Saturday, October 13, 2012

Vacation....We Finally Got A Vacation

WARNING:PHOTO OVERLOAD
During the days of Sept 21-26th we went back west to see family.  Yes it was a SHORT trip and yes the jet lag set in when we got back, but it was SO worth it!  My mother-in-law orchestrated this big surprise get together for my father-in-law's birthday.  So she flew our family out to Vegas and got Vaughn's brother Mark and sister Kariann and their families to meet at the Lake Las Vegas Resort to surprise Papa for his birthday.
 Papa after the initial shock of seeing us all waiting for him.
 Cute cousins: Grace Ann and Taryn
 The kids and Grandma Jackson
 Grandma Jackson can always captivate the kids with the pictures on her phone.
This is a photo from the cabana at the pool.  It was a pretty place and many fun times and family bonding was done here.
This cute little girl is my niece Madilyn.  She is so gosh darn cute, but look at her wrong and you will make her cry.  I got lucky on this photo shot!
 My little water baby was loving life in the pool. 
 Baby Olivia was all tuckered out at 9 a.m.  I can understand that!
 Papa and his boys.
Jaelyn and Tyson were born exactly 7 days apart.  They don't get to see each other very often, but when they do, they have a lot of fun together.
Isn't this just gorgeous?  I want to come back here soon.
Even though the weather looks nice, the water was frigid.  It was so cold.  Maggie was dipped in the water and then she was done and wanted to sit on Aunt Nicole's lap wrapped up in a towel.  I loved every minute of it.
Once they opened up the waterside the kids were oblivious to the cold water.  Taryn loved the slide.
So did Tyson
Taryn and I got going super fast down the side that we even caught a little air coming around one of the dips and bends.

That night it was time to take pictures of all the grand kids since we never get a chance to do anything like this.
Grandma and Papa Jackson with their 10 grandchildren.
Vaughn and Sue
The whole lot of us.  (Notice my one niece trying to squirm out of my sister-in-law's hands.  She was done taking pictures)

Aren't they cute?  Just love these two.
Not a bad family photo.  I look slightly tired, but in my defense I went up and down the waterside over 50 times.  And that is no joke!
Travis, Kariann, and the girls: Becca, Grace Ann, Molly and Maggie.
Mark, Jen and their kids: Olivia, Jaelyn, Cole and Madilyn
Maggie doesn't go to anyone, except me!  I felt super excited that she let me take a picture with her.
On Sunday, everyone had to head home and Vaughn had to get back to work.  The kids and I extended our vacation and headed north to St. George, Utah, to see Aunt D, Uncle Jesse and Tritton.  I have only seen pictures of this little guy above, but I finally got to meet him and love on him.  He was so much fun.
Cute cousin photo

While we were in St. George, I wanted to take the kids to the temple where Vaughn and I were married.  I wish we had a temple in our city, but hey, at least Nashville is only a few hours away.  The kids loved seeing the temple grounds and looking at how pretty it all was.
I remember taking wedding photos on these very steps and now I am taking photos of the kids on them.
Aunt D and Taryn skipping on the temple grounds through the sprinklers trying not to get wet.  We took the day and spent time hanging out with Aunt D and Tritton.  I was able to eat at my favorite restaurant "Cafe Rio."  Yummy.  (I spent many nights there for dinner when I taught in St. George all those years ago.)
We also got to spend some time with Uncle Jesse, riding the four wheeler and seeing their house that they are re-doing.  We loved spending the day with them.  It just wasn't long enough. ):

These two were crack ups as we were shopping.  Tyson and Tritton would shake their heads and then laugh.
Taryn loved following Trit around.  She was like the little mother hen. It was adorable to see them together.
Danielle, Mom and me.  These kinds of pictures don't happen very often.  Love these ladies.
Grandma T and her Grandkiddos.  
After being in St. George for a day we headed north again to Circleville, Utah, were I was born and raised.  We had to stop up at the cemetery to see dad and say "hi."  My dad has been gone 4 1/2 years, but every time I go home I half expect him to come in the house door and say, "Hello precious kid."  That is what he called me.  Sometimes going home to Circleville is hard on me because it is a constant reminder that he isn't there anymore.  I usually have a good cry and then I feel better.  I miss him a lot!
We visited the historic Butch Cassidy's house in Circleville Canyon.  My kids had never seen it and Tyson had to visit a historical place for scouts.  What better place to do it than in my home town.
This is where I grew up and the view still takes my breath away.
Mom and me.  Love that lady!
The kids and I outside of Butch Cassidy's home.  Tyson wasn't going to smile no matter what I said.  Little pill.

My dad bought this power wheels dump truck for Tyson before he died and Tyson was too little to really get to drive it.  Now he is too big, so Taryn was the driver. They loved going up and down the road.
This is the view from my front window of my house in Circleville. The mountains are gorgeous.  I have missed them so much!
My cute house where I grew up.  So many fun times were had playing outside, riding bikes up and down the streets and playing in the ditch.  I had one awesome childhood!
Love those mountains.
This is my MomaD's house.
The kids loved Shep.  He is my mom's dog, but has since adopted my grandparents home as his home away from home.  They feed him too.
My MomaD was a second mom growing up.  I spent every Sunday at her house and loved every minute of it.  She was a big support of mine back then and still is.  I hadn't seen her in two plus years and I surprised her when we just happen to drop by.  It was a real treat to see her and PopaD again.  I have missed them too.
PopaD and the kiddos.  Tyson could remember PopaD, but Taryn was just a baby when she saw him the last time.  It was fun for them to see their great-grandpa.
My family.  How I wish we would have had the time to stay for a week, but Tyson had school and we had lives to get back to in Knoxville.
They jumped and jumped, and then wanted to know when they could have their own trampoline.
I just love and miss these two ladies.  It was the best vacation we have had in a long time.  My only regret is that is was so short, but at least I got to see everyone and tell them I loved them in person.  That mattered most to me..

1 comments:

Bryce and Candice Blood Family said...

The fall weather always makes me feel melancholy for home but this made me down right homesick! So glad you got to go visit and share home and family with your kids. Great, great memories way back when and now!