This year we had our first Stuart Family Reunion at Bear Lake. Joe's family spent many summers there but I had never been so I was pretty excited. The only ones missing the fun were Justin, Marci, and Owen.
We headed up on Thursday morning and got there before noon. Two condos were scheduled for us but one was sold at the last minute so we were hooked up with a gorgeous 9,000 sq. ft. house. Each of us had our own bed and each family had their own bathroom. A recreation room in the basement was complete with a basketball court, swingset, teeter-totter, trampoline, and putting green. There was a home theater room, air hockey table, pool table, and table tennis. The kitchen had a huge refrigerator and there were enough tables and chairs for all 30 of us! Each level had a twisty tube slide that went down to the next. It was so fun to all stay together and play until all hours of the night. I think the kids were content just to play in that house rather than go to the lake. Thank you, Marcia, for making the amazing accomodations!
Rock wall and tube slide to the next floor
Katelyn and McKell teetering
Tommy, the pool shark
Clark, Andrew, John, and Mathew in the Home Theater room
Andrew and Jake playing air hockey
After lunch and a lot of playtime and pictures, we loaded into the cars and made our way to Minnetonka Caves. This was a fun hike in 40 degrees through some caverns of stalactites and stalagmities. The kids had a great time and Steve and Shelly taught us how to play a game called Samurai in the parking lot while waiting for our tour. This was the game of the weekend and the kids were caught playing it quite a bit in the rec room.
We then headed back into town for a quick bite of burgers, fries, and fresh yummy raspberry shakes. Then we were off to the Pickleville Playhouse for "The Hanging of El Bandito". It was a play that needed audience participation (boo's for the villain and cheers for the heroes) and was so funny. Both kids and adults loved it and Katelyn is still impersonating the flirtatious dance of "William" around our house. After the play we headed back to the house for some late-night snacks and a movie.
Rappin' with Juanito Bandito
The next morning we woke up and had a great breakfast before packing sandwiches, chips, fruit, snacks, cookies, juice, and water for 30. We loaded into the cars and headed out to Matt's family's cabin for a day of fun in the water. Behind the cabin was a big grassy area--perfect for picnics, napping, games, and relaxing. Near the beautiful turquoise water was a nice sandy area for the kids to dig, build, and play in all day long. Because the bottom of the lake is nice and sandy, we launched our boat and than anchored it a few yards from the shore. We only had to wade out to it in about waist-deep water before climbing in. The boys were up first to tube and knee-board. The girls stayed back on the beach playing in the sand, singing songs, and catching frogs. The boys had a great time but the water was a little cold. After a while we headed back to get the girls. This time I forgot my camera so there are no pics of the cute girls screaming on the tube. (What was I thinking?) After their ride, we headed back for our picnic on the grass.
Clark doing a 360 on the kneeboard
Mathew
John
Carlee and Jake lookin' good on the boat
After lunch we headed back out on the boat. This time I gave Charlie and Joe a ride on the tube and forgot my camera AGAIN. They had a great time and it was fun seeing those brothers fighting to stay on the tube. Both also knee-boarded for a bit until the wind blew the ladder door down on Charlie's toe. It was pretty sore and purple but he was a good sport and kept up the fun. Due to the wind and choppy water, we didn't get to do any skiing but the water was still fun. I also got to jet-ski for the first time. It was a blast and I loved riding with my babe across the lake. The waves were starting to white-cap so we hit some pretty good jumps and got some pretty good water in the face.
Here's my babe knee-boarding across the wake
Jet-skiing couple
John and Mathew on the tube
Joseph and Carlee
Katelyn and Jayne
Andrew, Jake, and Clark carrying water to their castle's moat
Grandma hanging out with Eli, Carlee, Megan, McKell, Jayne, and Jake
After a full day in the water, we loaded back up and headed to the house for a yummy dinner of sweet pork tacos, more playing, more movies, and some sleep. The next morning we were going to go back on the lake but it was rainy and cold when we woke up so we packed up and headed back to Brigham with a quick pit-stop for shakes on the drive home. I think everyone at Bear Lake had the same idea because I've never seen so many shakes made for breakfast!
We headed back to Grandma and Grandpa's and the boys immediately picked up their air-soft gun wars. Then they headed to the Real Soccer game while the girls did pedicures and watched a chick-flick. It was a really fun weekend and we had a great time being together as a family. A huge thank you to Jay and especially Marcia for organizing, planning, and starting this wonderful family. Until next year...
