Bear Lake 2010

It's late July already... the time when summer seems to peak for us. It's actually just panic setting in. We've blown through June and can sense fall stepping forward. There have been things... I could tell you about the Ragnar Relay I ran, or the tooth I had removed... Or the concert... Or the campout... Or the anniversary that never happened. All in due time.

While it's fresh on my mind... Bear Lake. And because it's so painful for me to string together transitional sentences... a list.

THE 2010 BEAR LAKE TOP FIVE

Trading camping for cabins
Question the judgment of anyone who says they love to camp. Now don't get me wrong... I don't hate it. It's not terrible. I would just invariably choose to sleep well. And contrary to what many believe, there is no law against enjoying the outdoors during the day and actually resting at night. The last two years at Bear Lake were spent camping. This year we rented a cabin. Cabin=better.

Milkshakes
Besides waffles, burritos and curry, maybe the best thing ever. And while some may disagree with me on this (everyone did) I think berry-centric shakes are the only way to go during the summer at the lake. Mint Oreo? Mocha Fudge? Last time I checked, this is America.

Funny Family
Cousins. Sisters. Brother-in-laws that are more the former than the latter. There's nothing quite like family. If you have a job or go to church, "just being yourself" is probably not always a good idea. Last week it was all okay.

Dutch Oven Redemption
To be honest, I've felt for some time that dutch oven cooking doesn't deserve the reverence it enjoys. I know so many people who speak in hushed tones when describing undercooked chicken and overcooked carrots. So it was with some trepidation that I approached Barb's all dutch oven dinner. Hold on... Super thin potatoes, near molten barbecue chicken and dutch oven rolls... I officially stand corrected.

Private Beaches.
For just a day, we had the beach, the dock and what felt like the whole lake to ourselves. It was brief but perfect. It may have been the polarized glasses, but the water and sky couldn't have been a more benevolent shade of blue.

Bear Lake 2010 Bottom Three (I couldn't come up with five)
Missing Family... not everyone could be there.
Scaring Kids... sorry River and Evan.
Scaring Moms ... sorry Tracy and Annie.

A few photos below. A lot more here.

Swim. Eat. Sleep. Repeat.

St. George, June 2010...

Mother's Day Highlights

Granted, Mother's day was two months ago... but who's calling the shots around here? Don't worry, it will be brief and somewhat painless.

Mom's favorite gift... 8 sets of Fiesta flatware, inexplicably wrapped.

My favorite gift... Mom, still putting up with us.

The Boy

Evan has many nicknames.

Being our only only child born in the south and tipping the scales at just over 9 pounds, we naturally, initially called him Bubba. When he grew up a little, had blond hair and got playfully into everything. We called him the Cougar Cub or just Cougar for short. I think this was around the time we had to call poison control twice in the same week. (He didn't drink the bug spray afterall. He did eat the nickels)

At some point, for no good reason at all, we started calling him Kevin.

Lately, we just call him "The Boy". "What's the boy been up to today?" I'll ask after work. "Time to get the boy off the computer" she's say as bedtime approaches. While I'm not sure that qualifies as a nickname and it certainly isn't very creative, it seems to fit perfectly. Evan is our one and only boy. And while he is certainly at the beginning of that teenage-boy-everythings-a-one-word-answer phase, he's still the same funny, sweet (talked-us-into-watching-Alvin-and-the-Chipmunks-the-Squeakquel-last-night) kid.

He's just wrapped up middle school where he mostly looked like this.

He'll start high school looking something like this.


He can make pretty much anything out of anything. Paper, cardboard, legos... "Anything" these days is mostly full scale firearms... in this case an M249 SAW.

He's some kind of evil genius at Rummikub. (emphasis on the evil) There are three things you should know about playing this game with the boy. 1)He will take his sweet, exasperating time on every turn. 2) He will win almost every time, usually while multi-tasking with at least two other interests. 3) He will rub it in... usually by loudly encouraging you to "Munch it"!

He's also the perfect size 4... making him fantastic, albeit reluctant model for Hailey's dressmaking.

I just have one question: Based on everything you've read here, should I have not let him get the throwing knives?

Tracy Turns... Older.

In spite of appearances, Tracy does age. Well, she has birthdays. Today was one them. After she opened presents I took a few photos... man I miss my real camera. Do you really have to have an expensive dSLR to have shots in focus? I didn't think so before. As is turns out, cameras also have this self-timer feature... allowing the photographer a full 10 seconds to get in frame with the rest of the group... thus you'll see below, rare photos of the whole family together. More than ever, I love these guys. Happy Birthday Tracy, you deserve better... Or at the very least, I deserve worse.






And just in case you wondered if our singing had improved...

Graduation Elation

This event happened weeks ago, but I've been in denial about the whole thing. Fine. Yes, it's true. We have another kid out of high school. Eden and about 1800 Samoans graduated on the 9th of June. We sat in the cheap seats and watched the whole affair unfold. It went as they all do... long. We are super proud of her though, she made the most of high school... something many don't do. The grandparents came down in support. Tracy put on another cooking demonstration. I think they may be getting the wrong idea about us. I'm certain they don't appreciate the significant role Wendy's dollar menu and Golden Grahams play in our diet. Alas, I digress. We love you Eden... Way to go.

Gone

I appear to have lost my camera. I say "appear" because I'm not 100% sure it's 100% gone. I suspect that this is the case, but the fact just hasn't sunk in. I'm getting close... and that reality, for me, is heartbreaking. Was it stolen? Did I leave it somewhere? Will it turn up? No idea. So, a few final pics. Not the best ones or anything, just the last ones I managed to get.

To and Fro

I've only written about it a little, but in the last while, we've been able to see more family than usual. In spite of how that might initially sound, it turned out great. My mom and dad were able to come down for Hailey's show and we got to stay at their place when we were in Boise for Barb's homecoming extravaganza.

Granted... We eat a lot, make a racket, take up all of the couches, and want to watch completely different stuff on TV. (gasp... even movies). That said, they're good sports about it all and always seem to be willing to sign up for another visit. But wait... they always stay at a hotel when they come here. I'll try not to read too much into that...

See you next week folks!