Family Staycation 2011

The Griesemer Family Vacation was last week, and we had a great time!  My Mom decided to change things up this year and include all of her Grandkids.  In order to make that a little easier, she decided to keep the vacation to somewhere within the US or Canada.  She also gave all the adults the opportunity to choose a trip.  So Thanksgiving 2010, we all presented our trips to each other, and at Christmas, my Mom drew one out of a hat.  She drew her trip, which was to Deer Valley.

My family has had some great memories at the Glitretend at the Sten Eriksen, and my parents stayed there many times.  It is a beautiful resort, in an amazing part of our state.  We started our Staycation on Monday. The funny thing about a Staycation is that you have no weight limit on your luggage.  I swear we packed up half of our home.  We brought groceries and toys and Steve's bike and Tildy's wagon, and the list goes on and on.  Seriously, it was impressive how much we could fit in our car.

Look at my little lady compared to the huge balloon!

On Tuesday morning, we all got up bright an early to take a hot air ballon ride.  It was unbelievable.  Some of the kids had a tough time, but it was beautiful and exhilarating, and Steve and I loved it.

Wednesday was spa day, which I had been looking forward to for weeks.  We had arranged to put all of the kids in Kid's Camp at Deer Valley so the ladies could enjoy the spa and the guys could do some Mountain Biking.  We took Matilda in with the other kids.  She was in a "class" without any of her cousins.  We gave the leader some Tildy instructions and headed out.  I made sure to leave my number in case my beautiful angel decided she wasn't in to Kid's Camp.  45 minutes later I got the call.  She had been crying since I left and was showing no signs of slowing.  That's my girl!  My Mom and I headed over to pick up my red, puffy-eyed little lady and she spent the day with her Dad.  Fortunately, he is a fantastic Dad and they had a great day.

I skipped the hay ride due to my horse allergies, but Tildy loved it!

My brother Cole joined us for part of the trip, and he is AMAZING.  He rode his bike from Salt Lake to Deer Valley on Tuesday.  He rode up through Immigration Canyon and took 12 miles of deer trail.  I am in awe of him.

On Thursday we went to the Outlets for a little retail therapy.  Most of the kids have school, so it was a great opportunity.  And that evening, we headed out to the middle of nowhere (somewhere past Oakley) for a hay ride and dinner.  Everyone had such a great time.

Friday was one of my favorite days.  The boys took most of the kids, except for the little ones, and went boating.  The ladies stayed behind and enjoyed the peace and quiet.  That night we arranged for a babysitter, and had a phenomenal meal.  For years, my Mom and I have wanted to go to Chez Betty's.  It has been on the Best Restaurant lists several times, but somehow we always miss it.  Don't miss it!  It was fantastic.  Not only was the food great, but so was the service.  I think my Sister is still thinking about the Sweet Corn Risotto...

Saturday was our last day.  The boys went golfing, and we took the kids to Monkey Mountain.  They LOVED Monkey Mountain and I got to watch Tildy climb and crawl and be absolutely fearless.  That evening went went to see the Utah Symphony perform the music of Queen outdoors.  It was fabulous!  The most surprising part of the evening was how much Matilda loved it!  They started performing "Under Pressure" and she took that as her cue to get down.  That girl danced and clapped and shook her head so fast that the drool flew out of her mouth.  She was very entertained, and very entertaining.  It was such a great time.

 It was so fun to be together as a family and have all of the cousins together to play and get to know each other.  My nieces and nephews are adorable and I love how much they love Tildy.  The vacation was VERY different having the kids there.  We didn't get as much adult conversation, and I think we missed that, but it was so great to be together as a whole family.  We'll always have such great memories of this trip.