This was our 3rd year spending a weekend near the 4th of July at Bear Lake. It's becoming a great family tradition, and one that that kids really look forward to. Once again, we had a blast. My parents rented a cabin, this time in Idaho, so it was closer to the state park where we hang out during the days. It was a great cabin, with a huge great room space where everyone could hang out together, and plenty of beds for everyone. Their was a fun loft area where the cousins all got to stay together, and then each family had their own room.
This year we arrived at Bear Lake on the 4th of July. For us that meant we spent most of the day driving, but it was so fun to join up with the cousins, grandparents, aunts and uncles that night. We had a great view of the fireworks people set off over the lake, and everyone had fun doing a tie-dye shirt. This year my sisters and I each planned an activity to do with the kids in the evenings. I brought the tie-dye supplies, and everyone had a fun tie-dye shirt to wear during the rest of the weekend. Unfortunately, I was so busy helping everyone dye their stuff, I didn't get any pictures at all that first day. But, we all have a fun shirt to help us remember!
The next day we headed out to the lake first thing. The water level was down quite a bit, so it was more of a hike from the parking to the water. We had a great set up with tables, tents, chairs and plenty of sand toys. Levi loved getting wet and sandy, and it was impossible to keep him clean for any amount of time. My uncle Richard brought his boat again, and we all had fun going on rides. Noah was the first brave kid on the intertube - the water was a bit choppy, and he forgot to take his hat off, and ended up having to hold it in his mouth so it wouldn't fly away.
But he still had a blast. After he got off the tube, we went for a cruise around the lake, at a much faster speed. Olivia was sitting at the front of the boat with me, and totally flipped out. After a while, Richard stopped the boat, and we made our way to the back, where it's less bouncy. She was still pretty anxious to get off the boat, but she managed to stop sobbing.
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| She was fine at first - and then we went faster... |
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| This was after she had calmed down quite a bit. Hopefully she'll forget all about it and be brave again next year. |
She stayed on the shore the rest of the weekend :) Sam took Levi back to the cabin in the early afternoon, and he was able to get a good nap in, before the rest of us headed back.
That night we did Sarah's activity, which was Sharpie tie-dye. Olivia did some shoes, Noah a hat, and Harrison a bandanna.
They had a lot of fun with this as well, and they've had fun wearing their creations ever since. We also did our first annual family talent show. The kids had lots of fun showing off their talents. Noah did cup stacking and blowing up balloons, which he came up with all on his own,
Harrison recited Pi, and did a one man show of "who's on first." Olivia blew bubbles. She wanted to do bike riding, since she's an expert on her 2 wheeler now, but we didn't have bikes at the cabin, so this was what I could coax her into doing. This was an impromptu talent show, so maybe next year we'll prepare a little better. The Bloomfields amazed us with cartwheels, splits, rubics cube solving, and piano performances, and little Clara sang the BYU fight song for everyone.
We had another great day at the lake on Saturday. Harrison and Sam did some tubing, but the boys really just wanted to dig, and bury each other on the shore. My dad also brought an air mattress, which they really enjoyed "sailing" on. Again, Sam took Levi, and this time Clara, back to the cabin for naps. After we got back from the lake, Sam, Olivia, Levi and I headed to La Beau's for some yummy shakes. Noah and Harrison enjoyed watching some movies with their cousins. That night Amanda showed us all how to make survival bracelets. Noah helped me make his, Harrison mostly did his on his own, and I made one for Olivia. These were a lot of fun, and another fun souvenir the kids have to help the remember all the fun of the weekend. After a late night chatting with my sisters and mom, we headed to bed. For some strange reason, I had a crazy thought that Olivia was going to sleep walk of the ladder of the loft and die. I couldn't sleep very well, and every time the cabin creaked, I would jump up to go look up to the loft to see if she was walking around. She didn't and she slept like a log all night, so I don't know what my problem was. We packed up the next morning, and headed out without incident. Our drive home was much smoother - Levi didn't complain at all, and took two naps. We only stopped once, and we stopped at a beautiful park in Boise, where they had a playground, and nice bathrooms. Everyone stretched their legs, and got a bite to eat, and we headed home.
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| Olivia and Levi really liked this little bear holding a welcome sign right inside the front door of the cabin. |
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| We sported our tye-dye wear for much of the weekend. |
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| Levi could not get enough of the sand. He was constantly covered in it. |
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| A group shot before we all headed home. |
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| The kids all loved playing on the air mattress out on the lake. |
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| The grandkids at the beach on Day 2. |
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| The view from our Cabin. It was a great spot for watching fireworks on the 4th! |
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