Island Park 2011

My family LOVES Island Park, and they usually go there once a summer. I myself don't always love the great outdoors and I really don't like roughing it. So this year when they said we were doing trailers not a cabin I was not diggin the idea. But, I wanted to vaca with the family so we took Grandpa Swenson's trailer and ruffed it. I'm soooo glad we did because once we got there we had a blast and I would have to say it came close to the topping my list of best Andrews vacations ever.
Poor dad, this trip really wore him out. He couldn't go on any longer!! (What a WEIRDO!!)

Fun in the river. Dave & Lando did some bridge jumping! Good Job Boys!After a long trip of riding 4Wheelers to West Yellowstone we decided to jump in a stream to cool off. We weren't by the trailers for our swimsuits so we improvised and went in our unders. (That's why you get a pic with most of our bodies in the water...didn't want to scare ya)

We always ride into Yellowstone and this year I convinced my dad to stop at the "Hot Pots". Thanks Dad!! Weren't they awesome??

You can't vaca in Island Park without 4Wheelers and we went a lot this year. Tess loves to "go so fast". We discovered that taking her for a 4Wheeler ride was a great way to get her down for a nap. I rode from West Yellowstone to Isalnd Park with her snoozing in my lap.

We found snow on one ride. Pompa thought it was fun playing in the snow in July and got himself stuck. Luckily Gam was there to bail him out with her winch. Gam loves to spoil Tess and this trip she bought Tess a Dora fishing pole. Tess loved it and while the boys went fly fishing the girls went fishing with Dora. We had a great time and I realized that it doesn't matter where we go for vacation as long as my family comes along we always have FUN!! Thanks guys for a great time!!

The Never Ending House Guests

When it came time to leave California, we were homeless. Dave and I searched Cache Valley for a house to buy and in the end we decided to build. With no house for us to move into, Grandpa Mo and Grandma Jan were kind enough to take us in. Tess loved it!! She thought living on a farm was the ticket. We had a lot of fun times in the few months we lived with mom & dad.

Mom pulling Tess with the 4Wheeler

Daddy helped Tess build her first snowman! Welcome back to Utah...snow in April.

This spring was so cold and Easter was no different. But we braved the weather and Eastered at "Little Moab". We had lots of fun 4Wheelin, rolling eggs, and spending time together.

With all of the good times we had, we also had a some some struggles. About a week after we got to Utah we found out our Grandma Andrews had cancer. It was hard to see Grandma get sick, but our family rallied together, worked together, and made it through Grandma's passing together. We all loved Grandma very much and will never forget the great memories we have of her. Our house isn't built yet, but, for mom & dad's sake we didn't want to be the never ending house guests. For now we are living in an apartment in Logan and anxiously awaiting our new house!!

Goodbye Cali, Farewell Friends!

After 5 months of putting off our move we said goodbye and left for Utah. A lot of the changes John Deere brings our way have been easy and we haven't looked back, this was not one of those times. The friendships we made in Cali were so dear to us. Even though we will be living closer to our family in Utah we felt like we were leaving parts of our family in California. We love all of our friends in Riverbank and will always be so grateful for the friendship and support they gave to us while we were there. I wouldn't have made it without these wonderful girlies!!!

Kara and Jess know how to throw a going away party, and we definetely partied like some rockstars!!

Yosemite

During the 2 years that we lived in Cali Dave has constantly mentioned that he wanted to go to Yosemite National Park, and I have constantly been finding excuses not to go. But, Dave is a pretty persistent guy and 2 days before we moved we took a trip to Yosemite. In Dave's defense it was well worth the drive. I was pleasantly surprised to find that it only took a few hours to get there and it was actually pretty cool.
Tess giving the bear some "bones"Dave celebrating his victory....he finally got us to Yosemite!

Monterey Bay

Monterey Bay Aquarium has been on our list of things we want to do while we live in Cali, and because we are leaving soon we took a long weekend in Monterey and had a great time.

On our way there we took a pit stop at Casa de Fruita. They had a train, a playground, and Tessa's favorite...a merry go round. Dave took Tess on the train and it broke down half way through the ride. It was super far away and he and Tess had to walk back. Needless to say we got a refund.

Tess loved the aquarium! She really enjoyed the starfish and wanted to grab them all. They had the coolest exhibits; sea horses, jelly fish, sea otters, etc.

Of course you can't go to Monterey without a couple of beach days. On our way home we spent the afternoon in Santa Cruz, playing on the beach and scoping out the board walk.

Lookin Good!

All of you mom's out there know how hard it can be to get yourself ready. One day Tess would not leave me alone and I gave into her whining. I put her in the sink and let her play with the makeup so that I could have a minute to myself. By the time I was done Tess had fixed herself up too. She was very impressed with her work and I must say, "what a pretty girl!"

Round Two

2009 Round 1....Goes to Santa

2010 Round 2....Goes to Tess!!!

What a difference a year makes!!