Lake Trip

July 18-22, 2023

I'm so glad we had a vacation planned when Parker arrived home.  It was nice to whisk him and enjoy time as an immediate family.  This would definitely be my advice to anyone with a missionary coming home.  Plan a little getaway.  Everyone wanted to see/be with Parker.  

He came in on Saturday night and we shared him with friends and family.  Sunday morning we visited Gram and then off to church.  Sunday evening, we had our Sunday night gathering at the Birds with extended family (20 plus people) and then he met up with friends until midnight.  Monday morning Parker and Tanner were invited to play disc golf with (uncle) Chris and then eat lunch with (uncle) Kerry and Grandpa.  

Hello...in the 48 hours he had been home, the amount of time I'd really been with him was very little.  I knew I could be patient and share because Tuesday morning, after Taco Villa Monday on Tuesday at Rosas, we were off to the lake.

Taco Villa Monday....on Tuesday....at Rosas.  Thanks for the good times Grandpa!  And we got to enjoy this yummy ice cream cake Holden gave Grandpa for his b-day.  

We went to Lake Granbury which is near Fort Worth.  We mainly picked it because the 1. The number of bedrooms in the rented lake house we found fit our family.  2. It was five hours away (which is better than 7-8 hours away.) We aren't close to water in West Texas.  3. It came with a few canoes and one kayak to use.  Luckily, the lake and the house worked well enough.

It was so nice just to relax even in the 108 heat.  We acclimated well enough.  It was actually perfect for Parker who is used to the hot/humid Ghana weather.

We tried Brian's Father's Day gift out for the first time.  Axe throwing.  It was fun, and the kids played this every day.

We played a ton of Spikeball and switched up teams a lot.  It was kind of stressful for me because I felt badly for Tanner and Parker who had me as their teammate when I was involved.   Erin F. said she felt the same way.  They were really kind and encouraging to us though. 

A side note, Brian and I bought this one Christmas for the boys when they were probably in Jr. High.  It was pricey.  They were unimpressed.  After missions (Bryn and Park) and with college coming up this semester (Bryn, Park and Tanner), it is a hot commodity.  I'm glad to know it will be enjoyed.  Parker called dibs and is taking it to BYUI this fall.

Aub, Park, Bryn & Tan

S'more night!  Nothing like using the firepit at 10 at night when it is still a muggy 93 degrees outside.  Brian took one for the team to build the fire and make this happen.

Parker, Tan, Brinley, Erin, Aubrey & Bri (stoking the fire)

LAKE SCHEDULE

Brinley was amazing and helped plan a little day to day schedule of things we could do each day.  We definitely needed that, or we would have all been waiting for someone else to make the plans,,,and not much would have happened.  Here is the schedule.  It was heavily modified once we got there but gave us a good start.

Tuesday – (Dinner and Clean up Brinley)

-         Paddle board, fish, eat, play board games, chill

Wednesday – (Dinner and Clean up Aubrey & Parker)

-         Boat (see if we want to do 3 or 6 hours)

-         Lunch

-         Cornhole tournament/axe throwing

-         Dinner

-         Movie night

Thursday – (Mom & Dad)

-         11:00-1:00 – e-bike trail

-         Picnic?

-         3:30 – temple

-         Papasitos

Friday – (Dinner and Clean up Tanner & Erin)

-         Boat

-         Spikeball tournament

-         Smores at campfire

Saturday

        -         Boat

It was 108° with 60% humidity.  We definitely moved the outdoor games to the mornings or evenings.  We also skipped the ebike and picnic and replaced it with the LDS Bookstore and shopping at the Galleria in Dallas. 

I LOVED the part of everyone taking a night to make/clean up dinner.  It made it so much more like a vacation for me.  The kids planned their own meals.  We had a Walmart pickup scheduled in Granbury when we arrived.  So nice!  

Aubrey & Parker

Boating was a lot of fun.  We ended up renting a boat for four hours on two different mornings.  Bri was our designated driver.  He was very selfless, as usual, to make the fun happen for the group. 

We water skied (Park, Bryn and Tanner were successful), knee boarded and tubed.  We were supposed to only have five people on the boat so we traded out.  Kaide, apparently, was the STAR on the morning he went. (I was staying back, trying to abide the five or fewer rule even though it was well past broken with everyone else on board.)  But back to Kaide, he was happy and waiving to each family member again and again.

Tanner is such a great daddy, and Kaide loved the boat.

Park, Aub and Tanner

Erin on the tube

Brinley & Aubrey

Dallas day!  I wasn't sure this was going to happen, but I'm so glad it did.  Tanner and Erin stayed back because they didn't think Kaide would do well on another long car ride (1.5 hours) and with not many opportunities for him to crawl and move.  We hit the LDS bookstore and baptisms at the Dallas temple first thing.  It was nice to be in the temple together as a family.

Aubrey, Park, Bri & Bryn

Then we headed to Pappasitos, a family favorite, for lunch. 

Me, Bryn & Aubrey

Bri & Park

Last was shopping at the Dallas Gallaria.  Bri realized we had a flat tire.  He had a great idea for us to Uber to the mall while he took care of getting the tire replaced.  Aub and Bryn shopped together, and Parker and I split off to find clothes for him.  He just quietly looked at everything from store to store.  He is still getting readjusted to life in the States.  He was kind of walking around with a dazed look.  He has been home for just one week, so it definitely makes sense.  We ended up splitting up and when he came back, he had purchased a few shirts.  We wrapped up the mall fun with a massage from the Chinese place.  Brian was back from getting the tire fixed and very happy to wait patiently in the van.

Bryn, Park, Aub

Brian and I were on the schedule to make dinner that night.  Covered!  Chic for us as we made the 1.5 hour trip back to Granbury, and Venmo for Tanner/Erin and Kaide to grab something.    

I love these two pictures of the kids laughing together while we ate.  It's really fun to see our teens/young adults interacting with each other.  They are good friends. (One million heart emojis here!.....)

Bryn, Park

Our place had a small living room were we gathered to hang out and for a couple of movie nights in the evenings.  We introduced Parker to Top Gun.  The kids watched a couple of other shows as well.

Aub, Kaide, Bri, Park

The boys fished in the early mornings and evenings.  We had three canoes and a kayak that we would take out on the lake and sit in a small group and talk while the sun set.  The kayak chats on the lake were one of my favorite parts.

Erin, Kaide, Tan, Bryn, Park

A little father/daughter love on the way home

I'm so grateful we were able to get away and enjoy a week at Lake Granbury together as a family.  We actually left on Saturday, a day early, so we could be home in plenty of time for Parker to give his homecoming talk in church the next day.  Fun things are happening around here this summer!