Bear Lake

While we were up in Utah we made a quick 2-day trip to Bear Lake with just our little family. Andy had actually never been to Bear Lake. He was quite impressed and I think we may have started a new tradition when we go up to Utah... :) My Great Aunt Audrey still lives in St. Charles, ID and the purpose of the trip was to visit her. It's been quite a few years since I've seen her. When I was little we spent a lot of time in St. Charles. It was fun to experience it all again...

 A picture of the kids and I at a lookout point and it was a little windy, okay a lot windy:

Despite the wind, we still made the best of it and enjoyed some time on the beach at Bear Lake:

Cheesy girl (Rachel had done her own hair and her sister's):

Happy boy:

Just a *bit* windy:

Sandman:

Memories washed away by the waves, but forever in our hearts:

Ian LOVED the sand:

A beautiful lake with so many different colors - the pictures don't do it justice:

Rachel jumping the waves:

Push-up time:

Audrey in her own little world:

That evening we went over to visit Aunt Audrey. It was so much fun to see her and she is doing so well. I have quite a few memories associated with this little house with its red roof:

Rachel playing with the rope that use to hold a tire swing years ago:

Checking out the cats at a distance, thank heavens! Aunt Audrey has always taken care of tons of cats. As a child I loved playing with the kittens. She never knows how many she feeds...

Audrey and Audrey:

We enjoyed surprising her and visiting with her. We stayed in a little cabin that was just down the street from where she lives and is owned by her neighbor. We got this picture of Ian that night in the cabin:

The next day we drove up to the property my family use to own. The cabin, basketball hoop, and shed are still there:

We then drove to Paris, ID for an extremely yummy breakfast. The girls got a kick out of the fact that we were in Paris (since they've been to the original Paris).

We then went on a little hike nearby called Bloomington Lake Trail. As we drove up to the trail head the temperature kept on dropping. By the time we got to the trail head the temp was 45 degrees. It was a bit chilly and there was even snow in shady spots:

We enjoyed the little hike and exploring the three lakes.

That's a canoe out there...

Andy was changing some of the settings on the camera. Before:

After:

Another great picture:

Before leaving Bear Lake we stopped in Garden City, UT for yummy hamburgers and raspberry milkshakes. As we drove through Logan Canyon we stopped off at Ricks Spring. As a little girl, I remember exploring this little stop...

The kids slept pretty much the whole drive home after we stopped at Ricks Springs. We had debated going to Hill Air Force Base on the way home, but the idea of waking up 3 children to go just wasn't appealing. There will be another opportunity another time... We are hoping next year to convince some of Andy's family to join us up at Bear Lake. We figure it would be lots of fun to rent a big cabin, some watercraft, and just enjoy! We'll have to see...