Bear Lake

We got back yesterday afternoon from our trip to Bear Lake. We had such a great time! We didn't really do a ton, but it was so nice to get away--AND--be in our own place again for a few days. Sometimes I forget what that's like. Anyway...here's the run-down.

Thursday:
We drove up to Bear Lake. The trip up was nice. Both Kallie and Whitney were good the entire 3 1/2 hour drive, (which included a stop at Wal-Mart). I bought the "Elmo in Grouchland" DVD for Kallie to watch in the car. Ryan and I didn't really know what was happening in the movie because Kallie was using the headphones and neither of us had seen it before. At one point, Kallie yelled out, "Oh no! Elmo's lahlak!" Both Ryan and I busted up laughing because it was so cute that Kallie was concerned about Elmo's blanket. (I later watched the movie with her and realized that Elmo's blanket falls into Oscar's garbage can. No wonder she was worried!)

We stayed at Ryan's parents' timeshare condo, which had a great view of the lake. It was a 2 bedroom place and very comfortable for our little family. When we got there, we decided instead of going out for dinner like we had planned, we would just fix something that we brought. At that point, we realized we had left the salad and the broccoli, both main staples of our planned meals, back in Orem. Oh well! The girls went to bed and Ryan and I stayed up and watched "Stranger Than Fiction."

Friday:
I woke up Friday morning with a sore throat. I thought that maybe it was from allergies because we slept with the window open. But, when it didn't go away by the end of the day, I was REALLY hoping I wasn't getting a cold.

That day, we all went to the beach. We drove south for a while, but had a very hard time finding a beach that wasn't just grassy. So, we turned around and drove north for a while, crossed the Idaho state line, and finally found North Beach, which my SIL recommended to me. It was a nice beach and we got to drive our car out right next to the water. Kallie had a BLAST playing in the sand, building castles with mommy and daddy and wading in the shallow water. She had a little purple boat that she was scooping water up with and pouring it back out. She didn't want to leave when it was time to go.

That night, after the girls went to bed, Ryan and I played his "Twilight Princess" game and beat the Sky Castle. (I realize that doesn't mean much of anything to anyone reading this blog, but it was a lot of fun for us!)

Saturday:
I woke up feeling terrible. Guess that throat thing wasn't allergies after all! Ryan knew I didn't feel well, so he took Kallie to play at the resort's playground area. Turns out the playground was just a square area covered in bark. So, Ryan took Kallie to the city park, about a 3-minute drive away. She loved this, too, and didn't want to leave. Ryan had to promise her a movie in the car to get her to go. After her nap that day, Ryan took her swimming in the resort pool. And, once again, she loved it. I think overall, she loved spending time with her daddy--and the activities were a nice bonus.

I stayed home with Whitney all day and did a lot of word puzzles and watched movies on TV. I was quite bummed that I got sick on vacation and had to miss out on going out and doing the fun activities with Kallie, but I really love that Kallie and Ryan got to spend time together.

After they came back from swimming, we all went to run a few errands in preparation for our trip home the next day. And, when the errands were done, we went out to dinner at a very small locally-run place there in Bear Lake. You would think that the parents of two young kids would know by now...but we have managed to continue learning the lesson of "Don't take your kids to restaurants that don't have play areas." The girls were great until we ordered. At that point, we were stuck and couldn't leave. I ended up walking around with Whitney until Ryan was done with his food and then he walked with her until I was done with mine. Mostly I felt sorry for the 2 other couples that were there. The place was rather echo-y and hearing hollow echos of crying and squealing kids doesn't make for the most pleasant dining experience. Maybe we'll eventually learn that lesson...

That night, Ryan and I watched "Pursuit of Happyness" and got things mostly cleaned and ready to go the next day.

Sunday:
We went to church for the 9 a.m. meeting. Since the busy season doesn't start for about 2 more weeks, that was the only meeting in the area. That's our regular time, so it wasn't that big of a deal. I ended up walking the halls with Whitney, (because she only likes sleeping in her own bed), while Ryan battled with Kallie in the chapel. Whitney finally fell asleep 10 minutes before the meeting ended, so I got to sit for that long. :) At the end, they gave all of the moms Utah Truffle candy bars. YUM!

After church, we went home and put the girls down for naps while we finished packing and Ryan loaded the car. I was really dreading the ride home. I hate changing altitudes when I'm congested. It takes an extra long time for my ears to finally pop and the pressure can be almost unbearable. But, it went OK. We didn't stop 1/2 way again and by the end of the trip, Kallie was SO restless. Apparently, she can last about 2 hours or so and then she's done for a while. Guess we'll have to keep that in mind for any other car trips we may decide to venture out on in the future.

That evening, we had a Mother's Day celebration at my Gramma Betty's house. It was fun to see everyone and enjoy being around the moms in my dad's family. Afterward, we came home and celebrated Mother's Day with just our family. Ryan is such a thoughtful guy--and I'm so lucky to have him as my husband! It was a great weekend, capped off by a wonderful Mother's Day.