bear lake family reunion.

[family reunion time. bear lake. july 23-28]

monday.

a day full of travel. our first real road trip. my favorite lake. meeting at la beau's for raspberry shakes. a cabin with 16 bedrooms. box elder bugs everywhere."no one is leaving until you kill at least TWO box elder bugs." pillows made of cotton balls. a sibling rainbow.

tuesday.

pioneer day. watching the parade on tv. hot tubing with the cousins. a family timeline. harry potter all day. a pinata. "game wars." including many rounds of speed. too much candy. chatting with the cousins. a birthday song for turning 85. cake and candles. fourwheelers. mosquito bites. playing on the playground. raspberry shakes day two at jake's.  [which included purpleberry shakes and the statement "i soiled myself."]

wednesday.

my half birthday. short little bike ride. a day on the lake. wake boarding. derek's first time getting up. sitting on the beach. sandwiches and snacks. the storm blowing in. reading harry potter. working on the "marathon" of the family timeline. a late dinner. and a four-wheeler ride before the sunsets. my own hand drawn picture of cinderella by the kiddies. grandma's famous guessing games.  winning the chocolate jar. [now i can't say i never win.] "minute to win it" walter style. almost winning this one. stories about the pictures on the timeline. hearing about grandma's mission. and grandpa falling in love with grandma. a realization about grandma and grandpa that they won't be here forever. tears of gratitude for their example. more rounds of speed and rock paper scissors to add wins to the "game wars." shakes night three at bear lake pizza co.  not enough raspberry and taking way too long.

 

thursday.

waking up kt. a bummer of a morning. tears of disappointment.  finally ready to ride. not the best day for four-wheeling. emotional instability. tears and feeling defeated. wishing i could teleport to the beach. too grumpy to even pull out the camera. driving past a huge herd of cows. dusty faces. back to the beach. finishing harry potter. the big accomplishment of making it through the scary part of harry potter 4. [it scared me so bad as a fourth grader i didn't finish it for years.] the last boat ride.  derek getting the "uncle steve initiation." [being pushed into the lake off the boat.]  water skiing one last time. mom speed wheeling aunt carolyn down the hall. more stories and advice from grandma and grandpa. "remember who you are." tasting a sample of uncle jay's raspberry shake from hometown.  but finishing the night with the number one shake choice. la beau's.

friday.

clean up and check out by 10 am.  the awards ceremony. taking first place in the game wars.  derek tying with allison for second.  brian taking third. and dad taking fourth. videographer of the timeline. and a final picture on the porch. heading over to the smith cabin.  off to minnetonka cave.  444 stairs in. 444 stairs out.  hearing how dad carried me all of those when i was a kid.  turning off all the lights. super freaky. and we're off. pulling the boat home. stop in evanston. helping the parents unpack. home again. sleeping in my own bed.

our timeline went from 1928 to 2012

 

saturday.

seven peaks. lightening. way too busy. waiting in line for pizza that took forever. going on a couple rides. going home to sleep. avoiding the grocery store. olympics time.

favorite raspberry shakes:

1- la beaus

2- hometown

3- jake's

4-bear lake pizza co.