Bear Lake Reunion

We love Bear Lake!!!

This year was an exciting for Bear Lake because every single member of the Daniels family would be there. We had rented the same house with the big yard as in previous years, and because the cousins live so much farther away now, they were excited to see each other. The Webbs and the Pooles showed up at our house before Dad even got home from Youth Conference on Saturday, so they stayed with us Friday and Saturday night. Everyone (except Dad who was ay Youth Conference) went to the Love Letters Museum. The Museum was centered around letters and learning, and the cousins loved exploring together. It was fun to have them for church, especially since Mom was playing the organ and teaching Relief Society and Dad was conducting Sacrament Meeting. 

We were just missing Steph's family at the museum.  

This statement is SO true of Mark!

Mom loved spending time with her sisters. 

There were paintings to open and climb through.

Seth was excited about this huge S.

Dax made his name!

The kids created the first word they could "shot!"

Mom and Seth loved this artwork created from pencils and erasers.

This was the most popular spot. Throwing confetti at each other is pretty awesome.

We made our own postcard!

On the way to Bear Lake we stopped at a small area called the Hobbit Caves in Logan Canyon. We had to cross a small river on narrow bridges before coming to some small caves. There wasn’t a whole lot to do, but we enjoyed how much the area really looked like Hobbiton. That night Grandma and Grandpa made pasta and home made ice cream and root beer for dinner and the cousins played games and laughed until well after bedtime. 

The boys were excited to see the Hobbit Caves.

The waterfall was a great bonus!

Dad could fit in some of the caves.

Mark loved standing at the top of this waterfall.

Dax was the only one brave enough to go in this tiny opening.

From up top, you can peek down at each other.

Dad is truly our adventure dad! (He survived the waterfall jump.)

Grandpa making root beer. 

These kiddos were spoiled with all the treats from Grandma and Grandpa!

On day two we went to the lake. We were there for most of the day from breakfast to dinner. The boys love kayaking, and it is such an amazing beach that you can walk out a few hundred yards before it gets too deep. Best of all, Uncle Bob had brought his boat. We had our turn in the afternoon to go out fishing, but we didn’t get one little bite. After trawling around for a while, Mark decided he wanted to get in the water. The little boys were worried because the lake was sixty-two feet deep on the fish radar, but when they saw Mark and Mom and Dad floating like corks in their life jackets, they got in, too. Even Bob anchored the boat and got in the water. It was so crystal blue that you could see your toes down below you. We probably swam around for twenty minutes before we climbed back in the boat. We had to hurry back because Mom had to make lasagna for dinner!

Grandpa took out his raft this year.

Mom and Dax kayaked all over together.

Seth was a great cousin and played with Josh on the beach.

Mark surfing on the kayak!

Dax getting ready to surf on the kayak.

Now he's surfing! They were being silly to the Surfin' USA song!

Then everyone decided they should actually try surfing on the kayak!

Mark did well!

Dax, too!

It was fun to be out with all the cousins on the lake.

Mom used her waterproof case to get some great pictures.

We are really far away from the beach, and Mark is only up to his waist. 

Everyone wants to hang out with Uncle Randy.

Steph brought the unicorn out to the party.

Even baby Ben came out!

Bob loves to squirt the kids from the boat!

Jonny tried to ruin the fun by slicing his finger and getting stitches!

Grandma is just there for the babies!

The boys LOVE going on any boat.

Bob is a great uncle! We are lucky to have him around. 

Everyone was so brave in the water.

The water was so clear. You can see our legs and feet!

Bob showed off some Marine tactics of blowing up his shirt as a life jacket.

I love this picture of Stephanie jumping on the unicorn. 

Steph made awesome baseball shirts this year. 

The sisters always take a picture together!

We even used the timer on Mom's camera for a family pic!

Everyone loved Mom's lasagna, but especially Abby. 

We spent the entire day on the beach on Day three as well. After breakfast at a restaurant, Bob stopped and bought a large tube. Some of us played at the beach while Bob took each family out in the boat and knocked them around on the tube. All three of the boys enjoyed a ride on the tube, as well as Dad. Then Mark rode the tube with Abby, which ended with them throwing their hands in the air and crashing into the water. When we got home, the Ferlans made steak and shrimp for dinner. Then everyone enjoyed Grandma Olympics. Grandma went all out with the games this year. The theme was "The Games" and she had lots of fun sport-like games to play: bowling, balloon soccer, football toss, and more. The kids loved it. Afterward, they all started a baseball game and Mom convinced most of the adults to play. Even Ben made it around the bases in his Mom’s arms. After the kids were in bed, the adults laughed and played games until midnight.

We ate at a local restaurant for breakfast.

We spread out over 4 tables.

Dax is always soaking wet!

Katelynn pulled Randy all around the lake.

Then he gave her a ride.

She convinced Mom she needed a ride, too!

4 kids on a kayak....They have watched too much Studio C.

Seth loved riding on the tube.

He was all smiles!

Abby and Mark took a ride together.

Mark was the first to go out on the tube.

Bob tried to throw him off.

Mark loves being out on the water.

Dax does not love the tube, but he was brave and gave it a try!

He even smiled for a minute!

Another picture of Seth having a good time!

The water is so pretty! Bear Lake is the best!

Mark and Abby tried to hold on for a long time.

They mostly laughed the entire ride!

It was a great ride on the boat.

Dad was worn out after two days at the lake.

We had to stop for shakes after a long day at the beach.

We had a dance party and Mark put on quite the air guitar show.

Seth likes Grandma Olympics despite this picture.

The kids had a great time with all the games.

Javelin throw was fun, especially with Mom moving the target all the time.

It was the greatest Grandma Olympics ever!

The final day we packed up, but we didn't head home. Instead we drove north to Idaho Falls for a baseball game. Before we got to Stephanie's house, we stopped a the wildlife refuge in Paris. We had such a great time and spotted a ton of birds, two moose, and an owl. It was our best day on the refuge ever! The moose walked down the road for a long time before Dad finally decided we had to move on. Then we walked through the Paris Tabernacle to stall for time for the Ferlan. They wanted to beat us home by a few hours before we showed up to stay.

The cousins loved Uncle Randy.

Black Crowned Night Heron's were all over the place at the refuge.

Mom is proud of this reflection picture.

The wildlife refuge is one of our favorite parts of visiting Bear Lake.

The boys goal is always to spot a frog.

It was a beautiful day on the refuge.

Seeing this moose was so exciting!

He walked right on the road.

We also watched him swim.

Then we saw another moose. It was an extra exciting day!

He had much larger antlers!

We texted lots of pictures to Grandma.

We even saw an owl. It was the best day ever!

We've enjoyed our tours of the Paris Tabernacle.

It's such a cool building inside.

Grandpa got us tickets to the Chuckars minor league baseball game, and it included dinner and seats right along the third-base line. As we were eating our hamburgers and hotdogs before the game a player from the opposing team (Missoula) came by and noticed Dax wearing his Lehi city league team hat, which featured the Diamondbacks logo. Since the visiting team was affiliated with the D'backs, he came over and gave Dax a high-five. Then in broken English he promised to return with a ball. Sure enough, Francis Martinez brought a ball over to Dax before the game. We were excited because we'd never gotten a ball at a game before. We cheered loudly and lustily for "our buddy" as he collected a hit later in the game. After the game, the boys ran the bases. Then we stayed with the Ferlans before heading home the next day.

At Stephanie's house the boys played dress up with the cousings.
Mark liked the wig and hat combo because he "looked like Slash."

We had a million things signed by the Chukar.

Every night is a good night for baseball.

We had great seats right by third base.

This guy stopped to talk to Dax because he was wearing his Diamondbacks hat.

Then he brought him a baseball. He was so nice!

We loved cheering for this player even though he was on the opposing team.

Baseball games are the best!

Abby and Mark made it onto the board for pitching so fast. 

Grandma and Grandpa with half of the cousins.

Someone stole a base at the game, so we got free Crumbl cookies.
Steph and Mom went to pick them all up while Dad and Bob wrangled the kids.

It was a lot of cookies!!

Dad belted out Les Mis songs while Mark played the piano.