Bear Lake, 2007

Jeff's family has been going up to Bear Lake for years. They started a LONG time ago when Jeff was just little and they try to make it up every year. Jeff and I have been able to go three of the six years we've been married, 2002, 2005 and now this year. The first year, we had no children and the second year, Brax was still not too curious about much, but this year it was SO fun, just because we could see Braxton having so much fun. So, we were up this year from Monday, July 23rd thru Friday, July 27th 2007.

Here is a picture with the cousins:

Braxton, Austin, Cambria, Jakob, Jaden, McKinly and Isabella

(There are two missing, Ashley who hadn't arrived yet and baby Stockton who must have been with Kim at the Condo .... she was sick the first two days!)

We arrived at IDEAL BEACH RESORT on Monday night and so we didn't really get any playing in that day. But Tuesday we headed for the beach and Braxton had so much fun.

He played splashed in the water, tried to bury his feet in the sand, threw the sand (I think that was his favorite part) and just had fun hanging out with his cousins.

It was an overcast day and Jeff and I ended up with some nice sunburns! I didn't think we had stayed outside that long, but I guess we had. So funny that we take the time to make sure Braxton is protected - but for some reason think we won't get burned. I guess we were wrong! (not the first time that has happened)

road trip

On Wednesday, Braxton and I took a little trip to Montpelier, Idaho, to visit my sister, Debbie. It was about 40 minutes away from Bear Lake.

Braxton had so much fun playing with her two kids, Bailie and Durham. They were so incredibly sweet to him and played so nice.

Durham had this batman toy. It was pretty sweet. You'd put batman in the elevator type thing and when he reached to the top floor, you opened the door - it was Bruce Wayne, not batman anymore. Braxton kept saying what I thought way, "blue swing, blue swing." I had no idea what he meant and said, "I don't think they have a blue swing." Finally Durham politely told me, I think he is saying "Bruce Wayne." which is exactly what Brax was trying to say. They also made a fort out of their couch and couch cushions. I can't tell you how fun it is to see him interacting with his cousins. I can't wait to move back and be closer!

Bailie seemed like a sweet little lady. I think she enjoyed keeping an eye on Brax and being a little babysitter for him. It was so fun to see them. The last time they saw Brax was when he was having his two year, early birthday party in August of 2005 - almost 2 years ago. Crazy!

So, then I got the urge to CHOP OFF ALL OF MY HAIR. It has been long and permed - and I can't stand it! I seem to be losing all of my hair for some reason and it is bugging me, BIG TIME. So ... Debbie loves to cut hair, so why not?

First I had to pose with my long, chopped-off locks. For some reason, I chose this way, don't ask me why! :

(I know, so NOT lovely)

THE END RESULTS

That night when we went to bed, Braxton kept asking me, "where is that little boy and girl, Mommy? I want to play with them again." :(

splishin' and a splashin'

We spent Thursday morning at the pool. It was so nice, hardly anyone was there except are family. We were all taking turns doing crazy jumps off of the dive. Jeff did a beautiful toe-touch and then a made a splash with a back-flop. Very nice. I skipped down the diving board holding hands with Bart's girlfriend, Marcie. What a sight to behold, I bet!

Braxton also jumped off the diving board, too. We didn't get a still photo but we did get him on video. He is getting so big!

The night before at the pool, our nephew, Austin, had a bit of a scare. He tried to do a back-flip off of the board and ended where he started, therefore, slamming his body into the board. THANKFULLY, after getting out of the pool, he was alright. That could have been a very scary situation. The next day though, he was pretty excited to show his bruises on his stomache. Yep, looked like the lines from a diving board!

mini-golfing

The evening before we left, we decided to go mini-golfing. Braxton had never been before and he had so much fun! It took two or three holes for him to understand what he needed to do - and after that it was, "no, I do it!" if we tried to help him at all. It was so much fun! He loved to get the ball out of the hole after it went in - he was a bit disappointed with the last hole because he couldn't get the ball out.

On the way back to the condo all we heard was, "I want to go goffing again, Mommy" - "Daddy, let's go goff."

It was a really fun way to end our trip.

(The picture in the middle looks like he was about to throw the ball at the camera -- don't worry, he wasn't. He was just trying to show the ball to the camera :)