Bear Lake

A few weeks ago, my family was able to stay at a cabin at Bear Lake. It was owned by an awesome family in my mom’s ward who were nice enough to offer the cabin to us! The dad has been the bishop a few times and in the stake presidency and we have known them forever. We took them up on their offer and had an awesome time.

Dan and I were meeting my mom there on Wednesday afternoon and as we were going up the canyon to Bear Lake, we came across some people having car trouble. It was a young girl and her younger siblings as well as her grandma and they were pretty freaked out. Dan and some people helped them push the car to the side of the road and I drove her a few miles ahead to find the rest of her group (since there was no cell service). My mom ended up taking the grandma to the family’s cabin because it was hot and she was pretty stressed out. After about an hour delay, we got back on the road and made it to the cabin!

We were pretty stoked because it was right on the lake! Technically it was about .2 miles down a path to the lake but that was just because the water level was low. It was such a fun place and had plenty of room for us and Owen even got his own room! They had everything we might need there and we really just had to bring clothes and food.

We got settled and walked a few blocks to get some delicious Raspberry milkshakes of course!

They had a fire pit and we roasted s’mores and enjoyed the beautiful view. The temperature was PERFECT and not too hot at all! I was in heaven.

The next day we just relaxed and Dan swam in the lake (he did that about 3 times a day). The cabin was really shaded so we just read our books, played with Owen, and ate A LOT.

Steph and Andrew came Thursday evening and we did a few fireworks since it was the 24th and Owen didn’t get to see any fireworks on the 4th! He wasn’t scared at all and he just had really wide eyes the entire time.

It was pretty cute to watch him and see his reactions to the fireworks.

Steph, Andrew and I did a pretty killer work out while Dan swam in the lake. I didn’t bring any work out clothes so I improvised with my swimsuit and Chuck Taylors.

We played in the lake and laid out for a while and read our books. We drank Diet Coke and ate a lot of food. If you haven’t noticed, we kind of developed a routine…I think Owen got more worn out by all the new things because he took long naps every day. It was pretty awesome and we were able to put him down then go to the lake while my mom stayed at the cabin. She was happy as a clam to read her book and enjoy the view so it worked out for everyone!

We got yummy pizza and Owen just chilled on the grass. Luckily he has the best aunt and uncle to play with him all the time!

On Friday, my aunt and uncle came up and visited for a while. We all drove to Preston for the RODEO! This was our 4th time (my 5th) going to the rodeo and everyone loved it. Except Owen. I didn’t expect him to love it, given that it started an hour after his bedtime. But we survived.

We went to the awesome parade before the rodeo and it was a hit with the fam. We love small town parades.

The rodeo grounds are right next to the carnival grounds so there was a lot of great people watching.

We had earplugs for Owen and he actually didn’t try to pull them out, but they kept falling out so it didn’t help a ton. He was good for the first 30 minutes or so but I finally left with him after about 45 minutes and we just went back to the car and he fell asleep. I was sad to miss the rodeo, but I mostly just cared that Owen could sleep and he was happy. And the rest of the family loved it so it worked out!

My cousin Seth and his wife Ashley and their daughter Emma came up to visit on Saturday. It was fun to see them and Owen’s face is priceless. He was really tired and was just staring blankly at everyone. He looks terrified but he was just staring at my cousin while he held him. So funny.

My mom left on Saturday evening and we all stayed until Sunday. We walked to get more milkshakes on Saturday with Steph and Andrew and then the boys jumped in the lake! Brrrr!

The views were pretty awesome and it was so nice that this was just a few minute walk from the cabin.

Dan enjoyed a breakfast of champions-Oreos and milk.

Cutest grandpa smile ever! And he has a little bit of hair! We are making slow progress in that department…

On the way home Sunday evening, we saw two moose right off the road! This one was only a few feet away and another was on the side of the mountain. It was a pretty great way to end the trip! We had so much fun and hopefully we can make it an annual tradition for the family to go to Bear Lake every summer! Dan and I are also daydreaming about having a cabin up there one day!