Bear Lake 2014-Brower Reunion

I was really excited when I found out it was Matt and I's turn to plan the Brower "reunion." I was hoping we could plan something that would be fun for everyone including us. It's no secret that I haven't had the best time at reunions in the past and I was hoping to change that. Matt's family can be a lot of fun and I was hoping to bring out the best in everyone. It wasn't even a thought that our plans would include a lake and the boat but beyond that we had to do some serious searching and discussing as far as what everyone was willing to pay and how far from home it would be. We ultimately decided on camping and Bear Lake. Growing up we didn't boat at Bear Lake so it was even a new experience for me. We found a great campground that would accommodate us well  so we set a date and made our reservations. After buying all the food for Lake Powell I decided it was much to overwhelming for me to do all the food by my self for 3x the people so after talking to Matt's mom we decided Matt and I would be in charge of dinner and paper products....which was still a lot! And Thursday the time finally came to pack up and head for our much anticipated trip. We met up with Nick and Brit at Smith and Edwards to grab a few last minute things and to pick up Kaylee to ride with us. Then we grabbed a quick bite in Logan before heading up the canyon to the lake. We got there about 2pm unloaded and set up camp before taking the boat down to put it in the lake. 

The weather was perfect and the water pretty smooth. Hallie immediately asked for a swim break...no surprise there. And then most of the Bennetts tried some skiing. 

With plenty of swim breaks of coarse

It was a fun night but shortly before dark we loaded the boat and headed back to camp to eat some dinner and meet up with the Browers and Sonerholms that had arrived while we were out boating. We were excited to see everyone and settled in for the night. After we got some dinner we headed down to the showers to clean up before going to bed. That night Gracie didn't sleep well. I think she kept waking up and forgetting where she was so when the sun came up needless to say I was wishing for more sleep. We had decided the night before that we would head up to the Minnetonka Cave and do a tour. So after breakfast we loaded up and drove the 40 minutes to get there. We were more than a little disappointed to find that the tours for the next couple hours were sold out and we didn't want to wait. So we loaded up again and headed back to camp for some lunch before we launched the boat. On a brighter note Gracie got a good nap in on the drive to and from and it was a pretty scenic route. I love to watch my girls sleep just so peaceful.

 After eating some lunch we launched the boat and I was frustrated when the wind was blowing like crazy. So we decided to make the most of it and do some wake boarding. We took Tiff and her family with us to launch to boat so we took our time and let everyone have a turn on the way back.

 Sweet Emily is scared of the water but wanted to try it and she did so well

We went back to shore and rotated people out a couple times to try and let everyone have a turn. The wind continued to blow so when dinner time came we pulled the boat out and called it quits! When we got back to camp the Pugmires had arrived and we got dinner ready. Right before dinner a cowboy and his horse came to invite us to the rodeo the following evening and was nice enough to let the kids sit on the girls loved it.

 That night we had dutch oven chicken and potatoes. And for dessert cherry and peach cobbler. 

 After dinner we had a Brower lip sync program. Matt and the girls did Love is an Open Door from Frozen and then called it a night.

Saturday we decided we would get up early and 1 person would go buy tickets for the cave for everyone while the rest of us would boat until lunch and then head to the cave. Grandpa was the nice person to get us all tickets. It worked well and we got good water for most of the morning. We played a little to long and were really rushed when it came to lunch. We quickly changed our clothes for a family picture into the really cute shirts that Joy got for us and that I designed....they turned out really well. 

Then grabbed a quick bite before getting on the road to the cave. Once at the cave we had a few minutes to potty and get drinks. The girls were both really excited about going into the cave. 

The Before

 The After

 As we stood at the opening of the cave listening to our guide talk about the rules Hallie completely lost it. I pulled her to the side so I could see what was going on and she was terrified to go into the cave. No matter what I said she was still upset. As I stood there trying to figure out what to do the thought came to my mind to pray with her. So I asked if she thought we should say a prayer. She agreed and asked if I would say it. I asked Heavenly Father to watch over and protect us and to calm Hallie's nerves so that she would be able to enjoy the tour. After that she dried her tears and only asked to hold my hand and was fine the rest of the tour. What a awesome moment in both Hallie and I's lives to see God hand in what might be such a trivial thing compared to the rest of the world but to my sweet Hallie it made all the difference.

 My poor attempt to take Hallie and I's picture in the cave

 Hallie and Daddy with the 3 sisters 

 During her explanation, our tour guide, said one of the rocks looked like Snow White but Gracie was so upset when she couldn't find Snow White and she just didn't understand why

 A lot of the rocks looked the same to me after the first half of the tour. By the time we got to the end both girls had had it and were ready to go but we still had 444 stairs left to climb back to the car. There were times I just wanted to sit down and rest after carrying one or both of the girls but we made it and it was for the most part enjoyable. We got back just in time to get dinner ready. This night we had walking tacos when your camping I think food just tastes better. The wind continued to blow so Matt and I decided not to put the boat back in and to enjoy the last couple hours of our vacation. The kids got to swim for as long as they wanted and Matt was so good to play with them while I laid on the beach and relaxed just taking it all in.

When the sun started to set and it got a little chilly we headed up to get ready for bed. I took the kids to get them changed and when I came out they have  had all the kids lined up ready to sing happy birthday to all the kids in celebrating year round birthdays.

 Then we had a fire and cooked some popcorn and smores. We enjoyed the last few minutes of visiting with everyone before people started to go their separate ways.  

That night Matt started not feeling good and was up most of the night back and forth to the bathroom and just plain feeling crappy. By the time the sun came up he had finally fallen asleep but I just couldn't settle back in so I decided to get an early start of getting what I could packed while everyone else got some sleep. But I had to take a second and admire the beautiful sunrise. I don't think I have every seen a more beautiful sunrise than one that comes up while we have been camping on a lake side so quiet and beautiful.