Birthday at Bear Lake

Ryan was so lucky as to get to spend his Birthday at Bear Lake this year!  It was a pretty fun day.  We started off by going on a group bike ride around Garden City.  

This was one of the groups...

Another...

And the winning team....(That's Ryan and I's team if you can't tell!)

 After the bike ride we had THE BEST SNOWCONES in the world.  I am serious about that.  We eat a lot of snow cones in this part of the United States of America.  The ones sold at this shack in Bear Lake are the best ever. 

No, this is not a snow cone that Joshua is eating....it is a sucker!  (I told you...)

Cousins enjoying their refreshing treat.

Since Holden's Birthday is also during Bear Lake he gets a giant snow cone every year.  Joshua got one too...he had to buy it. 

The Birthday Boy!  HAPPY BIRTHDAY, RYAN!  (He got to have a giant too...they are called Volcanos.)

Right after all the fun and excitement that morning we had a near-death experience.  Ryan and I both were not back to the condo yet.  Michael had gone back with one of the other relatives.  He was eating a plum and started choking.  He ran up to Aunt Heidi and started motioning that he could not breathe.  She did the Heimlich maneuver on him.  The plum came up, but he sucked the seed back down.  It was pretty scary for all involved, but Michael was fine in the end.  Just very scared.  Grandma realized about 10 minutes into the disaster that Luke had run way and was crying in the back of the condo.  He was so worried about his brother.  Pretty sweet.  It is crazy to think how fast a carefree morning of fun could turn tragic fast.  We felt blessed that everyone acted fast in our absence and everything was fine. 

Grandma comforts Luke.  James looks like he is doing pretty fine. 

Michael still not doing too fine.  (A week later he is still suffering post-traumatic stress.)  Ryan took good care of him. 

I decided the best place for Michael to forget about his worries would be to head down to the beach.  That seems to make everyone feel better.

Ryan's request for his birthday was to hang out at the "diving board" pool.  It looks like Michael was fully recovered in these pictures.  Ryan had him flying high!

You can see why Ryan likes to hang out at the pool!  In his old age, he still did the best tricks at the pool!  You wouldn't know he was a day older than 16!  :)

I am watching the opening to the Olympics as I type this and after viewing these moves at Bear Lake, I think maybe Ryan should be in London!  Check out that full-twist flip!  

Hope you have a wonderful upcoming year, Ryan!  Thanks for all you do!  I love you.  I still owe you a date night to the movies to celebrate.  Maybe tomorrow?  We will count it for both of our Birthdays!

Stay tune tomorrow for our trip to Minnatonka Cave! Here is a picture of our guide.  Only kidding.  But seriously,

Happy Birthday!  XOXO

First Few Days at Bear Lake

Every year at Bear Lake we take the kids up Logan Canyon to do a little hike.  We always do the same hike, and stop at the same places to take pictures.  It is perfect for kids, just the right length!  

Luke and Michael found this little guy.  He was crawling right in the middle of our path, and luckily they were able to save his life by moving him to a little leaf.  

Some of the cousins...

Emmaline and Annie.  My sister said I looked like a lady from the 40's taking a jaunt in the woods.  (In my house dress I guess?) I will take it...I love the 40s!

Annie

More pictures of Annie with Emmaline...

This is the only picture we got of our entire immediate family the whole trip.  There were several better ones, but they were blurry.  You take what you can get. 

Chloe and Annie 

On a side note, Annie is quite good at posing for pictures, but hiking, not so much.  She tried to get anyone she could find to carry her.  It was just so hard.  (We told her to buck up!)

I think she was jealous of Sophie having all the fun on Dad's back. 

So much fun she fell asleep. 

Joshua at the end of the hike. 

The next day we hit the beach! Grandma took Luke, Annie, and Michael out for a spin on our new boat. :)

Sophie was not one bit afraid of the water!  This is her bee-lining it for the lake.

Annie

Uncle Travis rented this trampoline and everyone had a great time on it! Even I gave it a whirl, despite the fact that I was having a good-hair day and really didn't want to get it wet.  I threw caution to the wind and jumped in!

More Annie, I can't help it...she is the only one that wants to pose for Mom. 

See what I mean?

Ryan, living life on the wild side under the canopy, with his phone...don't get me started!

Buried alive...

Sadie and Abigail burying Joshua

He was enjoying his new buff body. 

Michael spent hours making a castle.

Isabelle...looking so cute at the beach.

The lake is seriously so blue and clear.  However, the way the water levels were, the beach was all murky and slimy.  These two didn't mind.

It seems every thing about our week at Bear Lake becomes a tradition...including these messy jaw breaker suckers that everyone insists on buying.  They last ALL week.  Their tongues get raw from licking them.  The kids drag them around the condo, the pool, the beach.  I would see some of the little kids walking around "trying" out each sucker.  By the end of the week they are seriously nasty.  But that is okay.  They love them. 

That wraps up our first few days at Bear Lake.  Now I just have to sort through about 500 more pictures to finish up the rest of the week!

Happy Birthday Sticker Grandma!

It was our GREAT Grandma's Birthday yesterday.  Somehow I got the days mixed up.  (Grandma, you are not the only one mixing up days around here!) Ha- ha!  Grandma is known around here as "sticker Grandma"  because she always sends great stickers to the kids.  She is so good at still remembering all our birthdays. I don't know how she does it!  We don't get to see her as much as we would like since she lives way up in that place called Canada, but we think of her often. We still use stickers from her all the time!  The kids love them!

 Great Grandma is truly a hero to our family.  She is a great example of pushing on and living life to the fullest, even when life doesn't always hand you roses.  Grandma has gone through some of the hardest trials I can imagine.  She lost her only daughter when she was six years old from Leukemia.  She lost her first husband, and father of her children at a young age from heart complications.  In just the past few years she has survived breast cancer and lost her second husband of twenty something years after a long bout with illness.  She is truly a survivor in every sense of the word and that is just a glimpse!  She pushes forward and keeps going.  She is still quick as a whip and does cross word puzzles to stay sharp!  I hope I can be like her when I get her age!

Happy Birthday, Sticker Grandma! 

Uncle Doug...don't bother your sweet mother!  (Just teasing her while she is sleeping!)  Ha ha. 

 Here she is with Grandpa Bill.  Sweet couple. 

Lookin' sexy while doing a crossword puzzle! (Looks like it was a boring cross word puzzle!) I hope she doesn't kill me for posting this picture!

Oh, my.  Ryan looks so young in this picture!  Ryan was the first grandchild in the family and the only one to meet his Grandpa in the hospital before he passed away. 

Grandma and Grandpa

Grandma on a visit to California with James.  

More good times with Grandma and Grandpa...

Grandma with Sophie and Annie just this past year.

Grandma we love you!  Hope you had a special day and got to do something fun.  We appreciate all you have done for us.  We are so glad you raised those three silly boys! I know the whole family loves you!  Cheers to a great year ahead!