Day 201: Relaxing

July 20

We spent the day at the lake with our friends, chilling on the beach, swimming a little bit, and trying out paddle boards.  And we did all of it with good friends and no children!  It has been a very relaxing vacation.

Day 200: Back to Bloomington

July 19

We returned to Bloomington Lake with our friends, and this time I braved the rope swing!  We also hiked partway around the lake and then swam over to the low cliffs you can see in the bottom right corner of this picture.  I won't say how long it took me to actually jump from there into the lake, but it's clear that if all my friends jumped off a cliff, I would at least think twice.  My mother would be proud.

Day 199: Peace

July 18

Everyone has gone home, including the girls, who are staying at Grandma's house for a few days, and Chris & I are alone at the cabin, enjoying the silence and tranquility until our friends arrive for a kid-free weekend.

Day 198: Bloomington Lake

July 17

We came to this spot a few years ago.  Here's Uncle Britton again, jumping from the rope swing.  The most notable difference between this time and last time is that there is no snow on the mountains, so the water was much warmer.  It was a beautiful day, and not only did Uncle Britton jump, but also the rest of Chris's brothers, his brother-in-law, and his sister.  Everyone wore swimsuits this time, though, since his dad vetoed the underwear jumping.

Day 197: Nathan Has a Shovel

July 16

Today was spent at the beach.  Bear Lake is usually pretty crowded in July, but the clouds and the fact that it was a Tuesday kept most of the crowds away, and we had this little stretch of sand pretty much all to ourselves.  The girls played in the water, rode on the boat, drove the waverunners, and attempted to waterski, and our nephew Nathan had the time of his life playing in the sand.

Day 196: Slippin' and Slidin'

July 15

We spent our first full day at the cabin relaxing, playing, and just having fun with all of Chris's family.  All the kids (and one or two of the adults) had a blast on the slip'n'slide, but Ellie kept it up the longest.

Day 195: Sister, Daughter, Mother

July 14

I'm incredibly blessed and proud to be related to these three amazing women.  Also, my daughter should not be nearly as tall as her aunt and grandmother!

Day 194: Kiss the Bride

July 13

Chris's youngest brother, Scotty, got married today.  We're excited for him and his new wife, Vickie, and her - and now his - little girl Izzy.

Day 193: Derpy Alpaca

July 12

We're off to Utah!  We made a pit stop at "The Middle of Nowhere" in Idaho, where the bathrooms were, unfortunately, out of order, but the resident alpaca was happy to pose for goofy pictures.

Day 160: Almost Home

June 9

I love having this beautiful landmark to let us know for sure when we're getting close.

Day 159: Mermaids

June 8

These girls swam all day long.

Day 158: Creekside

June 7

Chris's office designed this amazing camp, and they opened it up again for his office to have a family weekend there.

Day 6: Are We There Yet?

January 6

No, but we're more than halfway!

Day 5: Cookies

January 5

Grandma and the girls made the cookie dough, but then they left to go swimming, so Chris and I were put in charge of baking them.  We did an excellent job.

Day 4: Old School

January 4

Ellie got roller skates for Christmas, so we thought it would be fun to take the kids to the skating rink so she could really try them out.  I'm proud to say that, even though it's been YEARS since I've skated, I managed to stay upright the entire time.  And I'm a little dismayed to say that Vicki wears the same size roller skates as me.

Day 3: The Sledding Master

January 3

After she dubbed herself The Sledding Master, Ellie asked she had any ancestors who were professional sledders.

Day 2: Babysitting

January 2

Poor Nathan, the only boy cousin in a family full of girls who all want to love on him.  You can tell he hates the attention.

Day 1: Little Ladies

January 1

Whenever we visit, Grandma E. gets all her granddaughters together and hosts a "Little Ladies' Lemonade (or Hot Cocoa) Party".  The girls all bring their American Girl (or equivalent) dolls, wear fancy hats and eat fancy foods, and Grandma reads them a story.  It's quite the event.

Day 366: Fun with Old Friends

December 31

We got together with a group of Chris's old friends this afternoon (well,  now they're my friends, too!)  Vicki and Elani have been friends since Elani was born, and the two of them (and Elani's little sisters) had a great time playing Just Dance 4.

Day 365: Creationary

December 30

We got this fantastic game for Christmas and tried it out tonight with my parents.  Definitely a keeper!