Bear Lake 2012

Labor Day had us up in Bear Lake.  Our good friends own Bear Family Haven.  If you need a good, clean place for a large group, these are the places to stay.  

This time, we stayed in the Mama Bear cabin.  We invited any of Dentist Husband's family who wanted (and could) to come with us. It was a great weekend.  

Some highlights:  Ordering the 28 inch "Old Ephraim" pizza.  Imagine a card table--then you understand the size of this pizza box.

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 The raspberry shakes (from the same pizza place) were awesome too.

The Paris (in Paris, Idaho) Ice Cave

 That is snow.  

You have to hike further in to find the true ice.

 Dentist Husband and his sister (she is 10 years younger than him, married with one son)

 Playing "Name that Tune" with my iphone play list.  Only a few snide comments were made about my song selections.

 Crab apple fights.  There was a huge crab apple tree on the property and yes, we got in several crab apple fights.  Yes, they really do hurt when hit.  We have the bruises to prove it.  

My sister in law (married to Dentist Husband's oldest brother) made three kinds of awesome popcorn.  

 All of the kids hot tubbing at night.

 Getting in heated/friendly arguments late into the night.

 Eating at the Bear Lake icon LaBeaus.

All in all a great trip.  

Also, if you get a chance, eat at Cafe Sabor.  Excellent Mexican food.

Back to real life now . . .

Eating the live sand crab

We just got home from a wonderful family trip to California.  I really don't have it in me to do a blog post about the whole trip but I will do a brief one to give you a "taste" (pun unintended but since I wrote that, I am pretty pleased with my pun) of our trip.

Several years ago, when we were vacationing with Dentist Husband's extended family, Dentist Husband's brother ate a live sand crab at the beach.  None of us could believe it.  Then, the next summer, Toothsome #1 did it.  No one pressured him to do it.   He just wanted to do it to prove to himself he could do it.  

Well, this summer, Toothsomes 2 and 3 decided to join the "eat the live sand crab" club.  

Toothsome #3 went first.  

Not to be outdone, Toothsome #2 went next.  

FYI:  I have no desire to join the club.  Either does Dentist Husband.  

Summer, glorious summer

Since school got out, we have tried to take full advantage of summer.  Our mornings look like this:

Until 9:00 am that is, because that is when I enforce: shower, clean rooms and piano practicing. 

Then, we go back to fun summer.  Most days that means going to the neighborhood pool.  I was raised going to the pool daily in the summer and I am so glad I can continue to do that with my kids.  Great memories.  

On the weekends, we try to do something more involved.

Years ago, Dentist Husband purchased a go-kart and at my father-in-law's cabin, he built a go-kart track.  

Using this tractor to make/form the course. 

And if you have a son who LOVES sharks, I highly recommend this jacket from Chasing Fireflies.  (Notice he is wearing his Hannah Andersson shark shirt underneath.)   

 Chasing Fireflies also has these wonderful nightgowns.  Honestly, these are made with the softest cotton I have ever felt.  You may remember, my girls have Halloween ones too.  

And finally, the BIG news of June was Toothsome #1 getting his braces off.  Getting him to smile for the camera is not so easy.  

Start of Summer Canyon Run

School isn't officially out but this Saturday we did our "School is Out" canyon trip.  Being raised by mountains, and living my whole adult-life around them, I am truly a mountain girl.  I try to not take them for granted and my husband and I have tried to make the mountains part of my kids growing up.  Canyon trips (since we live close to many of them) have become a regular part of summer for us.  It is not uncommon for Dentist Husband to call me on his way home from work and say, "Load up the car" and we head up for the evening.  I have my "canyon supplies" box ready in the garage all summer.   

But first, unrelated, this is my brother's son.  I took him to the MTC this week.  It is always an emotional experience for me.  It is also probably one of my favorite things about living here in Utah.  I LOVE being the aunt that drives them down to the MTC.  Here he is eating his final meal as a non-missionary.  Go Five Guys. 

 Back to the canyon . . .We have a favorite, somewhat hidden spot that we like to go.  There are lots of great rocks to climb on and a fire pit.  

 Here was dinner.  We found a flat rock and cooked everything on it.  It took way too long.  But it was a fun experiment anyway.

 We don't have many pictures of us together.  This isn't great but it shows we still like each other.  As of Memorial Day, we have known each other 17 years.  

 There is nothing better to me than a roaring canyon fire . . . the smells, the warmth, the flame; I love it.

Oh and we broke out our official "song of summer" on this trip.  (Every summer, we pick a song that will be the "song of summer" and we play it at the start of every day, on car trips, etc.,)  This year, "Praise You" by FatBoy Slim was chosen.