Family Reunion

In August my family had a reunion in Bear Lake, Idaho. We spent a day at Bear Lake or I should say we only spent a couple hours. Lorin needed to stop and do some work in Fish Haven which is right by the lake. A little project, for us anyway, turns into a big project because we always have Murphy on our side and if we didn't have bad luck we would have none at all. That is just the way things roll. We were glad we finally made it and could see that everyone was having a great time. I love that lake even if the sand is more like dirt and is impossible to totally get it out of swimsuits. The lake is unbelievably blue as you drive down the mtn. The water was warm and as you walk through the water there would be cold patches then you would hit a warm one, kinda interesting. It's true, you never know what those warm patches might be. We didn't see the Bear Lake monster which Logan was most intrigued with.

I think that is Megan out there. She had a big time floating around with her life jacket.

Cassidy had fun collecting sea shells or maybe they should be called lake shells.

Logan thought he was a deep sea diver. I wonder what he could see down there?

We then drove up to Bennington, Idaho to my grandparents home which is now my Aunt's and she was and is kind enough to let us come and spend some time there. While driving there the kids were just talking and being silly and out of the blue Cassidy says "Dad I love you" and he says "I love you too" and then she said "and that is why I don't die". A very interesting thing for a child to say and I suppose it is true. No other explanation really.

Anywho we made it to Bennington and set up our tent in the yard, ate yummy food, sat around the campfire, talked, and had a program.

Logan just really wanted to catch a stick on fire and was quite frustrated with everyone telling him that he couldn't do it.

Some of the crew sittin' around

Megan and her cousins Rachel and Lissa made up a cute dance to "Just Another Picture to Burn". It was quite creative and it was a surprise to see what they came up with. Oh look! Another use for those famous Smokey the Bear frisbees! After we ate the most delicious raspberry cobbler I have ever had! Bear Lake Raspberries.......YUM!

Next we hunkered down in our tent. The kids were excited because we don't do the tent thing very often. We were worried because the night before the temps. got down into the 30's. Welcome to Idaho! Tony and Marci nearly froze to death but it was in the 40's the night we stayed. I guess Grandpa always said after the 2nd week of August you could never be certain what the weather would do.

Saturday we took a little hike up Pine Canyon to see the old cabin my grandfather built when he was homesteading the land in the 1920's. This brought back so many childhood memories of camping and sledding etc. up in Pine Canyon.

I don't think my grandpa stayed at this cabin much because he was off herding sheep so much. But I guess it was a real cozy place. It had glass windows in it and everything. Now it is just a home for the pack rats. It was fun for the kids to see a bit of history.

My grandparents home may have been small and humble but you know what it was and still is a happy refuge from the world. There is no place like it.
Oh the memories I have of going "over the river and through the woods" to Grandma's house. It was so fun to be back, to walk up the steep stairs to the attic and have everything be the same, to walk through the barnyard, to smell the smell of the farm, to see the sheep, the old gates and fences and Grandma's flowers. I am really excited to plant the poppy flower seeds that Aunt Wilma gave me from Grandma's flowers. Oh how I miss my Grandma. It was really kinda hard to leave but we will be back. Maybe we will do it again next summer.

I remember playing and climbing on these wagon wheels as a child. Good times!