Aspen Grove

At the end of August, Marshall's super-generous, sweet parents took all the kids and their families up to Aspen Grove, a facility up near Sundance, which was a fun family vacation get-away area. They provide cabin rooms and all the food, and also babysitting for the kids during the day, which allowed the adults to go and have tons of fun doing all the things we love best. And, we got to try some new things! We had a blast and ended with a fun hike up to Stewart Falls.

The hike was more fun for me on the way up, because Drew hiked. Since it was a few miles, he was pretty tired for the return trip. So I had the privelege of carrying him the entire way back down. Good times.

Drew and his cousin Audrey- super hikers!

Ok, so I already knew my husband was an amazing basketball, volleyball, and football player. He is such a natural athlete- it isn't fair! But what I found out at Aspen Grove is that he could also give Robin Hood a run for his money. He totally hit a bullseye on this shot. How is he so good at every sport? Oh, and I musn't forget rope-climbing. He was good at that too. And hatchet-throwing. And horseshoes. I think Marshall had more fun up there than anyone.

The kids had such a blast playing with daddy!

Oh, and did I mention "Drew" caught a fish as well? He was so excited as Marshall helped him reel it in. All he kept talking about doing at Aspen Grove was fishing, and I didn't really have much hope that he would actually catch one. Angler Marshall to the rescue! Drew went around the pond afterwards telling everyone about his catch. He was absolutely giddy. It was awesome.

Drew catching his first fish was one of those special 'mommy moments' for me. I hadn't expected that. I suppose it is probably because I come from a family of fishermen-It's in my blood!

M and Allie in jail. They had a cute little western village for the kids to play in.

At the horshoe pit. Of course he was naturally good at that too. I was just happy I never hit anyone.

The Chamberlain boys also won both the 3 on 3 as well as the 5 on 5 basketball tournaments. (Which I played in- we did it co-ed! Woo-hoo! I hadn't played in forever, so that was a lot of fun.) Marshall and his brothers are all close to 6 1/2 ft. tall, and they make a great team. It was fun watching them play together.

The cabins we stayed in were really cozy and fun. There was a cool loft above with a ladder. Drew had fun climbing up there. At night after we put the kids to bed, the adults had so much fun playing games and telling funny stories and laughing. Those are the best times.

One of my favorite parts of Aspen Grove was the guest lecture. John Bytheway and his family were up there with us, and we were able to listen to 4 different talks about different marriage/family subjects. I really like him, and was able to learn a few really valuable things from his presentations.

Thanks again, Mom and Dad Chamberlain. We had such a wonderful time, and made some beautiful memories as a family.