TRIP TO FARMINGTON!!

WOW!!! We had an awesome trip to Farmington. I was hoping to stay another week!! We did so much we hardly had time to just sit! Rick and I have decided we would love to move to the four corners someday. More specifically.....DURANGO! What a beautiful place. And the weather is awesome!!! Warm during the day and cool at night. A great place to vacation!!!! With a ton of things to do! We left last Saturday bright and early. 13 hours later we arrived at Ricks parents house! Long drive, but the kids do so awesome...they are great little travelers! As ususal Grandma and Grandpa had a super yummy dinner awaiting us, with grandmas famous homemade rolls and snickerdoodles! (my goal is to one day cook like her!) After dinner the kids jumped into the pool and swam the night away.
Day 2 of the trip started bright and early with morning church and then off to the golf course! Rick took the boys to a great course called Civitan...it was perfect for them. It was a Par 3 course. Rick said he hadn't golfed there in years, but it was perfect for the little boys. Rick and the boys were golfing and I was the designated picture taker. BUT on the first hole I decided I would give it a go....well, let's just say I didn't go past the first hole. I got up there and swang, and swang, and swang, yes and pretty much missed for awhile before hitting the ball a couple inches in front of me. Rick giggled, the boys laughed very loud and I realized my job really should just be designated picture taker. Cody made the comment, even he could hit the ball farther than me. I admit, I am a terrible golfer - I have too much of a softball swing!!! We had a great time though! The boys could have stayed out there all day. They love golfing with their dad!And I love watching them!!
Day 3 Rick started the day bright and early golfing with some buddies while the kids and I enjoyed the day in the pool! Later in the afternoon we headed down to one of our favorite places.....THE BAR-D CHUCKWAGON in Durango! We have been coming to the BAR-D pretty much every summer and we LOVE IT! We can't come visit in the summer withouth our trip to the BAR-D! The food is fabulous...Chase's favorite is the spice cake and the show is great! The kids have their favorites that the group sings, but this year they through in a new song!!! Cody wanted a CD of it, but the song is so new, they haven't recorded it yet! I guess we will have to wait until next year to hear it again. I love the scenery...up in the mountains and lots of trees. Traditionally, the pictures we take up there always manage to end up on our Christmas cards...so you may see this one again later in the year...:)The kids love to ride the train and sit up in the front so they can ring the bell. The train driver is so cute and has worked their for years. This year we had the train so full I was a little worried we were going to have to get out and push, but with a little encouragement from everyone....the little engine made it back!We had a great night up in the mountains!!! Thanks grandma and grandpa for so much fun!
Day 4 today was the day to get ready to head up to the lake! We shopped for food, loaded up the campers, and got the boat ready to head to Navajo Lake for a couple of days! Growing up, Rick loved going to the lake. He would stay on the water from sun up to sun down! Once we got to the campsite, we got the trailers set up we headed straight to the water! Usually the lake is freezing! (well anything is, compared to Texas lakes), but this year it really wasn't too bad. Yes, it takes your breath away jumping in, but once you are in, it was great! We pulled the kids on the tube and found a nice beachy area for the kids. They loved playing in the water and climbing on the rocks. Paige even got a little daring and jumped off the rocks into the water. We stayed on the water until sun down and headed back to the trailer for dinner and smores!!! We didn't have firewood, so we did the next best thing....roasted marshmellows over the grill!
The kids got a kick out of that! We love smores, especially when we get all sticky! After smores, we headed back to the trailer for a crazy game of spoons and a movie. (Yes, it was a late night, but we had fun!!!)We were completely spoiled....camping in style!!!
Day 5 Yup, you guessed it....more fun on the water. We woke up, had breakfast and headed to the water for more fun. Ricks brothers family joined us today. Today was full of adventure!!! We decided we would get some tubing in before his brother got there, so we put the boat in the water and headed out. Jordan jumped in and was getting on the tube. We were just about ready to take off and I looked back and noticed water in the boat. I said, "Rick, why is there water in the boat?" Immediately he said, "oh crap!" I could tell he was worried. I said, "what is the matter?" Well, he forgot to put the plug in the boat. He was so calm, worried, but calm. As for me - I wasn't quite sure what to do. I asked Rick what that meant....basically, if the boat kept filling with water, we would sink! We pulled the tube in and kept yelling for Jordan to swim in. She wasn't aware of the major situation and was just taking her time! I was panicing making sure all the kids had life jackets on and looking to see what I needed to grab if we needed to jump overboard, and Rick was working on turning the boat around to get back to the marina. All I could think about was the boat sinking and having to tell Ricks brother his boat was at the bottom of the lake! Jordan finally climbed into the boat and we SLOWLY headed back to the marina. Once we were in shallow enough water thatI could see the bottom of the lake I felt a little better. Atleast if the boat sank, we would be able to pull it out. Rick jumped in the water put in the plug and turned in the pump. We waited for a good while to pump the water out, but all was well. The fun could continue and the boat was above water!!! It was super scary at the time, but a great story to tell!!! By this time Ricks brother was there with his dads boat and we were ready to head out. Well, we got a little ways out and the boat Ricks brother was on stopped. We like to call it "goldfinger". It's a little older boat, and has lasted a long time, but today it quit on us. SO---rick pulled it to the beachy area where the kids like to play. We pulled out the boys fishing poles and the girls headed to the rocks! Never a dull moment with the Petersons!!! We were at the beach for a good part of the afternoon....climbing rocks, jumping rocks, swimming over rocks, building forts, fishing, and relaxing! We finally left the beach and went for some fun crazy tubing rides! The water got a little rough around 5:00, so we headed in for some dinner. Rick BBQ some hamburgers...they tasted so good!!! Rick and our nieces husband, Dave where the men on the grill! We had a lot of craziness today, so we were ready to get some rest!
Day 6 Last day at the lake!!! We woke up and got everything ready to head home...once the campers were good to go...we had to have our last hoorah! on the lake!!! What a great day! Great weather, great water, and no sinking boats!!! Yes, we headed straight to the beach! Chase and Cody worked on their forts, we through the frisbee around, the girls jumped off rocks, and we had a few water fights! Then off tubing!!! Cody was a crazy man. He let me ride with him....we went "super fast" and even went in circles and caught some air!!! Way to go Cody!!The water was so nice even the adults got a little wakeboarding in....Rick is awesome...jumping those wakes....I was super excited because I had some great runs, and no major wipeouts!!! (a rare thing for me)We stayed out on the water until dark....we had a great time, and no sunburns!!!
Day 7 For a few years now, I have been wanting to take the kids rafting down the river in Durango....well - this year was the year. I wasn't sure what the kids were going to think about it, and well......THEY LOVED IT! We are ready for a super white water rafting adventure now!!!! We drove up to Durango and rafted down the animas river! We had a blast! The water was absolutely freezing! Jordan was the only one daring enough to jump in...well, actually our guide who we named "Bob" - challenged her and said, "if you do it I will!" So off they both went. They were pretty much in and out in seconds! We loved floating the river, then we saw the big water!!! Ready, Set, Go!!!
Yeah BABY!!! (notice all the kids in the front!)
We survived and are ready to do it again!!!!
That was totally awesome and will now be added to our yearly "to do" list!
After the river, we headed back to Farmington for some fireworks and fun at Ricks brothers house!! In Farmington they do the big firework show on the 3rd....Rick bought a ton of sparklers, so the kids had fun writing their names in lights. :) We talked mom and dad into showing and teaching us their jitterbug, and the dance was on for the next few hours!!! We had a blast, two steppin, jitterbugin, fox trottin, on the back porch until about 2:00 in the morning! Yes, we felt it the next day, but it was totally worth it!!!
Day 8 This was our last day!!! Rick and the boys started the day with one last golf game. They of course love playing golf, but also LOVE driving the golf cart and getting snacks on the golf course. The girls and I had a lesson in roll making and of course had to make one more batch of snickerdoodles. We also enjoyed the pool for a few hours. That night we went to the ampitheater to see the play "Annie Get Your Gun." That was so much fun...there is nothing like sitting outside with a cool breeze watching a show in the middle of summer.
Mom and Dad, thanks so much for such a great vacation! It's hard to come home because we always have such a great time. We can't wait to come back!