A Little Family Vacation

Last week my family took a little vacation to Bear Lake. We reserved a campsite just down the road from Minnetonka Cave, borrowed some jet ski's from a family friend, and headed to the Utah/Idaho border for some family fun!

This event is noteworthy for many reasons, mainly because we had so much fun! Secondly, though, my family has not taken a vacation together in 15 years! Thats right!! 15 years. Our last big trip together was to San Diego California and my sister was in the 7th grade back then!!

Anyway, there was lots to do at the campground. We got set up and my children immediately set out to see how dirty they could get. And they were DIRTY! Oh well, camping, right?

There were a few mosquitoes at the campground. No problem, though. Brent and Terresa brought their handy-dandy hand held bug zapper. Fun for all! Just don't put your tongue on there!

While both my brothers brought their campers, we stayed the old-fashioned way. Here is our home sweet home.

Hannah wasted no time getting cozy in the tent. Liam was there to give support. They both thought it was very cool that our tent had 2 rooms. Ooooh...


There was a creek that ran through the campground and there was fishing not far away. Chet and the boys went everyday, twice a day. Here is Jayson with his trophy catch. (Covered with dirt and leaves). We cooked this fish in the fire and the kids ate it. My kids love fish, luckily!

Little boys + fire = a crazy light in their eyes and an awakening of their inner pyro. Garrett is holding Brent's fire starter. It looks like a long rifle or shotgun. The little boys couldn't wait to start burning things. They even boiled an egg in a cup in the fire.


Poor Ryan. My little wanderer. He would not stay in camp and I was constantly saying, "Where's Ryan?" Then everybody would have to go look for him. He followed anybody anywhere. We put him in the stroller, the playpen, the tent and still he would wander. He is just a little explorer. Finally, we could not take anymore worrying. The campground was starting to get busier and more cars were driving by. I was scared he would get hit by a car, so we tied him to the pole in camp. He had 50 feet of rope to walk with but as soon as he knew he was tied to something, he started whining and saying "stuck". Thats right buddy. You are stuck.

We went to the lake on Thursday and Friday. So much fun! My family had never been there. It is a really under-advertised place where we are from. Most of the people I know from Idaho Falls have never been there. We love it. We will be back! Here is Hannah and Liam in their "bathtub" as they called it.

Garrett enjoying a snack. Playing hard makes one hungry.

Not the most flattering picture of me but proof, once again, that I was actually there.

Hannah and Kara working on their sand castle.

The water was a wee bit chilly but not too bad once you got used to it. The babies preferred to stay on the beach, though. Here is Ryan and Karston playing in a mud puddle. Any tips on getting ground-in sand out of swimming suits?

Ryan got filthy and had to be washed off periodically. We borrowed 3 jet skis and they were a blast. Friday the water was a little choppy and you got a hard, bumpy ride. Fun! I felt it the next day, though!

See those dark clouds behind them? They weren't kidding. We got rained out Friday evening. At first it was a gentle rain but it soon turned to high winds and hard, pelting rain with sand. OUCH! We had already started to pack up but the rain really got us moving.

After we got back to camp and got cleaned up (kinda), we ate S'mores and sat around the campfire. Beckie made a double decker S'more. I think she is really enjoying it.

My dad brought his guitar and sang songs for us. The kids loved it. Hannah sang with him and danced to the music.

What a dirty kid! She was so filthy!

Who are those tired, dirty, sore people?

What a blast! My family had a great time. It was fun and relaxing for all, I think. Must be cuz my family is already talking about coming back next year! Yay!!!