Take Me Away!

Welcome to August dear reading friends!  What a quiet summer for me . . . at least on the blog.  Life itself has not been quiet, and that’s why I’m taking a vacation!  I’ve had two weekend getaways and spent seven days at Bible camp, but those did not provide the complete rest typical of an actual vacation for me.

So . . . per my usual in the first two weeks of August, I’m heading up to Wyoming to visit my Grandpa for a whole week!  I’m so excited to get away from work and finally get to sleep in.  I’ve worked the last 12 days and that wears you out, especially since this week I was at work by 5 AM every morning.  It is high time for a break before I settle into the fall routine.

With that in mind, I thought I’d share with you the family vacations we’ve taken over the years (there are few, but they are wonderful to recall!)

1. First Comes Marriage, Then Comes . . . Disney?

I was born (along with my two siblings) in Los Angeles, California, but we moved to Kansas in 2005.  We still have many friends there so an occasional visit has been scheduled.  In 2007 we returned to California for my uncle’s wedding in Victorville, CA.  After the wedding, we kept going and met up some of our old friends at Disneyland and spent a few days pretending we hadn’t moved away.  Disneyland was incredibly fun, although I was just young enough it didn’t impress or please me as much as it would today.  I mostly just remember being mad for Mom not letting me go with my friends on the Space Mountain train ride and instead taking me on the Tea Cup ride with the other moms and little kids.

2. A Very Victorville Christmas

Our second big vacation was also a trip to California, once again to Victorville.  This time it was Christmas of 2008 to meet our brand-new cousin!

3. A Texas Thanksgiving

Almost a year later, Thanksgiving 2009 was spent in San Antonio, Texas so we could attend my Mom’s cousin’s wedding.  He was the son of my Grandma’s only sibling, so it was apparently important for us to attend.  The ceremony was boring, and the Sprite tasted awful (it was champagne, unbeknownst to my nine-year-old self), but we rented an Airbnb with my grandparents, and my uncle with his wife and our two cousins.  We ended up playing a lot of cribbage and monopoly.  As a special gift for the family, Grandma and Grandpa splurged and took us to Sea World for two days.  It was incredible!  They were already decked out for Christmas everywhere and we had a fabulous time.

4. Yellowstone, Star Valley, and the things that aren’t in Kansas

Mountains you say?  Yes, indeed, mountains there were for our next vacation and I’ve been in love ever since.  We spent many years without a vacation, so in 2014 Grandpa and Grandma kicked us off the farm and told us to take a trip.  We hopped in the car and drove two days to Star Valley Ranch and Yellowstone National Park with my other uncle, his wife, and her daughter.  We enjoyed ourselves immensely and I didn’t get near enough pictures to remember everything.

5. Baseballs, Floods, and Reunions

In 2016 we took our last lengthy family vacation to Cincinnati, OH and the surrounding area.  We first went to the Ark Encounter Conference (mostly geared towards homeschool families) then spent a day each at the Ark Encounter and the Creation Museum.  It was unbelievable, to say the least.  That moment you come around the bend and up the hill and through the trees to see the Ark . . . it is unforgettable!  Our last night in Cincinnati we got to enjoy our first live game of Major League Baseball and went to see our beloved Dodgers trounce on the Cincinnati Reds.  We got to see Corey Seager up close and personal, but we didn’t get to meet him officially, unfortunately.  After that, we took a few days to stay with my violin teacher and her family in Henderson, KY a few hours away.  We miss them so much and felt like we were back to the old days of violin lessons and babysitting being with them.

6. Take Me Out to the Ballgame . . . and Bass Pro

Just a few weeks ago we took a quick family getaway to Kansas City, MO and watched the Royals beat up the Tigers in two games.  We each got a commemorative Alex Gordon bobble head as well as lots of laughs and memories to hold onto for years to come.  We also tried two new restaurants: Popeye’s and Pizza Ranch.  On top of that, we spent some time wandering the Bass Pro Shop close to our hotel and I just barely restrained myself from buying a gun and a kayak.  🙂

What have your family vacations looked like over the years?  Do you take one every year, or do you spread them out more?

Leave your thoughts in the comments below and then go read a book! 🙂