the mountain because her ears kept popping.

This was on the way down:
The kids finally fell asleep for the last half of our trip back to Logandale. We were glad to be back to Grandpa and Grandma's house and to get some rest for the night before we headed home the next day.

Here is Eden with her beloved pillow from Grandma Shirley.

The next day I had a hair appointment, and then we headed for home. We had a pretty easy drive until we passed Kingman. We ran right into a huge thunderstorm that scared the crap out of us all. We could barely see the road and it was really slick. We started hydroplaning and then we decided we'd better pull over for a while. We were on that scary road from Vegas to Phoenix that is only a 2-lane highway. We found a good turnout and saw that 2 other cars had the same idea as we did. We waited for about 15 minutes with lightning all around us and thunder claps literally shaking the car. We were okay once we pulled over though. The kids were fine and just watched a movie through it all. We were so happy to get back in one piece and I know it sounds cliche, but our prayers were heard!

It has been good to be home and be together as a family again. We brought Tibi home with us and she will stay for a few weeks. The kids love her and she is a big help. We are excited to have her here. Plus, that means that my mom and Paula will get to come pick her up and visit too!

Levi is happy to be home, but misses his grandparents!