Bear Lake

Labor Day weekend was a blast! We headed up North to the Utah/Idaho border to a nice little place called Bear Lake. I had never been there before but heard much about the nice sandy beaches and crystal blue water.... and it's no "little" place. The lake is huge! We had a great time with Jeff's sisters' families the Christensens (Haley) and Youngs (Nichole) and a few friends. We got there late Friday night and set up camp. The next morning the kids had a great time exploring their new surroundings with their cousins. The boys enjoyed digging in the rocks...

...or just laying in them.

Cole is quite the camper/mountain man. He hauls his nice trailer (and lets crying kids sleep in it) and tons of food and loves to cook for anyone and everyone. He's quick to make sure you have a seat and a drink and is always asking "what can I get ya?" It was good to see him sit and relax for a few minutes.

Quinton and Krew sure enjoyed playing in the dirt and rocks.

Corbin loved the endless amount of swords-- I mean sticks available to play with....

... he had to be armed for all the bunny/chipmunk hunts the kids went on.

After breakfast we loaded the kids up in the truck and headed down to the lake for some fun in the sun. We were worried the weather wouldn't cooperate, but it turned out to be the perfect weekend, not too hot or cold and NO RAIN!

The boys were a bit apprehensive at first, but soon they were both in the water quite a ways out.
Quinton loved wading in the shallow water and walking through the tiny waves.

After he'd had enough water he enjoyed eating endless snack on the beach.

Corbin found a friend JC, a little girl his age and they followed each other around the beach, through the water, and kept each other quite entertained.

Scott brought his boat and Jeff took Corbin out for a tube ride (that's Jeff in the black shirt and white hat walking out to the boat with Corbin). I guess Corbin was too scared to get on the tube in the water, but he watched Jeff do it and when Jeff fell off the tube Corbin screamed to Scott... "STOP, that's my daddy, get him!"

Later, back on the beach, there was an intense and on-going game of Lasso golf that kept the guys entertained for like 3 days straight!

Grandpa Dick and Grandma TeeTee joined us for Saturday afternoon. They enjoyed relaxing on the beach and watching their kids and grandkids play.

I tried putting Q down for a nap in the back of the Tahoe because he was so tired from the sand and water. I went to check on after about 10 minutes and found this:

(little monkey had climbed into the drivers seat and locked the doors.... with the keys inside! Luckily the windows were cracked enough and the sun-roof was open to fish the keys out.)

He never really went back to sleep very long, but was nice and cranky and tough-looking the rest of the day.

The next day we headed up to the Minnetonka Caves in the Cache National Forest. Q and I napped in the car while the rest of the group walked through the caves.

It was a pretty lengthy walk with lots of steps and 40* inside so I'm glad I didn't go, but the others said it was amazing inside!

One of the great rooms. (Kind of dark, I know.)After the caves it was back to the beach for some more fun. Ty and Tanzynn brought their cool kites to fly in the windy shoreline.

Corbin could have sat there all afternoon flying them.Krew loved the kites as well and its a good thing someone was nearby to coach him or his little 22 lb. frame would have lifted off with the kites.

Brandon and Nichole enjoyed the scenery and the tube. Still look like newly-weds after 16 years!

Getting buried in the sand to make sand monsters...

...and sand angels.

Even Q loved the sand up to his chin!

But the funnest part is washing it off in the water. Quinton and Krew loved throwing sand in the water.

There's my man walking hand in hand with his baby on the beach. Moments like that remind my why kids are worth it.

Thanks to Haley my 8-month prego belly got captured in all its glory. I feel so much bigger than i look here. I guess chasing around 2 kids toddlers will do that to ya. I realize I haven't been documenting my growing baby bump this time around, so here it is for all of you to see.

I think Bear Lake is a place we could go back to often. It was a great weekend and we'd love to do it again next summer!