4th of July at the cabin

We had a great 4th of July weekend at the cabin with my family. Ever since I was teeny-tiny my family has gone on an annual summer vacation. This long weekend at the cabin was our trip this year! I think we'll go to the cabin most of the time and every few years we'll change it up and go somewhere different.

It was fun to have everyone under one roof for a few days. That's my favorite part about family vacations - cramming everyone in and being together all of the time! It makes it fun for the adults and for the little cousins to play and play and play some more.

Memories of this trip . . .

- Wes & Sam sleeping out on the deck every night. Having air mattresses and beds out there came in handy when Sam and I were ready for our afternoon nap! It was perfect to catch some zzzzz's outside.

- Nate saying "chill out - Sam" when she was annoyed that we woke her up in the morning.

- Tripp's delicious dutch oven cooking.

- Watching alot of tennis {Wimbledon} and loving it. In the final where Roddick played Federer, my mom kept yelling "go Andy!" and she tried to get Nate to do the same. At one point, Nate looked at all of us, threw his hand in the air and said "go Nate!"

- My dad bought 4-wheelers and a mule so we had them at our disposal the entire trip. It was great! Nate and Abbie LOVED riding on the 4-wheeler. Nate had his helmet and his goggles on - he thought he was pretty cool.

- Renting a pontoon boat on Panguitch Lake to do some fishing. Sam, Wes & my dad left at 6am to try to catch some fish but they didn't have very good luck. The rest of us joined them around 10am for more fishing and some time on the lake!

- Actually being able to celebrate the 4th of July. I swear Wes and I are always traveling on that day.

- The Fireman's breakfast on the morning of the 4th. Nate loved riding on the firetruck with Abbie & Uncle Tripp. Grandma even managed to let him get a ride with the driver in the cab of the firetruck. He loved it!

- Being able to spend time with our good friends, The Earls.

- The Duck Creek parade on the night of the 4th. Abbie, Nate, Papa & I rode on the back of a truck in the parade. Abbie & Nate enjoyed throwing candy to everybody!

- Watching Nate remain obsessed with his big cousin, Abbie. He called her name the entire time we were there. The three little ones had a good time together!

- Papa let Nate "drive" almost everything while we were up there. Now that we're back, we are constantly reminding him that he rides in a car seat!

- The little guys love their aunt Sam.

- Give Nate some rocks and he's a happy dude. Another reason why he loves the mountains. There's definitely not a shortage of rocks.

- Time around the fire pit making smores.

- Lots of quality time with grandparents.

- Papa played the role of a bear on the deck. Sam had all of the kids crawl in to her sleeping bag to hide from Papa the Bear and then he'd scare them in there. They laughed and laughed for quite a while with this game.

- Teaching my family how to play The Great Dalmuti, a card game. My dad immediately got the nickname of Serena which I won't even try to explain on the blog. By the end, I think they all liked it.

I've always been more of a beach girl than a mountain girl. But I have to say the mountains are growing on me . . . we always have a great time. Thanks Marz clan!