Bear Lake

When J was about 3 months old he and I went to Bear Lake with 15 or so members of my family. We rented a really nice cabin. J didn't care how nice it was, he only cared that there were 9 kids there and it was LOUD and he hated it. I spent a lot of time in the bed room or outside where it wasn't so loud. Fast forward 3 years and we all went up to Bear Lake again. This time Ken came with us. There are a few more kids in the family now- It was just as loud but this time J loved it, B thought it was pretty fun too.  Here are some snapshot moments form our trip.

B enjoying some home made pizza for lunch, I am 99% sure that this is the oldest highchair he will ever sit it.

The most beautiful pizza I have ever made. It was a vegetable and chicken pizza. ( I made and froze the crusts at home a week or two before the trip, then we just topped them, cooked them and ENJOYED them)

We drove up to Paris! That's right I've been to Paris! Paris Idaho! A few miles outside of Paris (20 min driving 15 mph on really rocky bumpy roads) there is something called an Ice Cave. Basically it is a cave/giant chasm in the ground that is positioned just right- snow falls into the chasm during the winter and then sun never reaches parts of the cave/hole during the spring, summer and fall, so there is constantly a little mound of snowy ice. When we got there J immediately too off running, in the wrong direction- can you blame him, I mean his cool cousins were out there standing on the edge of a big chasm, it had to be safe right? They would never do anything dangerous!

We collected J and found the actual cave entrance. It was very cold in there, you could see your breath. I am glad I brought the sling for B, he was pretty glad too. I didn't do any spelunking, I just stayed on the path and didn't go too far into the cave. Can you see the ghost in the picture? I have watched enough ghost hunter shows to know that that little round blob in the picture is a ghost! FUN! 

As soon as we got into the cave and found the ice, J immediately ran onto the little mini glacier.

good thing we have the ability to zoom the camera- here is J- having WAY to much fun standing on the ice, he is also way too cute not to share the picture.

J actually slipped on the ice not too long after we took those first pictures, Ken had to go save him. But J, being a typical 3 year old, got over it pretty fast and continued to have fun exploring.

It was pretty cold in there and when I saw one of my nephews walk into the cave with a blanket, I didn't waste a moment and asked for it. B was happy to have it. I really should have thought to bring a hat!

I eventually left the cave. J on the other hand made Ken follow him around and take pictures of him standing next too or on every rock possible.

Yep, the Ice Cave was pretty fun and FREE!

Sliding on dirty snow ice can really make your bum dirty!

We are very smart people and since we had a fully equipped cabin we figured we would save some money and so a lot of eating in. But on the night we arrived (which was a Thursday) we decided that we would go out for dinner, after-all, there are LOTS of little hamburger places and we could get SHAKES- Raspberry Shakes to be exact. Well, Ken and I drove through Evanston on our way to Bear Lake- which meant that we drove through Garden City before we got to the Cabin, and we discovered that, even though it was only 6pm, there were only 3 restaurants open! No Hamburger places! A Mexican Restaurant, A Pizza Shop and a Steakhouse. Ha! Well the Pizza Place served shakes so we went there, even though we were going to have pizza again on Friday and Saturday.

We noticed, while driving through Garden City again on Friday as we were headed to Paris, that the place I lovingly refer to as "the shake shop" was open. (I just googled it- it's called "Quick n' Tasty") so after we finished up at the cave we drove as fast as legally possible back to the shake shop and enjoyed WAY TOO MANY SHAKES. B proved himself to be the perfect little bird- he discovered that if you look cute, open your mouth and grunt a little, EVERYONE will put spoons full of ice cream into your mouth. 

J's favorite part of the cabin- The Sand Box! 

We had lots of fun. It was loud, and they boys slept in our room- which isn't all that relaxing- but I have an idea for the next time we rent the cabin- All the kids sleep in the basement! We put them down there after dinner and lock the door- then we unlock the door in the morning! It's the perfect plan really. We had a great time.