When Gary first heard about this vacation home in Bear Lake, I was surprised that he even told me about it. After all, he knows after all these years, that information like that can lead to adventures. I actually thought little about it but he told his mom and she immediately was interested in scheduling it for a family reunion. We weren't planning on doing a reunion this year (2013) but the Utah UEA weekend was available so we went for it. Little did we know how much we would need that time together as a family.
So middle October I spent a day clearing up those piles I pictured in the last post (or at least moving them to other locations) so I could start the piles for the Family Reunion....food, paper goods, games, all found a place on the dining room table. It seemed odd to be heading out for a vacation so soon after Valerie's death, but it also felt so right as well. My life had really "piled up" during all of the busyness of our lives and finding time to get away and be with family was just what I needed personally and I think everyone else felt the same way.
On October 17th, we headed north about 2 1/2 hours to Bear Lake. The mountains were gorgeous in fall colors, especially through the canyons. It felt restful just driving there. I was a bit nervous because we were heading to a place we hadn't been before with about 38 people of all ages...in one house. However about 15 minutes before we got here, my sister-in-law Vonette who had arrived there already texted me: "Krystal said this is the best house ever while she was going down the slide." A good start to a great weekend.
Let me mention the house--over 9000 sq. feet, 9 bedrooms, six bathrooms, three different levels with slides between the floors (and stairs for those who didn't want to slide), bed space for 46 people, three living areas, a pool table, theatre room, and a playroom. The kitchen had tables to sit 24 at tables. It had three decks which overlooked Bear Lake. It was too cold to actually swim in the lake but it was beautiful day and night. To top it all off, there was a full moon which was amazing as it rose in the east and reflected in the water of the lake.
Some scenes:
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| Bear Lake in the fall! |
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| Off the deck--a bit of snow in the mountains |
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| Moon rising |
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| Sunrise from the family room where Gary and I stayed |
I didn't take pictures of the actual house except for the playroom and what a play room it was:
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The playroom had a built in tramp, a basketball court,
a putting green in the foreground and the playhouse in
the back with swings and a slide. |
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| Jena and Scott--1:1 basketball game |
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My niece Chera who is a dance instructor led
the younger generations in a Saturday morning
Zumba class. And actually my sister-in-law Charon
was in there too. She is a runner and in great shape.
I watched! |
Friday morning we went to breakfast together at a nearby restaurant and then headed off to rent to UTV which were 4-people ATVs with a roll bar which is helpful if you tip (as some people who will remain nameless found out....not in our family). I had never ridden in one before but had a wonderful time. I thought I had a great ride with Scott, Jena, and Adam then we dropped off Adam and Jena and Scott headed off with me and we went up some sharp dirt piles. That was exciting and a bit scary. Then later I went with Vonette and Charon and my niece, Nikki and we had a ride of a lifetime. Charon was fearless and we went up higher in the mountains than I had gone earlier. It was so beautiful.
Charon loved the muddy puddles so we took a few trips through them on our way down. On the last puddle which Charon drove through twice, we got covered in mud. That started us laughing even harder than before. Gary said that he could hear me laughing before he heard the UTV. That is a bit embarrassing--but Gary said it was a good thing to hear me laughing. We all needed to laugh and to build some happy memories.
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| Gary, Jena, Scott and Chantel, Charon and Grandma Hall |
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| Up the mountain on the UTV |
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| Jena ready to go |
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And there is Scott posing with Adam (my nephew) and Jena
We reached the peak of a small mountain.
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I didn't drive but riding was so fun. I hope that we can do it again sometime. We had two UTVs--one that we rented and one Scott borrowed from a friend. We could drive along the street from the house to the trails which was fun. People just played at the house until their turn to ride. It worked great.
Here is Jena with the youngest person to attend our reunion--Dallin Christopher Page. He was 17 days old. Jen was a great sport to come up with her husband and their three kids including little Dallin. They only stayed one night but it was fun to have them and their daughters loved the slides and playhouse. It was hard for them to leave when they had to head home on Friday for Chris's work.
Friday night, Charon and her family prepared a luau for us complete with leis and lanterns over the tables.
Saturday we laid around, talked and did whatever we wanted to do. Some people ran to the beach park, but mostly we just enjoyed the pretty location and the fun house. I read a book. It was so nice.
We took pictures (Hopefully we will get some copies from Mike and Christie who had the real cameras), talked, and played games until late. The little kids loved having a place to run around in all day.We played a few games of "Bump" or whatever you call it when you line up on a basketball court with two balls and try to make a basket before the person in front of you does. If you do then they are out. Bryan Mann (Chera's husband) who is quite tall and a good basketball player was the overall winner. We played other games including some Minute to Win it games. Fun times.
I think we had 39 family members at some time of the weekend. There was lots of laughing and memory making. Perfect time together.
On Sunday everyone started heading out. We went to a local church for Sacrament meeting and then headed back to "hang out" and talk. Everyone left by noon or so, but Gary, Jena and I stayed until about 6. We took naps and just enjoyed some peace and quiet. I think Jena thought that was boring but Gary and I loved our naps. Vacation times do have to end, so we reluctantly headed back to real life with a wedding coming up, lots of stuff for the Utah Down Syndrome Foundation, and regular life events (except for cooking dinner, I really don't think I cooked dinner much during October.)
Luckily, real life is good too--the ups and the downs! We are so blessed during it all.
It even applied to looking for something for me to wear. I would try things on and then send her a picture. (This is actually the skirt I wore but I finally found the right shirt a day or two before the wedding. That was one of the more stressful parts of the wedding.) I am not too experienced in the art of taking "selvies".
