Bear Lake

This is finally my last post to catch up on our summer!

I have been wanting to go to Bear Lake for a long time but our summers fly by so fast we never go. So we decided that we would schedule a weekend in and actually go this year and it was a lot of fun. The lake was beautiful and the boys had a blast in the sand and water despite some of the not so fun things that happened.
When we arrived Friday evening we made dinner and set up camp. There were no trees in our camp site and it was REALLY hot! Then we headed down to the beach. Having never been there we didn't know what to expect so we borrowed some life jackets just in case. As Brad and I were hauling everything down to the beach Ethan ran right into the water and started swimming. I was glad then that he was wearing a life jacket not knowing how deep it was or I would have probably had a heart attack. As we learned a few moments later Bear lake does not get deep for a long ways out. Ethan has no fear when it comes to anything. Eddie however, stood on the beach and panicked as he watched his brother diving and splashing. When we got back to camp and got the boys ready for bed we discovered I had forgotten the firewood. Ethan wanted to roast marshmallows really bad and was determined we were going to have a fire. He ran all over our camp in his PJs gathering twigs. by the time we had everything ready for bed he had gathered enough to make a very small fire. Someone had left some briquettes in the fire pit so we made a small fire over that and each had a few marshmallows. Ethan was so proud. That night it took a long time to get our excited boys asleep. The campers next to us kept me up until 3:30am! Laughing, drinking and being really obnoxious. I was exhausted! The next morning we discovered our plans for breakfast were not going to work. ): So, we got back in the truck and drove 45min to the closest restaurant. By the time we got back to camp we only had an hour until check out time. So we loaded everything up. Ethan waiting very patiently to go to the Beach and this time we sat in the back of the truck and drove everything down to the beach. We played for several more hours. The boys loved the rubber raft. Brad would walk it out a long ways and then climb in and paddle it around. It was funny to watch because way out was still only knee or waist deep. Eddie was happy to stay close to shore or in the boat. Ethan had a fabulous trying to tackle Brad and then being thrown through the air back into the water. When we finally called it a day the boys were exhausted, so were we. We also noticed Brad had lost his wedding ring some where in the lake while he was throwing Ethan. The boys loved the trip, and have asked several times, "When are we going back to Bear Lake?" We plan to go back next year, but having been there we will be better prepared, and hopefully have a smoother trip.

The picture above is of me and the boys riding in the back of the truck down to the beach. They were so excited!

Below Eddie is eating his s'more.

Ethan cooking marshmallows

Eddie jumping on the air mattress while we were trying to get things ready for bed.

Ethan gathering sticks

Cautious Eddie digging on the beach

Ethan after his first swim. "I'm freezing mom!" Duncan (our miniature poodle) was freezing too.

The life jacket was a wee bit big. (:

Brad pulling the boy out for a ride

This is about all of Ethan we saw most of the time we were at the beach. He loved it.

Brad laughing at crazy Ethan, trying to convince Eddie to get in the water.

Eddie and I hung out on the beach most of the time. The two dots you see in the back ground is where Ethan and Brad hung out most of the time. It is a long ways out but only about waist deep.