Vaca Home... Part 2... Greer

Well, I'm going to try to cut back on the wordiness... since I've obviously overcompensated with pictures. (However, I felt much better about myself when my FIL sent a Smilebox consisting of over 300 pictures of this one week..... I was shocked when I came home from an almost 3 week vacation with 200 pictures.... apparently that's not too bad :)

I got a blessing the night before we left, but the trip out to Greer was still awful. Maybe I was lacking on faith... not sure, but things did get better by Tuedsday. That was a blessing! I was afraid I was actually going to lose weight on this vacation as opposed to gaining the mandatory 3-5 lbs. I've never wanted to gain weight so badly! (Not literally of course, but I was more than willing if it meant I got to eat.)

The whole extended, Evans family came up for the week in Greer which meant a full house of chaos, children, and good times. I'll admit I was a little worried about cabin fever or maybe toes getting stepped on, but it honestly was a really fun week. If anything, it was our stinky child that annoyed others with his pre-dawn rise and shine routine.

We had a relaxed, memorable week doing.....

1. Ummm, nothing.... ok, lots of visiting- especially at night. Talking is probably one of my favorite things ever.

2. Listening to some sweet guitar tunes

(Trevor will be working on Dave Mathews, Eric Clapton, and Jack Johnson for next time :)

3. Riding the zip line & swing (aka- roller coaster... it took me all week to figure out that's what the kids were referring to)

4. Just walkin'

(I may have attempted running once and it may have ended very, very badly)

5. Playing games!

Namely: Kan Jam, Mexican Train, and Quelf

(Always good pics of Quelf.... Trevor going armless and getting dessert fed to him... slow dancing with Megan at the Prom [This is a good example of how I am a GIANT compared to Trav's family... seriously it was disturbing to me how big I looked in this picture... what is wrong with me?!].... and Trevor belly dancing. I don't think he reads this blog so I think I'm safe from any grudges.)

6. Going on scavenger hunts!

Grandma is quite amazing and arranged for the grandkids to go on a scavenger hunt EVERY DAY. The "treasure" always coincided with a teaching of Jesus and included a fun toy or treat. Hence the bubbles that Collin is LOVING. Can a smile get any bigger?

7. Hangin' (haha, get it?I'm a nerd) with aunts, uncles, and cousins! Count 5 people on this hammock and then one more even jumped on.

Collin seriously was loving life at the cabin. He had limitless people to play with and even got to where he preferred his aunts and uncles to us. I don't really blame him. Luckily, he was usually obliged when he reached up to be carried or asked for a book to be read to him, etc etc. And hopefully they won't mind when we visit again, since he did some damage to poor Adele's and Kayda's fingers. He has the habit of closing ALL doors when they're open and some fingers may have gotten mangled. It was sad.  

8. ReADiNg!! Hooray for books! Paula is sportin' her new Kindle.. fancy shmancy, while the rest of us do with paper and ink. This photo really wasn't posed either. (Disregard Trevor :) It was great to be among fellow readers.

9. Watchin' some tv. Collin was again viewing Curious George when suddenly he had visitors...

The day we left we all got together for a group picture. We ended up leaving on Thursday to make it back in town for a friend's wedding reception and to stop by my family's extended family camping trip.

The Lindblom side of my family gets together every summer at Woods Canyon Lake area for a few days of camping. We've only gone once since we've gotten married and it was our only chance to see Grandmother, so we pulled in for a couple of hours on our way home. Just long enough for Collin to ride Craig's motorcycle and get comfortable enough with Grandmother to finally give her a hug goodbye. (This picture shows what he did every other time she tried to get close.... such a stinker.)

It was good to see some extended family, even if it was just for a minute and I had a blast at Julie's reception. I got to see my good friend, LaRee, there along with a whole bunch of other people we haven't seen since we moved. I felt a bit like I was at a high school reunion or something. We could hardly walk two steps without stopping to visit with someone new.

Then we spent Friday doing laundry, re-packing, shopping, and getting ready to go to California. We even had time for some Panda Express, Mesa Frozen, and Nielsen's Frozen Custard. I was serious about that weight gain thing. We were able to visit one of Trav's friends, Chase, and his wife and a few other friends that night so it was fun to be able to be in Mesa for even just one more day.

Thanks Paula and Wayne for organizing a great trip in Greer. We already miss the Evans and look forward to our next visit!