Bear Lake 2009

WOW! I am FINALLY getting this trip posted. I have been waiting to get all the pictures I could from my family to add to the hundreds I took and then once I got them, I realized I had so many pictures to sort through, I couldn't decide which ones to use. So BEWARE. I did my best to choose. Hope you enjoy the plethora of pictures.

Every year my family heads up to my most very favorite lake EVER...

BEAR LAKE!

Each year we head up there for some great camping and then a day or two on the beach. I love Bear Lake for so many reasons. Let me list a few of them:

1. THE BEACHES are AWESOME! I love that they are so big. There can be hundreds and hundreds of people there and it seldom feels very crowded. I love that the water stays shallow for quite a ways out so you don't have to worry so much about your kids falling off into "the deep".
The kids love it too. They can play for hours!

Tate was totally in his element. He loved the sand so much. He did however insist on wearing his life jacket ON and OFF the boat. Just in case- you know. Actually it did help me feel a bit better too.

We often found Tate looking like this...

... and then like this...

He tends to be really fascinated by textures.

Tracen and Tyler LOVED looking for sea shells. They filled their entire sand bucket with them. They all look pretty much the same, but they didn't seem to care.

Our little BEACH BABE Madi.

Kev seems to love anything with a motor he can drive.

Maverick tried the boat,but found it wasn't really his thing...
Seems he is more of a land lover.

Poor Slater had to leave the party early. He wasn't feeling too great. Can you see his poor little red eyes and nose? Cute little guy.

I think grandpa's favorite ride was May and Ty's newest toy...

THE RHINO!

No wait, it was the little boys who loved it most.
It actually came in very handy in hauling all our gear back and forth.

Especially all the great food mom provided!

2. We then headed to THE WATER. I love the turquoise color. I love the clarity of it. I love that it doesn't feel dirty. I am not worried that I will water ski over the top of a dead fish. (that's another story) I even love how very chilly it can be.

We had the option of taking the SEA-DOO out.

Shane and Kenzie... aren't they cute?

Dee and Tate.. he loved this.

or riding on the boat...

or sailing...
(Oh wait, we don't have a sail-boat.

I just thought it was a pretty picture. )

...or riding behind the BOAT or SEA-DOO in a tube..

What started out with much laughing....

...which turned into much crying and a few pep talks from Kenz and I...
...don't the let the smiles fool you...

...we were going pretty darn fast and found ourselves hanging on for dear life!

We also spent some time skiing and wake-boarding.

My brother Shane ROCKS!
Now for what seems to be the "main event"...

TUBE WARS!

It usually starts out so "nice" with everyone on their own tube "happily" enjoying the ride.

But then it begins...

...and usually looks like this most of the time.

So let me TRY to give you a little play by play to break it up for you.

One or two of them will jump from their own tube ...

and the wrestling match begins.

Occasionally one will be swung out to the side of the boat...

...but are quickly brought back to the craziness.

...where it begins again.

Looks like Brian may end up with the upper hand here. He has a lot of power going for him.

Ooops. A little too much power.

Oh wait. It looks like Dan held on.

One down. Who will be victor?

Ty wins this match!

These two tried talking some smack to defend themselves but...

...we reserved someone to pick up the trash.

So as not to be out-done, they start again.

Who's the lucky guy this time?

BRIAN TAKES ALL!

So now Dan is beginning to feel a bit left out so he decides to take control.

...and when Dan puts his mind to something...

...HE CONQUERS! (and oh so humbly too)

Ok. One more round to see who the real winner will be.

It's gonna be a tough one...

Wait! Where'd they all go?

DRIVER WINS! Way to go May!

Then, so as to not be shown up by the guys, Melanie and I decided to try our hand at the sport.

Here is our "ready to conquer pose".

The ride begins...

What? You think we're being too friendly?

Oh no. That was just our little trick to try to pull each other closer to one another.

But then Melanie being a bit quicker than I decided to make the first move....

...only to discover that I had moves of my own. She quickly bounced off the side of my tube making me think I had won, only to discover that she was pulling me off with her.

So...that was the end of that.

So I figured since I totally took Melanie down :), I could definately take on the guys.

And I totally did!

Unfortunately, when I tried to stand on the tube to do my victory pose, I pulled a move on myself and fell off the tube.

So I got to do my pose in the water.

It was an incredibly FUN trip this year. Thank you MOM and DAD for putting it together every year.

Just some advice to our future generations in this sport...

...none of us would have been as sore (or injured... Dan and his darn MCL) as we are had we just followed Tate's example. I really think he had the right idea.

So, until next year....