Bear Lake

Over Labor Day weekend we decided to go to Bear Lake. This was our only vacation all summer. That's what happens when you have a baby right before summer starts! We had considered going down to Lake Powell with the Muir family that weekend but Bear Lake is much easier with a baby and we really love it up there. It's the perfect kind of trip for our kids right now. Short drive, beach, plenty of things to do. We stayed at Ideal Beach which was great because we could walk right down on the beach and it had a pool and plenty of lawn area. It also has a mini golf course and kids craft area which we didn't even get around to visiting.

Here's the view from our condo. We were right by the pool and the playground which was very convenient for us.

When we got there I was bummed to realize we'd forgotten the frisbee and bocce ball set I was planning to bring. But then in the closet of our condo... ta da! Bocce ball set and frisbee and also a croquette set. We made the kids play a game of bocce ball but they seemed a little confused as to how this is fun. I guess it is kind of a weird game that somehow becomes fun when you get older.
These condo units are all individually owned. I would love to meet the people who owned ours. I imagine they are a little elderly couple who just love collecting things and have a lot of grandkids. That would explain the plethera of stuffed animals and beanie babies all over the condo. They also had birdhouses and fish hanging off the ceilings and light fixtures and a whole wall of Bear Lake Monster wood artwork. But the best surprise was when Josh and pulled down the murphy bed we were going to sleep on and found this.

The picture does not do it justice. The wood art in the middle says "sleep in the forest." It was like sleeping in one of those themed rooms at Anniversary Inn! So romantic...
We decided to start the weekend off right and get our raspberry shakes on Friday night. Last year we got them when we were leaving and had to deal with meltdowns. The kids were much happier this time around.

We also spent plenty of time at the beach. It was nice and warm on Saturday but a little cooler and very windy on Sunday so we played at the pool on that day.

My parents also joined us on this trip which was so fun. It's always great to have a little extra company, especially company that loves to hold our baby!

Camryn really bonded with her grandpa on this trip. He held her quite a lot and bounce her on his knee to her little heart's content. My parents decided to join us on this trip because that way my brother Nate could come along as well. He just got home from his mission and started school up at Utah State so he's basically just around the corner from Bear Lake. He earned lots of "favorite uncle" points over the weekend with our kids.

I've always thought these bike/cart things looked fun. 4 people can pedal on these things with 2 kids sitting in the front. Our little family did not all sit in this one. I couldn't pedal since I was holding Camryn so Nate and Josh pedaled ours and my parents took Sydney riding in theirs. They were really fun and once again I'm glad we had my parents along because we couldn't have done that on our own!

First day of school! First day of school!

Well as much as I didn't want summer to end, I have also been looking forward to this day. Twice a week for 2 hours and 15 minutes I have 3 kids in school. The quietness is blissful... Okay I really do love my children. But it is a nice little break. Camryn is sometimes even sleeping.
Sydney has been so excited for 1st grade because she gets to eat lunch at school. I've packed her a lunch a couple times, but she prefers school lunch and that's easier for me anyways. If Tanner and Natalie see me making a sandwich in the morning they get all confused and decide they want sandwiches for breakfast instead of cereal.

Here is our cute little 1st grader. She is a vision in pink. She loves her teacher and loves having TWO recesses.

Tanner and Natalie started preschool last week. I can't believe they are getting so big. I hope their teacher understands them when they talk. Sometimes I can't even understand them. They loved their first day. They learned about the letter A, the number 1, and the color red. While they were eating lunch later, Tanner was studying his Capri Sun really hard and pointed to it and said "A." He already knew that letter before preschool but it was cute to see that he was excited about what they'd talked about that day!

I always tell them to hold hands when they're walking somewhere. It's just too adorable. And I might as well take advantage of that while they are at the age that they will actually do what I say.

Petting zoo

All summer I've been meaning to take meaning to take the kids to the petting zoo at Gardner Village. We used to take Sydney when she was little and she loved it. I called my mom and my sister Rachel to see if they wanted to come. Rachel had to work but my mom came and brought Noah along. None of the other kids enjoyed it quite like Sydney. Tanner and Natalie seemed to think I was a little crazy for wanting them to pet the animals. Especially the ones that were bigger than them. The little goats were also having kind of any off day and kept head butting each other.

Here are Natalie, Noah, and Tanner up on "high ground." They are trying to find a safe place away from all the animals.

If we do this again I will be letting them go on the pony ride FIRST. The whole time we were in the petting zoo all I heard was "can we ride the ponies?", "when do we get to ride the ponies?", "can we leave now and go ride the ponies?" Pony rides are one thing I don't like spending my money on. $9 for 2 minutes of entertainment. Oh well, they love it and we don't do it very often.

After our visit to the animals we went to Pine Needles quilt shop just to be a little crazy. It was a short visit with 5 little kids. And then we headed to Sweet Aftons candy shop. I let the kids pick out a bunch of saltwater taffy and my mom let the kids each choose one candy for themselves.

Is it just me or did this summer go super fast? It seems like it just started and now it's over. It's probably because I had a baby at the beginning of summer and so we didn't get out as much as usual. I love fall, but I'm really not ready for cold weather. Hopefully it will just be a long and mild fall and winter will go as fast as summer did.