Friday, August 2, 2013

Family Vacation

This year's vacation was spent in Nampa, Idaho at my brother's house! We've been anxious to meet the newest little member of the Ritchey family, so all of my immediate family got to go out west & spend some time together. 

It wasn't Greyson's first time to fly, but it was the first time that he noticed...EVERYTHING! He was so fascinated by the clouds & the planes. When we took off, he just said..."Whoa!" then after awhile started saying "Weeee!"...he finally fell asleep & did awesome on all our flights.

We got in late, so we didn't see the new baby until the next day. My brother Matt & my dad picked us up at the Boise airport. We stayed at Mindy's brother's house (his family was in florida) so they were kind enough to let us stay there along with Brandon & Richelle.

Meeting Karleigh for the first time was neat. Greyson loves babies but had never been around one so tiny before. Of course he wanted to touch or grab her, but we had to keep telling him to be gentle. He just folded his little arms & stared at her...it was so cute! He was all about giving cousin kisses too & knows exactly who she is...baby Karwee.


Greyson gravitated right to Aunt Richelle & started calling her by name the first night we got in. She took him to play in the sprinklers out in the yard. Nana sure is loving her little grandkids & Matt thought he better get a little uncle time in so he can get used to holding a tiny baby again soon =) 

We got to do some fun things while we were all together! We went & played putt putt golf (Greyson's first time), ate at Red Robin, then went to a fun rodeo that night. Papa showed Greyson how to golf the "right" way...haha & he loved the little glow stick we got him at the rodeo...he still plays with it! One thing that we had to get used to, was how long the days last out there. It was after 10pm when we got out of the rodeo & you could still see sun light even after it had gone down. I took a picture of Greyson & Matt in the parking lot, but those aren't street lights reflecting on them! 

The next day we were invited to go a lake with some friends of the family. It was SO gorgeous there & I was glad they had a very nice picnic area & play place for Greyson. I was afraid we would be out in the middle of no where with no shade, but it was perfect. I didn't even get sun burned! 
 The water was really cold, but felt so good in the hot sun. We had a blast...the guys were definitely in their element! It was different for me because I couldn't ski or tube but I still had a lot of fun. Taking Greyson swimming & on the boat was good enough for me & I had a lot of fun watching everyone "attempt" to learn wake boarding & surfing =) We ate an amazing supper near the water...we grilled chicken & steak & had all kinds of other good food. Greyson ate so much fruit salad we finally had to cut him off...haha he loves his watermelon & grapes.  I took the picture of Greyson in his stroller watching the boats at about 9:40pm...he usually starts going to bed about that time, but the sun was still shining as bright as ever! The guys wanted to get as much out of the day as possible so we stayed until after dark. 
The Gardners were amazing hosts & we couldn't have asked for a better day.

Everyone else was sore the next day after having so much fun on the lake...so we took it pretty easy. We had family photos (taken by Jamie Taylor) done later in the afternoon & finished with supper at PF Changs. I love the picture of Matt & my brother Matt pushing their strollers =) They have come a long way since college! 
Sunday was baby Karleigh's dedication! She looked so adorable...Nana got her the cute little headband & she actually kept it on =) They showed a picture of her at the front of the church during the service & Greyson recognized her right away...he pointed & yelled out her name =)
We just loved getting to cuddle her all weekend & dress her up =) She wasn't sure she liked all the added frills but we couldn't help it! 

Mindy's parents had us all over for dinner after church on Sunday & the rest of the day was spent relaxing & swimming in the pool. Greyson absolutely LOVES being in the water. Karleigh got to try out her new swim suit from Aunt Richelle & seemed just as content floating around in the pool as ever.

We crammed a lot into one little weekend, but it was so good to be with my family. We never know how long it is going to be before we are all together again, so we try to make these trips whenever we can. Greyson was able to learn all of his aunts & uncles names & still points them out when he sees a picture. I especially thought Uncle Matt would be hard to decipher since daddy's name is also Matt, but he always puts the "uncle" before it, so he know's who he's talking about =)

It seems like our trips to Idaho are very far & few between...we don't know when we will ever be back, but we sure had fun & we can't wait to see everyone again!  

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1 comment:

  1. Family times are the best times! Glad you had a wonderful time!!
    Hugs~

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