Bear Lake

The Christensen family broke tradition this year and went to Bear Lake instead of Redfish. We stayed at Paris Canyon campground. We took four wheelers and rode those for two of the days and the other two days we spent on the boat. We left Saturday morning and met up with Cindy's friend, Kendra. They were staying in one of the resorts on the Utah side and offered for us to use their beach. The water was extremely rough that day so we couldn't really do much out on the boat. We played ultimate Frisbee, volleyball, and sat around. They did also have a swimming pool that the kids loved to play in. They were in the pool for 3 hours, with their life jackets on, having a blast. Haylee just jumps in (if she has a life jacket), she dunks herself under water and when she comes up she says, "I didn't even plug my nose" and she wipes her eyes and doesn't cry that there is water in her eyes. She swims across the whole length of the pool, splashes around and has a grand time. We had a nice BBQ of shish kabobs and we even had enough to feed the Burton's. Overall, we haven’t had a great first impression of Bear Lake and don’t know if we’ll make it back. The beach was crowded with rows of families. We had to walk through families to get to the beach. Plus, the water wasn’t that great. Three strikes for Bear Lake.

Grandma Christensen had a little "primary" planned for the kids and a Sunday school activity for everyone to participate in. We hiked down the road a bit and tried to catch a fish. Grandpa took some fishing poles and we sat on the bridge above a little creek. The kids had fun getting the worm on and then holding it in the water for about 20 minutes. Then they were done. We took a hike up to the top of the creek. It was beautiful up there though. There was a nice little trail with greenery all around. The kids liked jumping over the rocks. We drove the four wheelers up to the ice caves. We couldn't go in all the way because 1) we didn't have a flashlight to see in the dark cave 2) we had kids and it was slippery 3) it was so cold and we were wearing shorts. It was fun to see that there was still snow around even though it is August. Sunday evening we hiked up to Bloomington Lake. The hike was great and the lake was very pretty. Devin was awesome. He just trotted along very happy to be going up to a Lake. He wanted to see it very badly. The girls were excited to see it to so there weren't any complaints on the way up. Everyone had to jump in the freezing cold lake. Even Devin sat in the lake on a rock up to his chest. He doesn't mind cold water at all - just not in the ears. He didn't even take a swim suit. He was quite the trooper. It didn't bother him that his jean shorts were soaking wet or on the hike that it was cold. He wanted to ride the four wheeler back and only made it down the hill and then he was cold so he got in the truck.

Monday was back at the lake. The water was much better and we were able to use the boat all day. The kids and I still went to the pool for 3 hours with Whitney and Andee this time. They liked that better than the beach because they have become quite brave in the water, and are completely brave if they have life jackets on. That is the girls, Devin will still go in to his chest only. Cody wanted to walk around the whole time so we just had to keep him in the water so he wouldn’t run off. We played games in the pool, we went in the hot tub, they jumped in the deep end and raced to the other side of the pool. We had a lot of fun while Daddy was out perfecting his surf boarding. When we came back to the lake we built sand castles and sand cities. We even carved a turtle. The kids are very content on the beach. They find peace there. They don’t fight with each other, they play well together as well as alone, they mind their own business. Mommy can just sit in a chair, watch them, and relax as well.

The last day we took one last four wheeler ride on a bunch of trails. It was very dusty for the caboose riders, but very enjoyable. Grandma/pa spent all morning giving the kids rides. Of course, they didn’t want to get off, they wanted to go up the steepest hills, and they went with anyone who turned the key on. Grandpa pulled them on the trailer while he was riding the four-wheeler. They loved that as well. Daddy drove all four kids one time and they did go up a pretty steep hill. Way to go! Clean up is always the pits, but it went smoothly and pretty quickly. We wanted to get Cody back to see the doctor. He had goopy eyes all weekend. He woke up every night with his eyes swollen shut. Poor little guy. (He ended up with a virus that turned a little bacterial so we just put antibiotic drops in his eyes) He took it all so well though. He was a trooper. He wasn’t ever really that fussy. The campsite was pretty hilly and he kept falling as well so he had dirt filled goopy eyes. He drove his four-wheeler around and loved it when anyone would give him a real four-wheeler ride. Devin is getting very confident riding his red four-wheeler. He stands up with one foot on the seat, he skids and does 180’s. Tanner said, “Watch out, we may have a dirt bike rider on our hands”.

The weekend was great and a lot of fun, but still didn’t compare to Redfish. It is nice to at least try other places before we totally decide to stick with one for the rest of our lives.