Last week we enjoyed a family reunion with my family at Bear Lake. I have only been to bear lake twice in my life and didn't swim either time. Kirk has never been so we were really excited to go camping and play in the lake for a couple of days. Here is what we did on our trip day by day.
Day 1
We left Las Vegas on Tuesday July 19. Kirk worked during the day and the girls and I were exhausted from partying for my birthday the day before. We were all packed up and leaving town by 6:30 pm. We planned to leave later in the evening to let Audrey sleep most of the way. We are terrified of traveling with Audrey in case you haven't noticed. Kirsten was asleep by the time we were out of Las Vegas. Audrey didn't fall asleep for another 3 hours. But they were mostly happy hours so everyone in the car was happy. Kirk had a free nights stay at the Marriott in Richfield, so even though it was a little out of the way we were happy to stay somewhere free. We love being back in Utah, you know the place where bill boards are actually appropriate to look at. People are more friendly and kind for the most part too. We like Vegas but there are definitely things we miss about Utah. We saw a shooting star as we were driving. It was sooo cool! We pulled into Richfield at about 11. Kirk reserved a king bed for us as a romantic gesture. Unfortunately he forgot we have two children who now sleep in their own beds. It was a long night with Kirsten's arms, legs, and behinds in our faces. But it was so fun to be on vacation with our little family.
Day 2
We woke up early and said goodbye to Richfield. We missed the turn to get back onto I-15 so we had a nice beautiful drive through small Utah towns and fields full of cows and horses. We arrived at my Brenna's new house in Payson at about 10:30. Her house is beautiful and surrounded by so much green land. I think if Kirk and I could we move in right next door! Then we drove up (along with Brenna) to my friend Chalice's house. As I walked into Chalice's house I noticed my name on her wall. I thought that was slightly odd but kinda cool, then I noticed the birthday stuff around it. My sweet friends threw me a surprise birthday party! I really have the best friends. We had lunch and chit chatted to my hearts content. I had so much fun girl talking with friends. Our kids played like they were old friends (which the soon will be). Kirk was more than slightly bored, but he suffered through for me :). They had birthday cheesecake, ice cream, and presents. It was SO much fun! After a goodbye that came too quickly we drove up to Logan. We interrupted my friend Camille's dinner for a few minutes and saw Brett and Jess's new house before finally getting to Chelsey's house and having dinner. My girls have stayed at Chelsey's enough to love it there (it helps that Chelsey has a Belle princess doll too). That evening we went to the park with most of my younger siblings and their families. The weather was perfect and the company was awesome. We walked over to Garrett and Emily's cute new house and watched Rango before heading back to Chelsey's for the night. Audrey had a fever that night and Kirk and I ended up going to Wal-Mart at 4 in the morning for medication. The poor girl was miserable, sick, and not getting enough sleep.
Day 3
We woke up early (of course, are you seeing a trend?) and made lots of cookies to take camping (homemade oreo's, no bake cookies, and chocolate chip). Chelsey and I had fun in the kitchen together while Kirk and Kirsten went to Garrett's to finish watching Rango (Kirsten fell in love with orange julius there), and Audrey slept until 10:30, we were all in heaven! We met my friend Camille and her kiddo's at a super fun park for play time and a picnic. She was awesome and made us a fantastic lunch. She always goes above and beyond. I have such wonderful friends!
We finish loading the car and followed Garrett up to the lake (about 45 minutes from Logan). It was so beautiful! We camped at the southern end of the lake Bear Lake Rendezvous Beach. We were the first ones there and picked out the prime spot for our tent. Our tent wasn't lonely for long because Chelsey, Brett, and Camille all set up their tents close to ours (they later regretted that decision). Emily almost had a near death experience when a tree branch fell just barely behind her chair where she was feeding Rebekah, super scary. Emily and I were able to visit a lot during the trip as she nursed her baby and I held by fevering Audrey. Kirsten was in heaven with all of her cousins. Kirk and I honestly didn't see much of her unless she was exhausted or hungry because she was having so much fun. Audrey had a on again off again fever until Saturday. She didn't feel very good but was a trooper anyway. Kirk and I made dinner for everyone Thursday night. We made navjo tacos and they were SO good. We made 75 scones and the disappeared all too quickly. That evening we all enjoyed playing on the beach and in the water. It was heaven watching the sunset over the lake being with the people we love so much. It was a moment I wish could have lasted forever.
Day 4
Our night was good. The girls were tired and slept soundly. Riley's family even beat us up, Kirk and I woke up before the girls. We were all in very good moods. After breakfast we hit the lake. And stayed there all day long. We had a big raft that help about 10 people that we went and sat out on. It was so wonderful to visit and hold cute baby girls.
That evening Josh, Brett, and I were in charge of an activity for everyone. We played Sweet 16 Uno Brinkerhoff Style. We had the family nominate 16 uno players and then had everyone fill out their own bracket to say who they think would win. It was so much fun! Everyone really got into it. Want to guess who won not only the uno game but also the bracket competition? It's super easy to guess because he is the best at everything. Correct! It was my very own Kirk Howcroft. Told you he was the best!
Our next activity was inspired by the
kid history videos. We picked 5 different fun memories of us 9 kids growing up and then had 5 different groups act them out. It was so funny! The 9 memories we chose were: the family meeting when my parents told us we were moving to Vernal, the story of when Kristy and Camille squirted our cousin with urine, when I was scared of buses thanks to Riley and Josh, the four youngest kids playing POW, when Riley and Josh spilled cans of paint all over the house. It was hilarious and everyone had a great time.
That evening we sat around the fire and made smores from HUGE marshmallow's. Good times!
Day 5
Friday night was awful. Audrey did not sleep hardly at all and every moment she was not sleeping she was screaming. So badly that Jess thought she was being kidnapped. Everyone in camp heard her, I'm sure everyone on the south shore heard her. It was a very long night. Kirk finally took her to the car and spent the night with her there. Such a long exhausting night. Not the best way to start a day. After breakfast Kirk, Chelsey, Audrey, and I drove down to the Salt Lake airport so Kirk could fly out to London. We were gone from 10 am to 5 pm with a quick stop in Logan for a shower and to buy some melatonin for Audrey. It was a long drive and very sad to say goodbye to Kirk. Chelsey and I had so much fun together though. I really love that girl! She was so wonderful to make the drive with me so I didn't have to do it alone. Audrey slept most of the time which was a huge blessing. Kirsten stayed with my parents. They took her caving. She made Garrett carry her the entire way, he sure is the best! On the way back to camp we stopped and got raspberry shakes, yummy! We made it back in time to play on the lake for a few minutes before dinner. The girls were super tired and asleep by 8 pm. It was such a blessing. They needed sleep and I needed some down time. Chelsey and Garrett put together the funnest family jeopardy game. It was an absolute blast. The questions were so clever. My team won of course :) It was my sister in law Crystals' birthday so we celebrated her birthday and my birthday together. My mom had a sack full of gifts for us to open all day. It was full of treats and pampering items. That evening as we sat around the camp fire everyone said what they loved/favorite memory for both Crystal and I. My family was so kind and it was so wonderful. Birthday's are the absolute best. A few of us stayed up until midnight visiting around the campfire. The perfect way to end the day.
We had such a wonderful time with my family. We can't wait until next years reunion!
