Yesterday we got back from our week long Lower Family Reunion in Fish Haven, ID at Bear Lake. The whole reunion was a blast. The boys loved playing with their cousins and I loved being with my family. Everyone was there and I think David even enjoyed the entire week!
We drove up Saturday afternoon (July 27th) and arrived there right at 4pm for check in. We rented a large house in The Reserve community in Fish Haven, ID. The house was perfect. There was space to gather and hang out. The community had two nice pools, a hot tub, and a gym.
Here's a run down of the week. We kept really busy and the boys stayed up way too late every night, but they did sleep in and for the most part, they did really well.
Saturday-
Arrived at house. Everyone showed up except the Waisath's came in after we'd all gone to bed. We had pizza for dinner and went to the pool to swim. There was a water slide at the pool. Porter loved going down it, but Jonas and Mason never ventured down it.
Sunday-
Went to church. After church we came back and took family pictures. My dad gave us all a spiritual message and bore his testimony to us. I loved being able to be all together and to hear my dad bear his testimony and to have my children hear it also. It's not very often that gets to happen. But, as he spoke, everyone was quiet and the spirit was present. That was the most spiritual part of the entire trip for me.
That afternoon we took an "off-roading" trip Bloomington Lake. We didn't realize it was going to be like that, but it was beautiful up at the lake. A lot of the kids and some of the adults went off the rope swing. Porter and I just hung out with our feet in the water watching everyone else. I was grateful that Porter did not want to go off the rope swing. I was a little worried about it and I wanted it to still feel like Sunday. David had stayed back at the house with Jonas and Mason along with my parents.
Bloomington Lake is beautiful. It was a short hike/walk up to the lake after a really long drive.
After dinner that evening we had a "Retirement" Party for papa. He was supposed to be retired by now, but since their house hasn't sold yet, he has kept working. But, we don't know if we'll be able to get everyone together once he does retire, so we kept the party this weekend. Amber and Ashley put together a few fun activities. We played a jeopardy game about Dad's life and it was a lot of fun. I learned some new things and had a few good laughs about some other things. I even got to cry-laugh. It was the best. Kenny was very confident in answering that mom and dad met at The Riviera. I couldn't help but cry-laugh because that is where he lived. They met at Roman Gardens.
Then we enjoyed cake to celebrate his retirement and Mira, Wes and Jon's birthdays.
Some people went swimming, but since it was Sunday, I didn't want our family to go. Porter got really, really mad. I felt bad, but I knew we should stay home together. Some of the older cousins (James, Zach and Jackson) almost stayed home from the pool because they didn't want Porter to feel left out, but I didn't want them to stay back. They left and after Porter and I talked, we played Life together and he was much better. It was great to get to stay with him and play together.
Monday-
We headed to Rendezvous Beach to play. We rented a boat for tubing, we played on the beach and on the water trampoline. It was overcast and we played all day long. Porter was on the boat literally all day except for the one time I went on the boat. He loved tubing and being with the older boys.
Mason, Jonas and David and I jumped on the water trampoline for a while and the boys loved it.
In the evening we ventured into Garden City to try our first shake.
There are several shake stands, but we were told that Lebeau's is the
oldest and most famous. So, this was our first taste of the famous
Raspberry shake. It was good, but I'll admit, there were other places
that were tastier. We ate shakes on our way home from the lake and were so full of ice cream that we could hardly eat dinner that night.
Tuesday-
We spent most of the day at the pool at made this more of a low key day. Of course it was still a blast. Somehow Ash convinced Mason to go down the water slide. I'm not sure he knew what hit him when they flew off the slide and ended up under water. He didn't cry, but he also didn't go again.
That afternoon the we played Minute to Win It games. All the kids gathered around and loved trying to see who could suck up the most cheerios and move them to another bowl (I was second best :), get 6 pieces of ziti pasta on a piece of spaghetti without using your hands, get an oreo from your forehead into your mouth without using your hands and a few other fun games. I had to leave partway through to help Jonas in the bathroom, so we missed some of the fun.
Most everyone except Mimi, Papa, Theron, Wes, Jon, Mira and myself and Jonas and Mason went to do an Escape Room that night. They said it was fun, but it was a little like a youth soccer game where all the kids run around in a bunch.
The rest of us went out for shakes. We tried a new place, Ber's Shakes and Sodas. It was better than Lebeau's and they had the cutest soda drinks. They had gummy sharks or gummy alligators or watermelon sour patch kids swimming in the bottom of the drink and coming out of the whipped cream at the top. Mason and Jonas were going crazy about it. They spent the majority of the time talking about the drinks rather than drinking them. It was adorable and funny. Theron said he could not understand anything Mason was saying, but Mason just kept talking. Of course I could understand everything.
Wednesday-
We took to the beach again. This time we went to North Beach. We rented jet skiis, a paddle boat, a kayak. Papa brought along an inflatable boat. It was another perfect beach day. Porter and I both got up on the paddle board. I'll admit, I was a little nervous about falling on my belly. Porter balanced really well all by himself.
Porter went out on the jet ski and loved it, although he didn't like going too fast. David and I finally got Jonas to go out with us. He was hilarious. He sat in between us and we were going sooo slow, but he kept saying, "Too fast." "Too far." Then he started crying, so we headed back in. But, we got him out and hopefully in a year or two we can get him out again. David and I went out by ourselves. It felt great to have the wind in our hair, but I was so nervous when I was driving it. It's been a long time since I've driven one or ridden on one for that matter. I was much more comfortable with David driving, but I also knew he wouldn't do anything crazy since I'm pregnant.
One of the best parts of the day was taking Mason out in the inflatable raft. He was so cute. He just held on to the front of the boat.
After the lake we headed home, had dinner and then Mimi gave out her little awards to everyone. The kid's loved being spotlighted. Well, all of our kids except Jonas. He doesn't love the attention on himself.
That night of course we headed out for shakes again! This time we tried Zips. This was my favorite shake place for sure. I loved the atmosphere and their fries were yummy too.
Thursday-
We headed to Lava Hot Springs to play at their recreation pool and for who ever wanted to float the river. There was a pool, diving boards, diving platforms, 4 waterslides, a kiddie play area, and an indoor pool with a walk climbing wall. We played for hours and hours. There was stuff for everyone of every age to do. Porter went off the high dive, but I couldn't get him to go down the water slides because they were enclosed at least for part of it. Mason and Jonas played and played with Wes in the kiddie play area. I had been nervous about driving there because it was about an hour and 15 minutes away, but it was so much fun and definitely worth it.
A lot of people, but the younger kids, went to float the river. I wasn't sure how it would be and if the younger boys would like it, so I didn't take them. I guess everyone loved it and I could have brought Mason and Jonas. They ran the river a couple of times and Porter and David were in a four man tube. Porter loved it.
We played KUBB in the yard and enjoyed the beautiful weather.
That night Porter and David went out with all the older people to get shakes again. I stayed back with the little ones and got them ready for bed.
Friday-
We packed up and headed out. We all stopped at Maddox Drive In in Perry for lunch. The Lower's had recommended it to us. It was packed and the food was okay, but definitely not worth the wait.
The Waisath's came to stay with us for the night and the Troutman's got to hang out with us for a little until they left for the airport. Porter, David, Kari, Theron, Karsten, Morgan and Garrett all went to Snowbird to enjoy the summer activities up there. I stayed back with the little kids. We built and played LEGO's, jumped with water balloons on the trampoline and watched a movie.
Saturday-
We took the kids up to Donner Park. It was hot, but the kids got some energy out. Kari set up an obstacle for them to run through the playground. It was a lot of fun. The kids had so much fun right up until Porter and Karsten were a "siamese run" and Karsten accidentally dragged Porter along the ground. That was pretty much the end of Porter's fun. He kept crying and crying, and fortunately it was time to go home so the Waisath's could get ready to head to the airport.
This was a fantastic week. I wouldn't have changed anything. I loved having my little family be with my extended family. Our kids got to try so many new things this week and create so many fun memories with their cousins. This was totally worth it.
How grateful I am for family.
No comments:
Post a Comment