Vacation, Sweet Vacation

Since I posted the pictures already, I guess I better blog about our vacation so people can better understand the pics.

Last Tuesday we headed up to a cabin in the mountains above Heber, UT with Jeff's immediate family. Each summer his parents take the family somewhere. Before babies started being born, it was pretty much always Lake Powell, but it's way too hot there to camp for a week with little babies without a houseboat...so last year, the family vacation was to Bear Lake (on the border of Idaho & Utah). This year it was Timberlakes & Strawberry Lake. There were 14 people (Jeff, Mason & I; Jen, Ryan, Cole & Malia; Mindy & Cory; Doug & Rheanna; Justin, Lee and Kathy) all in one cabin. We had a blast!

Lee & Kathy rented four 4-wheelers, so we spent a lot of time exploring the beautiful mountains. I have always wanted to find a huge field of wildflowers and just lie down in it and roll around for a while...so when I finally found my fields of wildflowers, I was kinda bummed that I was with a group of dudes. I knew they'd think I was insane, so I settled for taking pictures. Maybe I'll get the pics printed up and roll around on them here at home, pretending I'm actually rolling in the flowers. If I do it, I'll be sure to take pictures and blog about it.

So on Friday we packed up the kiddos, some food and toys, and all drove up to a beautiful spot in the mountains where we set up a day camp. We planned to spend the day exploring on the 4-wheelers, so right away a group of us headed up. Two of the 4-wheelers were doubles, so Jeff and I rode together. I was driving, so we weren't going nearly as fast as we would have been if Jeff had been driving - I'm new at it, and I'm also a major wussy pants. Good combination for safety. :) Anyway, so in addition to us, Jen & Ryan were on a machine together, then Doug and Rheanna each had their own. Rheanna was in the lead, and she was seriously flying - I was so surprised at how "brave" she was for never having ridden a 4-wheeler before our trip. We'd been out for like half an hour and decided to turn around. Jeff and I were in the back of the pack, and as we got to the top of a hill, we saw two 4-wheelers on the path without anyone on them. One was missing, so we called out to them and realized Rheanna had gone off the side of the mountain. Jeff left right away to let everyone know at camp and call for medical help while the rest of us worked on helping Rheanna.

When Jeff got back to camp, they all said a prayer that everything would be alright. Right about that same time, 2 people showed up on 4-wheelers. One of them just happened to be a retired EMT and he had an entire rescue kit on the back of his machine. On top of that, they had a wench (motorized tow cable) attached to the front of their machine. What are the chances, I mean c'mon. So when Rheanna went off the road, she went down the side of a mountain. There weren't many trees, but by some stroke of luck (we know it wasn't luck) she just happened to run right in between 2 big trees with her machine, getting it stuck there. She flew off and hit her head on a tree, lost her helmet in the process, and landed in a pile of downed trees. Seriously, if she'd run off in any other direction, she'd have kept going down the mountain. The trees saved her life. She ended up with no major injuries - just deep bruising, a sprained ankle and some whiplash. It was such a scary experience, but it really strengthened my testimony of the power of prayer. Heavenly Father loves us and watches out for us, especially when we ask Him to. We began the day with a prayer for safety...and Rheanna was kept safe (considering what should have happened).

The vacation was so much fun though! I saw so many beautiful things (valleys, lakes, deer, flowers), relaxed, ate a lot, and got to know my in-laws better. They're such a wonderful family, and I'm so happy I have such awesome new "siblings". We all get along so well, and our kids do too. Though Mason and Malia are TROUBLE together (thanks to our bad influence of a child)!

Now I get to go on a girl vacation, and I can't wait! I leave Friday to go to California with my bestest friend Jene (we met in El Paso 10 years ago when I was home from college for the summer). We both celebrate our birthday on Monday the 18th, and it's our "friend-a-versary", so we felt a trip was in order. I can't wait to get a little bit of a break from Mason! Don't get me wrong - I LOVE and adore my little guy, but man do I need a little break. I'll blog about it when I get back next week!!