Johnson Vacation

We just got back from Texas. We had the chance to spend a week with Derek's side of the family at Holly Lake Ranch, near Tyler, Texas. We had a wonderful time, and now we're trying to catch up on sleep. :)

We flew to Dallas and rented a car to drive to the resort it was about 2 hours. The flight went well, since we didn't have a booked flight Cassidy was able to have her own seat. She enjoyed looking out the window. When she saw the big puffy clouds she would say, "oh wow"! We were able to meet Grammy, Sara, Scott and the kids at the airport since their flight came in after ours and then we carpooled together to the resort.

It was so good to reunite with the rest of the family. The kids have changed so much! The last time we got together was when Cassidy was 7 months old, for our sealing. The neat thing is that Cassidy has 3 cousins the same age as she is, we all had babies last year. And when we were together last, they were all bald, and not moving much. But on this trip we had 4 toddlers running in every direction. It was also neat to see Brynna, Amber, Grace, Michael, and Ben (the older cousins ages 4-8). They took good care of the little ones. And of course we can't forget Macey the youngest of the bunch at only 3 months old. What a cutie!

The resort that we stayed at was so pretty. We had 4 units right next to each other and each unit had a huge hot tub, so it was fun to fit all the kids in the tub for bath time and of course us adults were able to enjoy it too. :) We were in the great outdoors lots of pine and oak trees. The colors were changing, it was so beautiful! Couple of nights we watched the deer right outside our front door. We were also near a lake and had the chance to go canoeing and use paddle boats. Of course none of us swam in the lake due to the sign that read, Alligators in natural habitat. Thankfully we never came face to face with one. The kids enjoyed playing in the sand, on the playground, and of course just running all over the place.

Each night each couple took a turn with cooking dinner one night, dessert another night, and being in charge of entertainment. Derek and I brought karaoke for our entertainment night. It was so funny to watch and listen to everyone. Grammy was the best! It was a good time. Other nights through out the week we played games like Dominos, and SkipBo and watched movies, the brothers played Halo on the Xbox, the girls stayed up late talking. One day we spent the entire day in Tyler, Texas, going to the horse stables for the kids, wildlife museum, rose garden, and eating out at Texas Roadhouse.

There was a lot to do at the resort also, we had access to play put put golf, volleyball, basketball, tennis, and ping pong. It was so fun to spend time with everyone! They also had board games for the kids and would put out a puzzle for anyone to put together. Guess who sat at the table putting the puzzle together? Yup Derek, and his brothers. It made the ladies at the front desk very happy, and wanted to frame each puzzle they were able to put together. It was cute.

We had a treasure hunt one day for the kids, a sports day with teams, hikes and exploring trails around the area, and took turns for double dates out in the town or at the resort. I don't think Cassidy was ever bored! We think she enjoyed being with her cousins, Grammy,uncles, and aunts so much that she wouldn't ever want to sleep, so she wouldn't miss out on anything! She wanted to throw out naps all together. We will never forget our great week and we will always remember the times we had with everyone! We already miss being together. Thanks everyone for the good memories!