One thing I adore about Bear Lake (among the hundreds) is that entertainment comes pretty darn naturally.

I mean, kids can be on the beach watching how water affects the sand for hours on end and never get sick of it. We have to drag them up for dinner as dusk sets in.
Which, of course, leaves parents time to sit and talk about the world in general.

In other entertainment categories, every year tubing is a hit. That’s just a given. It’s especially exciting when our family boat has some crazy problems and the extended cousins show up with their whiz-bang one. The luxury of tubing becomes even more exciting when you when you think you might not be able to do it that particular year.
Do you think they’re excited?
Love that one.

Max got to do his beloved wake-surfing.
…a little tough to do with tubers behind you…

Oh man I love those teenagers.And I LOVE that my cousin made Elle’s day and brought hers along:
(Elle’s the oldest girl by far among the grandkids so she was pretty excited.)

They even happened to have matching suits.

What we call “skiing on the gold” is also an entertainment hit.

We LOVE to go out when the sun is setting reflecting pure gold on the lake in the evening.

Luckily my brother is smart enough that he was able to save the day (along with a mechanical brother-in-law) and jimmy-rig our boat to pull us around.
Too bad you can’t see the gold very well in these pictures.I’m usually the boat photographer but my sister snapped some of me this year. Hmmmm…I could use a little more angle there…

There’s a little more…I need to get some tips from my elbow-skimming brothers.

I love how the “lighthouse” looks all lit up from our view on the boat as the sky continues to darken.

Yes, things like tubing and water-skiing are obvious hits. No-brainers. But this year probably the very biggest hit was surprising.

It was cups.

Yes, those big, red, plastic cups.

You see, my brother’s birthday is in July and each year his cute wife comes up with some snazzy way to write the number he’s turning creatively. She came up with cups this year.Little did she know that those cups would become an obsession with the grand-kids.
Lucy was a little possessive at times.
She loves to stack like nobody’s business.

But it turns out that she’s not the only one.
Thanks, Julie, for providing so much entertainment!

I need to go buy some of those….

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14 Comments

  1. what a great time! love the family values you instill in your kids, looks like theyre growing up well, not to mention theyre all very photogenic!

  2. Bear Lake looks like so much fun!
    One of my friends has a bag of cups she pulls out when extra kids are over. They are always a hit. Simple and cheap!

  3. What a fun family retreat! I have never been to Bear Lake–it looks so beautiful. Love all your pictures of the cousins hanging out together. Precious memories I'm sure they will always share together. 🙂

  4. Yes, it sure looks like a lot of fun is had by all up there. And you know what they say about kids prefering the box to the present…cups must fall into that category too. Who wouldn't love stacking cups?!

  5. Your summer looks amazing. Looking forward to ours….

    It's funny what I associate with 'typically' American. Those cups are one of them! Is that strange? In Australia we aren't so big on using disposable drink and tableware and yet I see across lots of American blogs that it appears to be used quite freely in homes as well as outdoors. I remember really feeling like I had 'arrived' in new york when I went to a party on long island and drank my drink from one of those red cups!

    It certainly looks like a great way to entertain kids of all ages! I might seek some out for ournext camping trip x

  6. there are lots of summer picture competitions on photobucket.com maybe youre interested? these pictures all look just perfect for that.

  7. too funny – we have a huge bag of cups that I keep for stacking and forts – all different sizes and colors. Throw in a stopwatch and you'll have lots of familyu contests to stack as tall as possible in 30 seconds or whatever…tons of possibilities and how cheap is that entertainment??

  8. Hi!
    Wow, you are blessed with a great family. Your reunion is such a rich & wonderful tradition for your kids.
    I was wondering how you handle meal assignments at Bear Lake. That's quite a crowd to cook for! Also, could you share some of the popular meals (not recipes, just ideas).

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