FAMILY VACATION!

When Jeremy got his schedule for this week, we noticed that he had two days off in a row. Even more rare was the fact that I had those days off as well, since I'm on Spring Break. It didn't take long for us to decide that it was a perfect opportunity for a family vacation! We are so lucky that my parents have a cabin up in Pinetop that we could use - I grew up going there and have so many happy memories there. So, we started making our lists and planning our trip! It takes a lot to travel with two small kids, but we were so excited! We've never really had a family vacation with just the four (or three, before Zac) of us before.
The scenery getting there was beautiful.


We left Wednesday around 3pm. Unfortunately part of the road is closed so we had to take a detour, adding time and miles. With the two kids, we were trying to make it as efficient a trip as possible, but detours happen... the detour is also where Jer got pulled over and got a ticket! ha! I laugh because if I had been driving I would have gotten it too. hee hee. At least he wrote it for "finite resources" rather than speeding.
Anyhow, we got to the cabin late on Wednesday... after the kids bedtimes. So, we got in, got organized and got to bed. Thursday am we woke up ready to have some fun. Here are the kids...
Lilly saw snow out the window and was so excited! There wasn't much snow, but a couple spots that stay shaded had some.

We played inside in the morning. Here, Lilly is playing with a new toy I bought her at the dollar store. I was actually looking for a car toy, but found this princess puzzle. She is very into princesses and puzzles these days, and this turned out to be quite a hit! Gotta love the dollar store!

Here we are hanging out before breakfast.

Speaking of breakfast... daddy made bacon and eggs! Yum!

Once our bellies were full, it was time to bundle up and go outside to play! Zac actually went down for a nap, but the rest of us headed outside.

Here is Lilly and daddy on the snow. She actually isn't a big fan of snow. She didn't want to walk on it at first, then did so, but certainly didn't want to touch it with her hand. She was a bigger fan of finding, collecting, and throwing pinecones.

Playing on the porch.

After Zac woke up and after Lilly's nap, we all took a nice walk around the neighborhood.

That afternoon, we had some playtime inside. Lilly loved watching her daddy draw animals. Mom loved suggesting more and more difficult animals for him to have to draw. ha!

Here is Lilly catching up on her celebrity gossip. Actually, I think this magazine was from 2005... I guess she's catching up on gossip from before she was born.

We didn't take a picture of our dinner, but daddy made a delicious dinner of steaks, potatoes and bacon wrapped asparagus! Yum! Then we made a huge cookie - used the whole package of cookie mix to make one big cookie and ate it nice and warm. Notice I said ate "it" rather than ate "some of it." Ugh I had a belly ache that night. But it was so good!!

Jer built a great fire that evening!

Zac hung out and played and played!

After the kids went to bed, Jer challenged me to a game of dominos. Look at the smug look on his face as he holds up the scorecard showing that he beat me... by A LOT!

What-EVER!! He probably cheated... Still, it was really fun to hang out and play games with my hubby that evening. :)

Friday morning... Zac is officially 3 months old today, and Lilly 25 months. Cute diaper pic...

We had some playtime, then I made blueberry pancakes for breakfast. Then, it was time to get packed up to hit the road. Lilly was, of course, a great help in packing up!

The drive home was also long - same detour. No ticket this time though. Whew! We took a break for Zac to eat, and Lilly got a treat! Yum!

What a fun trip! It was definitely short, but it was great! I think Lilly really enjoyed having us all to herself - no distractions of housework or errands. It was just play play play all day! Zac was happy the whole time as well - new surroundings and things to look at. The weather was great and everything was wonderful. Even though the drives were long (5 1/2 hours each way, pretty much), it was so well worth it. And, though there were a few whiny moments the kids really were great for those drives.

Thanks again to my parents for having and letting us use the cabin! We're definitely going to be doing it again when we can!