Monday, July 6, 2009

4th of JULY


So when Wendi and Brian invited us up to Pinetop for the fourth I am sure they were just doing it out of obligation not thinking that we would ACTUALLY come with them but we did! We had so much fun escaping the heat and enjoying Brian's family cabins. Here is our travel log: Friday morning we arose bright and early (that would be 8:00 for us Knollmillers) and set out for the three hour drive. After a brief run to QT for some donuts and Diet Dew we were on the road. Here is a picture of our boys excited in the car - still in the garage. About 20 minutes into the drive Mason says - "what does that sign say - cabin soon?" Yep Mason, cabin soon. Thank heavens for portable DVD players. That pretty much kept them quiet most of the road and Jay and I enjoyed a little John Denver until the road got windy and I had to say goodnight.

We arrived at the cabin a few short hours later and Wendi and Brian, Brian's parents and grandparents were there to greet us. The boys decided pretty quickly to go fishing and somehow Wendi and I got the good fortune of staying home with the little ones (Talon and Hudson) and basically lounged around talking, eating and mostly eating. Here are some pictures of the boys fishing. I think they scared the fish though as nobody really caught anything.

Later that night after a yummy dinner the boys settled in to watch a movie and the adults attempted to play a game of Mexican train but the kids did not quite allow that to happen. We got through only two rounds but it was fun. Talon decided he did not need any sleep that night which made for kind of a long night for Jay and I but somehow we got a little energy together for the next day.

The weather could not have been more perfect and Brian's grandparents had plenty for the kids to do. We had a sandbox, dogs, pigeons, horses, swingsets, baseball, hammocks, FOOD, and bubbles for the little ones. They pretty much played outside for most of the time we were there. We did venture into Showlow and then decided to head up to Sunrise to do the ski lift. Not really having planned on doing this before we left we did not pack the appropriate attire for our kids and when we got up there it was about 50 degrees and raining. If you know my kids they have zero tolerance for cold weather









Here is a picture of Mason freezing his little buns off at Sunrise.

After Sunrise we were a bit hungry and figured what is more American than McDonalds? Yum.
We headed back to the cabin and put on our party hats. We had a fabulous dinner - barbecued beef, pasta salad, and a bunch of other yummy things I don't remember topped off with some delicious homemade ice cream. I of course made the boys sing their patriotic songs and then they did some poppers.







We finished the evening with a fireworks show in Show Low and here we are waiting for them to begin. The kids loved it for about 15 minutes and so we lasted about a half hour and then decided to hit the road.
Lucky for us the kids slept all three hours home and Jay and I just enjoyed being together in peace and quiet. So till next year Brian and Wendi!! Thanks for inviting us - Mason now wants to move to Pinetop and live in a cabin.