Thursday, October 22, 2015

Bear Lake

The weekend in Bear Lake was a bit of a whirlwind.  There was so much to do, we let the kids miss a day of school.  Then we had all of Friday to play, before General Conference started.  
We love to stay in the condos with the whole Clark family and this year was our first at Bear Lake.  Minnetonka Cave was already closed for the season, but Susie told us about Paris Ice Cave which was a great adventure!  








The rain didn't spoil much of our weekend, but we did keep the little kids dry and warm in the car while the others finished exploring.



Look for the golden tree on the right in the middle of the grove.  We saw a few aspens like this and thought there was a fire in the middle of the forest.  The mist above the trees made the aura of the area even cooler!   


We loved the beautiful drive around the area too..

Conference activities for our Saturday

Cousin love 

Jared and the boys made it over to Trent's cabin who let us use the kayak and paddle boat! 

Grandpa treated us to Bear Lake raspberry shakes!
even Jonathan

Chris was our naturalist who showed us an amazing hike.  
and the mushrooms on the trees called witches ears!
I love how the kids enjoy their cousins.
Several thousand year old tree - Wow! 

So glad we got to soak in some of this Autumn in nature
Grandma prepared some wonderful projects for moms and kids during the priesthood session.
And she brought gingerbread owl cookies for us to decorate and devour.
Family traditions!
We were really grateful for such a nice family vacation.  From our condo, we could see the sailboats at the marina and the lighthouse building.  Beautiful.. even if my camera is fuzzy!

A New Adventure


The Greatest Quest
We are excited for another year's theme!  

Opening day -- Plan of Happiness 
Tree of Life sidewalk art

James Christensen's art "Desirable Above All Other Fruit"
Harvesting Fruit

Hold to the Rod -- General Conference!

Football and the Fair

One Saturday this fall we squeezed in a trip to the State Fair our favorite Stake Harvest fair at church and a BYU football game for the boys.

We looked at the displays at the fair and then watched one of the shows.
Alligator wresting was Jordan's choice. :)

We got suckered into a family photo holding two baby alligators.  The kids were too little in Florida to do it, so we snagged the chance in right here at the Utah State Fair.  
Jared can compete with the best in a pull-up contest.
and Jordan
The boys won a free ride with the summer reading program.
Leisel won the hot dog decorating contest.
although Tessa thought she should have...
Michael even ran into his friend from school that we hadn't been able to connect with!

Then our crazy Pocatello cousins rolled into town to cheer on the Cougs.  Our boys got home after midnight, and the Allens drove the rest of the way home to Idaho!


Dinner before the game.  
Jenny is taking these photos, but she is the awesome sister that hosted the boys!

Beginning School


Our favorite kindergartener!
Leisel put on her uniform-ish dress too. :)

performing their poems and jingles

Our lastest favorite activity before school is coloring. 

and crawling