The main reason why we come out to Utah is to spend time with family. Unfortunately our time in Utah didn't overlap with any of Scott's other siblings visiting, but we were able to spend some quality time with his parents and their kiddos.
We started off our time in Utah with a fishing trip up Payson Canyon with Grandpa Mike, Grandma Linda and their crew. Scott's mom got a camper trailer at the beginning of the summer and has spent a lot of time out and about in it with the little kids. I have to mention that the last few months Mason has been a little obsessed with 'Camper vans'. I don't really know where the obsession began but I just remember Mason came home after the 100th day of school with a paper that said 'When I'm 100 years old I'll spend my money on:' and his answer was A Camper van. We got some good "livin' in a van down by the river" laughs in about that one. On our drive out to Utah he had a post it note on his window that he was keeping a tally of how many Camper vans he saw along the way. So when we pulled in to the campground Mason exclaimed, "It's camper van paradise!!" You can imagine his excitement to get to spend time in Grandma Linda's camper van during our stay.
Linda grew up camping and fishing and is totally in her element in that environment. We had a great time gathered around the lake, poles in hand. Brynn was very proud when she caught the biggest fish of the day all on her own. Miles was more interested in throwing rocks and digging with sticks in the mud than actually fishing, but he was happy to reel in a fish that Scott caught and take credit for it. Mason made quite the fisherman and did a great job fishing independently. His patience and determination paid off when he finally caught a fish on his last cast of the day.
Even more exciting than catching the fish was going back to the trailer and watching Grandma Linda clean the fish. The boys were enthralled. Brynn's wasn't so sure about it. After cooking up some fish for lunch Mason decided he wanted to stay with Grandma Linda and Tanner and spend the night in the 'camper van' while Karissa and Keyana came back with us and had a sleepover with Brynn. It was a dream come true for both of them - even if Mason did fall off the top bunk during the night. So many great memories were made.
 |
| Grandma Linda in her element. |
 |
| Mason the fisherman |
 |
| We let Brynn's big fish go before taking a picture, but she was happy to pose with Scott and Miles and their catch. |
 |
| Brynn's face show's how she felt about cleaning the fish. |
 |
| Tanner and Mason enjoying their fish in the camper van |
 |
| Mason with Grandma Linda's camper trailer |
Later during our time in Utah we were able to spend an evening out at Grandma Linda and Grandpa Mike's house "up in the mountains" as the kids call it. It's always an adventure at their house going on 4-wheeler rides, climbing trees, playing in the playhouse, and of course playing games. Mason joined the adults for a game of seven wonders and even managed to win!
We enjoyed all of our time spent with Scott's parents and are grateful for the wonderful memories our kiddos made.
