Tuesday, August 21, 2012

Mountain vacation {Quinn’s Weekend Adventures}



Nothing like some clean mountain air to relieve a little stress. Last weekend, we went on a mini-vacation with my Hubs’ family. They rented a gorgeous house on a lake up in the mountains about three hours away. Quinn had a great time with his cousins, and it was really nice to have some family time.

This is the view off of the deck.



The beach was just a short walk away. Q loved floating in the water with Daddy and our three year old niece.




Said three year old niece also took on the role of “Little Mommy” to Q and helped us take excellent care of him during the trip. She followed him everywhere – all the cousins did, really. It was nice to see all four them playing together. So cute!




Said three year old niece also informed me that she hates monsters and she punches them in the balls. (Can you tell she has two older brothers?) Yep, she is my hero. I’m either the best or worst aunt ever because I laughed out loud. That shit was funny!

Not far away was a little place called Rainbow Pool, a small swimming hole with a waterfall. The water was fresh and clean, and the view was gorgeous. The water was a little too cold for Q, so he enjoyed it from his perch on Daddy’s shoulders.



Smaller waterfalls cascade into a river that feeds the waterfall into the swimming hole. Q’s Uncle and cousins had a great time collecting rocks and splashing in the shallow water.



Poor Q was exhausted after all that activity, so he dozed in the car while Hubs and I drove around and took in the scenery. This viewpoint is called Rim of the World. Our little point-and-shoot camera (all we had with us that day) cannot do this view justice.



The lake we stayed on had a water taxi that took us to a larger beach near the marina. I’d like to say that Q loved his first boat ride, but he was too displeased with the giant life vest he was forced to wear. He calmed down after the boat started moving, but he was definitely not happy.

That's our niece lookin' all gangsta in her awesome pink hat.


He had a great time once we got to the beach though. He and Daddy played in the sand for quite a while. His new favorite thing is to dump dirt on his head. Miraculously, no sand got into his eyes. These little safari hats are now a beach time necessity.



This is one happy, filthy toddler.



We also experienced quite a bit of wildlife up in the mountains. A family of deer came by every day, and they didn’t seem to be wary of us at all. They walked very close to the deck, and as long as none of the kids made any sudden movements, the deer were content to take their lunch there.




Not all the wildlife was welcome though. One night, my Hubs, his brother and I were hanging out on the deck after all the kids went to sleep, when we saw two eyes peering at us through the dark. A raccoon had stealthily scrambled up the steps and was prepared to see if we had left any dinner behind. Luckily, our sudden AHHHH!! scared it away.

I’m not a fan of mean and ugly creatures.