Vacation Time

We spent the last week on vacation at Redfish Lake with Mac's family. Mac couldn't get the time off work so I took my sister with me and the kids. We had a great time. It was nice to get to spend time with everyone and just relax for the week. We stayed pretty busy and here are the highlights of the week. On Sunday we drove up there, rather I drove up there (only induced mild chest pains). As always we stopped at the Sinclair station in Challis and the kids played on the big rock. We have been stopping to play on the big rock since Aaliyah and Taylor were just little and they decided this year that the rock must be shrinking. Could it possibly be that you two have gotten bigger? After Challis we headed down the winding road to the through Stanley and onto Redfish. Driving on winding mountain roads is not my idea of fun but we did arrive safe and sound.

On Monday the weather was cold and windy. It didn't ever rain but was rather unpleasant. This did not stop the kids from playing at the beach . (While bundled in sweatshirts) On Tuesday it was warm and calm. So the kids wanted to spend the day down at the water. After slathering on the sunscreen and gathering all the beach toys we were off to the water. They spent most of the afternoon down by the lake. Bobby ran straight to the water, jumped in, and then laid down on his belly. The older girls swam out to the dock. I got sun burnt on my legs despite the 3 oz of sunscreen I applied. Overall a fun trip to the beach.

Later that evening we took the kids up to the fish hatchery and they fished in the kids pond. Eliza and Aaliyah caught the only two fish. We were only there for about an hour but Bobby would have stayed for hours. He thought seeing all the fish in the holding tanks was awesome. The fish were all jumping up and he asked if he could catch one with his mitt. Wednesday we went on a hike in the morning. Taylor hiked the entire 5 miles. Eliza walked close to 4 miles and Bobby walked about a mile and got carried about 3 miles. After we got back from the hike, everyone was so hot we headed straight to the water. We rented a paddle boat and the kids thought that was a lot of fun.

Thursday was Bud's birthday and the girls had planned a surprise party for him. So they decorated the cabin with balloons and a big happy birthday banner. I made the cake. I baked the cake at the cabin on Wednesday night but I had made all the decorations at home and brought them with me. SO what kind of cake did the girls request for their grandfather who was turning 54? Sponge Bob of course! Bud thought it was great and the kids all had fun putting it together.

After the party we went back down to play in the lake. But this time something historic happened. Ever since Taylor was three she has tried to catch a baby fish in the lake. You always see at least three kids in the water trying to catch the minnows that hang out in the shallow warmer water by shore. Well every year we have been unsuccessful. However, Taylor actually caught one this year. I fact she managed to catch eleven of them!

Friday we got up and headed home and it was sure nice to get home.