Bear Lake

Mike’s mom and dad paid for an amazing family reunion last week. We spent the entire week at a HUGE cabin up at Bear Lake. It was so fancy, nice, and spacious – not only open space, a huge two fridge/four oven kitchen, and theater room, but 15 bedrooms! Plus, we could walk to the beach. We each did one meal so other than that one, all lunches and dinners were taken care of by someone else in the family, and they were so good. We rented wave runners and pulled a tube with our little fishing boat. The water is so shallow that even Penny could crawl about pretty freely. We went to a cave, watched favorite video clips, and stayed up late talking. It was so fun, both the trip itself and just the happy at home feeling I have anytime I visit Bear Lake.

My grandma had a little place she rented directly on the beach and we spent many summer days there during my growing up years. Anytime I hear crows in the morning I think of Bear Lake. We had hot Ovaltine every morning, my grandma’s famous peas and potatoes along with a dish of pudding each night, followed by card games and bed time stories from my mom. At night the waves were often big enough to splash spray on the window above the fold out couch my sister’s and I slept on. All the time between these night and morning activities was spent playing on the beach and washing our feet off in the little yellow tub of water my grandma always placed outside to stop us from tracking in too much sand. The only variations were when we were lucky enough to be taken for an ice cream cone at the General Store (which I was sad to see was now a furniture store) or we were taking a walk up the road to feed horses.

During my high school years my friends and I would always plan at least one big trip there, or my sisters and I would go up to escape for a little fun. It was a great place to retreat when you felt you’d been slighted by a boy and didn’t want to be waiting around, needed a last hurrah before school started, or when you just felt like being fun and ridiculous.

We were able to continue renting there for a few years after my grandma passed away but by my junior year of college the owners of the property decided to keep it “in the family” which was a bummer for us. Still, we’ve managed to stay tied to the place by several siblings going in on a cabin in the mountains, one sibling marrying into a family with a cabin in the mountains, and occasional visits to condos up there. It has always been one of my favorite happiest places and if I were really rich one thing I would want to splurge on would be my very own place on the beach up there.

One summer morning in ’99 I had driven up to Bear Lake to be at a condo with just my sisters and a few of their little ones. Can you imagine? My favorite place and my favorite people! But, by evening I was driving back home because I wanted to be with Mike so badly – and that is one of the ways I knew that I was very seriously hooked as very little could have drawn me away from such a dreamy vacation!

Anyway, I was so busy having fun on this recent family trip with all of Mike’s family that I pretty much forgot about my camera. Here are a few pics though. Thanks again Alma and Gayle for letting us have such a happy week!

Here is Daisy with the swan she bought just for this trip and with her darling hair that my sister did for her the day before we left because all I can do is a sloppy pony tail. Isn't it cute!

Abe with his cute cousin Allie.

Daisy with her cousin Anna. Anna is ideal because she is old enough that my kids worship her and follow her around all day happy as larks, but young enough that she is still willing to let them!

And the only family picture we've managed to take in several years (thank you to nephew Brandon for pausing to snap it for us amidst the chaos of everyone trying to leave!)