Bear Lake arrival and pre-reunion

And it was so great to get there and hug and catch up as the kids ran around and the mosquitoes started coming out to find us with this gorgeous backdrop:

The kids loved introducing Bo to all their cousins.  There was a little trepidation at first among the little kids but they all warmed up pretty quick.

We walked down to check out the lake.

The water is SO HIGH this year!

Whoa, that’s a lot of water!

So fun to watch all the cousins hit their own little imagination worlds so quickly.

One of the first days Grandfather put on a pretty awesome tennis class for all the kids.

 Including princesses.

(My mom has a box of dress-up stuff and I tell you, from the minute we arrive until we leave those girls are decked out in those dresses.  They can’t get enough.  And I love that.  Makes me miss my little girls.)

And then the food-making begins.

Every night the kitchen looks like this…except a little busier, kids crawling all over the place, moms working hard to whip up awesome food, everyone putting in an ingredient here or there.

It is hot in that kitchen, with the evening sun pouring in, and the stove or oven heat wafting through, and the love is as thick as the heat.

And then we clean up, and put the littles in bed, play games and make some kind of cookie and this year lots of popcorn too.

It is late, late, late and everyone is up talking and playing games and feeling the togetherness that happens at that place.

During the day the kids find non-stop entertainment at the beach.

 This year before the reunion we did a little work project to clean up all the stray plants and driftwood that has surfaces as the water has crept up so far on the beach.

 Each night after dinner we try to drink the marrow out of the sunset.

We go on walks along this road and glory in the different way that sun sinks every night.

 Usually the sisters and sister-in-laws go, but this night Claire joined in.

Barefoot since her foot was still hurting from her sting ray incident… which necessitated a little bit of piggy-backing amidst the walking.

 Bo was a fast favorite for all these grandkids.

 The traditional “fort” was built in all it’s majesty.

 The tennis court was utilized and I LOVE that.

It was my brother’s birthday right before the reunion.

He’s usually at his Imagine Learning (work) conference for this day and it was so fun to actually have him with us and get to celebrate with his wife Julie’s traditional “numbers” to celebrate.  (She always does the age number he’s turning in some kind of creative way…this year it was cookies.)