#elwoodsinbearlake

We had such a fun and relaxing few days with the Elwoods in Bear Lake in mid-October.  My uncle and aunt, Dennis and Nikie, own a condo there and were nice enough to let the whole lot of us crash there from the 14th through the 17th.  Lots of stories, cup towers, games, laughter, food, snuggling, beach time, park/tennis court time, marvel movies and football were enjoyed by all.  Hooray for reunions!  Hooray for families!

Day Uno:

We arrived at the condo after lunch and just spent the afternoon and evening visiting and eating and playing and reading.  Mom put together a fun Family Story Quiz game that had us all laughing and reminiscing and learning new stories from the in-laws.

Love this view as we descend into Garden City.  Beautiful Blue
Bear Lake!

A little daddy-baby cuddling happening on the couch
first thing.

Next was some visiting and lounging and cup stacking.

And story reading.

And "lunch" making.  And "sharing".  (Someday these two will
be great friends, I'm sure.  Someday when they are not 2 and nearly
1 years old.)

Callie snagged Grandpa early on for a story
marathon on the ottoman.

Baby snuggles for all!  (Sam was happy to oblige.)

A full day and they're tuckered right out.

Day Two:

The condo looks out over the harbor, which provided a gorgeous setting for sunrise each morning.  What a lovely sight.  We ventured out to the North Beach for a morning playing in the water and sand (complete with some frisbee and football tossing thrown in) and a lovely lunch.  We started with the beach to ourselves, but it turned out that we weren't the only crazies to be spending an October morning on the shore.  It really was perfect - the water was frigid, but the sunshine made things just pleasant enough on the sand that we weren't dying of heat, but weren't freezing either.  After dinner we walked over to a little playground where the kids got out some of their energy.

Scenic sunrise.

Cal got to ride to the beach in Grandpa's truck next to Ky Ky.
Heaven!

Hoodie and a swimsuit.  That's how we beach
it in October.

Good thing Dennis and Nikie had a stash of sand toys in the garage.
They were put to good use.

Heatha and Gregg tossing the frisbee on a desolate beach.

Our little fam of four.  Don't let our smiles fool
you - the water was icy!

Sam's first beach experience.  He slept through
most of it.

Cal leads the way.

Ev wasn't afraid of the cold sand.  She crawled
all over and even into the shallow water.

A little afternoon downtime.  (Cal was napping downstairs.)

More stories from Mugs - pullin' double duty here.

Callie's favorite snack? Oranges - she nearly ate the whole bag
herself!

I even got to hold him a little bit.  ;)

Aunties are good for baby holdin'.

T and H.

Pocket pals.

Hooray for the park!

Whee!

Day C:

Friday became "Aggie Day".  We all wore USU shirts of various hues and styles on our little hike on the Limber Pine trail.  We snapped a family pic at the big, old tree (not pictured here, because it wasn't taken on my camera and I anticipate it will be showing up on Christmas cards this December?) in all our Aggie loving glory.  After our hike/stroll, we drove a ways down the Sinks road, where we found a lovely campsite among the trees for a delightful picnic lunch.  Mugs brought her cool new hammock, which was a hit with pretty much every member of the fam.  That night, Dad, Nate, Heather and Terrell, and Ky and Meg headed back to Logan for the football game (USU vs Boise State).  Mom, the Blanchard crew, and Shelly and Ev stayed back at the condo since it was such a late game and we had little ones to take care of.  Luckily it was on TV and we got to witness the awesomeness of the win from the comforts of the living room.  Go Aggies, go Aggies, Hey! Hey! Hey!

Mugs riding the "ostrich tree" - to show Cal how
it's done.

She called them just plain "ostriches".

Perfect morning for a hike!  Have I ever
mentioned I love the mountains?

Sam was a hiking champ.

A peek over into Bear Lake from the top.

Resting on the bench.

Down we go.

Auntie Mugs and a couple of monkeys.

Sam snuggles in the hammock.

bonus video!

"aggies all the way"

(which they did, in a big fashion, whomping on Boise State 52-26!!)

Last day:

Saturday morning was spent cleaning up the condo and playing a few more games with the fam.  We got some of the last LaBeau's burgers, fries and shakes of the season (it was closing day for them) before parting ways and heading back home.  We had a marvelous time!  Can't wait to do it again!

A little after-lunch playing in the motor boats
next door to LaBeau's.

Ah, the good stuff.