Everyone tries to go. It is just little kid heaven up there. I guess I could almost say it was heaven for me too. That is huge coming from my mouth too. Anyone who knows me knows that.
It started off with my driving myself and all my littles by myself to Utah and then following everyone to Colorado. I had worked up a lot of courage and guts to do the big girl thing and just go. So I finally decided to do it. My kids would love it and I was hoping that I would love it too.
Lance surprised us by leaving work for the week and jumping on board with us. So we all went. Can I just say it was one of the best weeks I have had on vacation! It was so great!!! My kids loved every minute of it.
Grandma and Grandpa Snyder literally live off the land. They are so sweet and live so humbly and there is just a sweet reverence when you go there. There are many work projects to do and we were ready for all of it.
Some of the gang camped out. Some of us, rented a cabin and we survived. I don't do the tent thing. We rented a little cabin that was suppose to sleep 7 but we got stuck with a little bungalow that was only suppose to sleep 3. So the kids got the beds, because we wanted them to sleep. Lance and I traded between the recliners in the kitchen or the cot that folded out. We really did it. Looking back on it now I just laugh. It wasn't funny at the time but we did it and the kids actually slept really well.
Every day was play day. They went canoeing, paddling in the boat on the pond to making a fortune on Grandma Bucks. Grandma Snyder invented this amazing program where if all the grandkids did certain jobs around the place like helping clean up, cooking meals and other clean up projects, they would earn money to spend in the Grandma Store. All the kids went crazy over this and you could hear kids constantly asking "What can I do to help out?" It was a marvelous idea! Got everyone working and playing so nicely together.
My kids really do have the cutest cousins ever. They all played well. They made memories and now every year this will be a fun new tradition.
There were a ton of highlights but a few that were the most memorable to me was our ride to Silverton, Colorado. Grandpa S. told of an old rough road that they used to travel growing up that went up and over a pretty steep mountain that only took an hour instead of 3 going on the highway. So we loaded up all the grandkids and some adults to supervise in the back of Grandpa's truck and we had our suburban. We followed each other up to the base of the mountain and planned out what we were going to do. The kids were all together signing and having a grand time. Grandma came prepared with snacks and we followed comfortably in our car hoping that Hayden would take a nap on the bumpy ride up the mountain.
They weren't kidding when they said bumpy and straight up the mountain. I was pretty nervous going up the mountain on a small dirt road in our car. Sure going in a 4x4 up the mountain is one thing but in our suburban but it made it. Just as we were about to make it over the summit Grandpa blew two tires. What????? Change of plans. So all the kids hoped out and the guys changed the tires. Only problem is there was only one spare tire. So about 30 of us crammed into our suburban. It was really, really crazy but so much fun. Our car lost the new smell and look that day. Oh well.
We finally made it down into Silverton, Colorado. A small town nestled in the most beautiful mountains. We had packed lunches for the kids and the guys dropped all of us moms and our kids off at a little park next to a library so they could go get the tires fixed for the truck.
So imagine 5 moms and about 20 kids over taking this small town. Once we had lunch we all went into the little cute library that looked like an old Victorian church. Our family overtook the entire place. But the cute little librarians were very understanding and let us make all the noise we wanted.
Afterwards we traveled on down to the train station. The train was too long and too much to carry us all so we just waited there to see the train and get on and take pictures. The kids had a great time.
Before heading back up the mountain we stopped to get some hamburgers, French fries and ice cream for everyone.
They we started our journey back over the mountain. It wasn't nearly has bad going down then it was going up for me. It was doable and Hayden slept. So it was a good trip. We made it back to the Ranch.
Then on one other night we took a 2 hour drive into Durango, Colorado. There is a lot of cool places to see there. One of those places was the Bar D Ranch. Awesome place if you ever get a chance to go. It is an old western experience complete with shops, playground area and a huge BBQ dinner and entertainment for everyone. The food was amazing and the entertainment. That was the best part. There were 4 older gentlemen that had amazing voices and a lot of class. They also had all the kids dancing and laughing so hard they were crying. They sang a song that was close to Old McDonald had a farm instead they called it- Old Matt Palmer had a misfit farm. I was dying. Funniest song I have ever heard. An older man, grandpa age was playing the bass sang it and he was so funny. There were were asmatic horses, narcoleptic pigs, dyslexic sheep and other animals. Funny so funny!!!!
We will be going back there again with our kids. They really enjoyed it!
I think this was the first summer in a really long time where we really had a great time, no one got sick and everyone got along. It was so much fun for me as well. I got to see my sisters-in-law in a different light and they have become some of my best friends.
Since we spent the 4th of July there. The small town of Rico, Colorado held a great parade. The kids loved it! It was actually 10 x's better than our town parade. It was warm but we stayed cool with snow cones and thanks to Rashelle, an umbrella.
It didn't stop there. So we headed back to Utah on a Saturday afternoon thinking we would stay overnight and they head back to Boise the next morning. Well the kids and all the cousins talked us into staying another week in Utah to play. Lance had to get home to work and so he took our car home Sunday night (on my birthday) and we had mom and dad's house all to ourselves for a few days. My kids were in cousin heaven. I was so relaxed and stress free. We had a whole week to play and do nothing really but have a good time.
The Mason clan. Aren't they just a sharp looking family? ( Lance's older sister Shauna.)
Well the second night we were there and after I put all the kids to bed, my sister-in-law Sharlene called me over. No picture in your mind an awesome new subdivision built up against the mountains just south of the BYU campus and my in-laws all live next to each other. They all built their homes next to each other. My in-laws (Lance's parents) built their home with a daylight basement which is a whole house and the top is rented out to a sweet gal who lives there. They bought the lot right next door and seeded that and it is a beautiful lot nicely landscaped for all the grandkids and family to gather, eat and play ball. That is where we do all our family gatherings. Then the lot right next to that is Tom and Sharlene and their 4 kids. Right across the street from them in another brother Paul and his wife Lesa and their 4 kids plus another one on the way in November. Paul is the BYU Raquetball coach so he built a court in his home so the kids love to go over there and play.
So back to my story- Sharlene called me over and had the bad news- Kali her oldest daughter who is 12 had lice. This was bad news. So the entire week we spent nit picking, literally every morning and every night on all the kids and even us. Glad to report that no one else got lice but we had to sanitize everyone and everything that week. Glad I was around to help out.
It was really hard to leave but by about day 6 my kids were not sleeping well and I wasn't sleeping well. Like they say, "There's no place like hom!" It's true.
What a great trip we had!!! Can't wait to do it all again next year!!!!!
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