FAMILY WEEKEND in Strawberry, Arizona

Before the end of October, I'm determined to blog about our great family weekend in the mountains!  It took some planning, but most of our family were able to gather together with my folks at their cabin in Strawberry, AZ on October 6-7.  Unfortunately, Alissa and Alan had planned to join in on the fun, but their kitty Sancho had emergency surgery on October 5, which naturally cancelled out any travel plans they may have had.

We met at IHOP early on Saturday morning....

And after a short 90-minute drive north, we arrived to a warm welcome from Great Grandma and Great Grandpa Janne.  They have worked hard over the years to make their second home in the mountains a very welcoming and comfortable place.

 One of the first things Cailyn wanted to do was "dig in the dirt"!  Why not?

And Landon wanted to "explore" the grounds with Grandpa!

We enjoyed most of our meals on their beautiful deck...

and on our first lunch together outdoors we had a surprise visit from two young deer that wandered up to their chain link fence...it was AMAZING to see them so close!  I think they were as fascinated in looking at us, as we were in looking at them!

We went for a walk in their neighborhood,

 and drove into Pine, AZ (3 miles away) for the Apple Festival.  We took time to play on the playground and Cailyn made a bar of soap in the kids' crafts area.  Vince ran into an old customer from the camera store days too.  Small world sometimes!  Then we took the "scenic drive" around the area when Landon fell asleep, as the extra time in the car sleeping helped him get through the day!

Jen helped Grandpa work on a puzzle for a short while, and we ordered in pizza for dinner from "Mama Joe's"...delicious, by the way!

 On Sunday morning, Cailyn and Great Grandma played on the deck....Cailyn and Landon really liked the building blocks and plastic animals.  But most of all, they enjoyed wandering around their yard...and Landon liked to run "up and down" the hills!

  We took a ride over to the Fossil Creek Goat Farm on Sunday so the children could see the goats.

 It was a beautiful weather weekend...and we made some special memories together!

We hope next time that Alissa and Alan will be able to join in on the fun too!  Thanks for your hospitality Mom and Dad, aka Grandma & Grandpa Janne!!  We love you!!!