Bear Lake

August 23rd-25th we went on our 2nd annual neighborhood camping trip.  This year the destination was Bear Lake.  Most of us rented kabins at the KOA.   Our kabin had a bunk bed, 2 full beds and a spot for the play n pack. They had fans and electricity inside. The bathrooms (not far away) were very clean and had running water and showers. It was our families first KOA experience, I've been told they are not all this nice. Thanks Camille for helping me with this post! (she gave me her html code from her post). Isn't she the best!  Here's some of the high lights of the trip!

The KOA had a game room.

A swimming pool

Camille & Owen, Jack, Makinzee & Lilly hanging at the swimming pool

Cami,Madelyn, Jen, Layla, Lincoln, Clairesse and Daniel

And a jumping pillow.

The first night they opened up the jumping pillow for free.

The kids had a blast.

At the end the adults got a minute to play too.

Ally and Lexi hangin' out It's fun to stay at the YMCA
When we came back from the jumping pillow, someone had left this sign on the Saddler's trailer.  Someone had left this same sign on their trailer a few months before this as well.  I'm not sure who would think of doing something so awesome, but it must be someone super cool and funny.  Don't you agree?
Friday morning we woke up ate cereal on the picnic tables, packed the coolers, grabbed the sand stuff and headed to the North Beach on the Idaho side of Bear Lake. We spent all day here! It was fantastic. The water level was such that the kids could go out far and not make us too worried. I didn't have any panic attacks that anyone was going to drown.

Macey, Lexi, Mary, Ally

Owen ate lots and lots of sand...... delicious
Owen loved crawling around in the water. It was really shallow for quite a ways out- it made it so fun for the kids, and less stressful for the adults.

Matt and Cami brought their boat.  We all took turns going out. Thanks Matt for taking us for a ride. I even got Maddy and Lexi to be brave enough and try out the big tube with me. Lexi didn't last as long as Maddy but we all had fun.

Isn't the water gorgeous? This is really the color of it. The limestone in the area gives the water the blue color (not the sky Dad:).

 Back at the beach the kids played
Lincoln, Jackson, Jack and William

Layla

Lincoln, Tenny, Mary, Alli, Maddy

Ally and Lexi

This was our spot although the wind by the afternoon kept sweeping our canopy's away.

Kevin brought his Swedish game Kub

 

The Vail's brought their boat and we all took turns going out on the water.

Thanks Matt and Cami!

Isn't the water is beautiful!



 

I convinced the girls to go on the boat with me. Lexi was on board, Maddy was nervous but in the end Maddy did great. Lexi liked it too but opted to get off a little earlier than Maddy wanted.

 

Kara and Cami

 Jack went on the boat and loved riding on the boat but someone told him there was a Bear Lake Monster and he wanted nothing to do with the deep water. Mike also got a spin on the tub. The water temperature was perfect.

Friday night we had a big pot luck. Here's som eof the kids chowing down.

The KOA offered free tractor rides.

 Our group filled up the entire load!
Tractor rides
We celebrated Madelynn's first birthday (along with Mike's brother's Bill and Dan)


Sophie got a little sun

My kids were so sad we didn't have time to go play mini-golf. It's free too.

Friday night the glow bracelets came out. Thanks Ann. Later the kids played night games until the KOA told us it was quiet time which was 10pm...way too early.
Saturday morning we woke up, (didn't go running like Emily had hoped), broke down the camp, packed up the car and headed to the Hungry Bear Breakfast. We decided it would be nice to have an easy Saturday and not cook. Breakfast was pancakes, omelets, scrambled eggs, yogurt and cereal. Simple. It was very nice not to have to cook breakfast.

After breakfast, the group minus Jen and her crew (which she braved the trip solo because of a football game) headed to Minnetonka Cave. I've never been before. We were told to bring a jacket. As soon as you arrived to the entrance of the cave, you could feel the cold air.

I'm not going to lie, it freaked me out going below into the cave. BUT I buckled down and told myself there wouldn't be an earthquake. We walked 444 steps both ways for those that struggle with math that is a total of 888 steps. Lexi did pretty good, Maddy and Jack did all the steps! Maddy complained on the way up the canyon her stomach hurt. I told her she was just car sick.

Getting ready to go to a cave on

Jack and Christian
Owen did NOT love the caves, especially when the guide stopped to chit-chat which he did a lot. I was thinking lets keep moving but he wanted to tell us all about the cave. Some of it was  interesting.
 
We made it to the end and then he turned off the light. All you could see was Jack's shoes that lite up. I couldn't even see my hand in my face. It was DARK. Several of us decided we had had enough and trucked back the 444 steps without stops.

Lexi, Mary and Ally had so much fun playing together.

And then here's some pics of the group.
The Shosted's


The Hendricksons us The Vails The Saddlers Group photo: Saddlers, Hendricksons, Brochinskys, Shosteds, Loveridges and Vails. This was the group we were with the whole time, minus the Wakleys- they had just gone to the caves a few weeks before this- wish we would've thought to take a group picture before they left!

After the caves we drove back down the canyon and ate lunch at Le Beaus- we also had raspberry shakes. While we were waiting in line Maddy tossed her cookies. Hmm, I really still think she was car sick. No one else got sick. Ann was not happy. She didn't want her kids to get the flu right before school started.  I didn't want the flu either luckily no one else got it and we started school without it. Maddy felt much better once her stomach was emptied. She enjoyed french fries and raspberry shake also.  Lillian also got a taste of raspberry shake, although the milk must of been too much for her tummy...she also tossed her cookies (well the shake that is). After lunch we loaded up and headed back home.

 

On the way to Bear Lake we stopped at the Brigham City Temple Open House....no pictures. Loved the peach blossoms which were shown throughout the temple.  The spirit was felt once you walked into the temple. Each of the kids felt it and were very well behaved.

 

Lexi loved the font or the  swimming pool as she called it.  We told her it was for baptisms.

 

The next week was Maddy's baptism; Lexi was so excited that Maddy got to go swimming with the moose! LOL.

 

The dedication is this Sunday and anyone temple worthy and over 8 can go, Maddy is very excited to be able to go with Mom and Dad!

 

The weekend get-a-way was so much fun. We love our hood. Can't wait to see where we are headed next year. I personally loved Bear Lake but the Spruces was awesome last year as well.