Pocatello & Bear Lake 2020

Buckle up, this is a long one.

Our trip felt so much easier this year with good travelers and even better sleepers. It was their first time having a slumber party on the floor together and they were often up way past their bedtime giggling about who knows what. haha A true childhood right of passage! 

How sweet are they when they're sleeping?!

I'll admit, the biggest bummer of all during our trip was the weather. It rained the majority of the time we were there. If you know Pocatello, it's a small town with not a lot to explore but when the sun is shining, there are some outdoor places we wanted to take our kids. We weren't able to do any of those things but we fulfilled the real reason we went and that was to spend time with family and friends. We had dinner with Nic's mom one night. Wish we could have gotten a picture. We also had a brief play date with old neighbors part garage, but backyard in short sleeves. Brr! I definitely didn't pack enough long sleeve clothes for myself this trip. I had a get together with a few girlfriends from our old neighborhood one afternoon and Nic had lunch with an old co-worker another. We had a blast catching up with our friends, the Southworth's. Liam and Hadley still play together like a dream! We got to meet their two month old baby and he was such a doll!! They finishing their basement and have hired interior designers to complete most of their house and it was looking amazing! Made me want to come home and start another home project. We'd make the most of our time with Dee when she wasn't working. We'd catch moments here and there where we could try and walk Papa's neighborhood between rainstorms and even take a ride on his golf cart! Always a highlight. 

Because of the rain, our original plans got all sorts of turned around but near the end of the trip, we finally made it. My favorite part of all is always, Bear Lake. 

Look how dreamy it is! We were even greeted by a pelican when we pulled in! 

My father-in-law always makes this trip a dream for us. He cooks every meal no matter how many times I offer to help. He contributes our portion to the family fund to stay the night there. He makes sure we're comfortable and happy. Rents a jet ski every year because he knows how much his grandkids love it and how much it makes them smile! My memories at this place will always be tied to our time with him. We missed having Dee with us this year too! 

I think this might be the first year that Lyla will remember the memories she made here.

The first thing he did was disturb an ant farm. haha

They both filled their pockets, buckets, and shoes full of seashells to bring home and spill over into the car on the way home. ;) Again, the best memories so it was worth it!

Tiny paddle boat riders!

Begging him to carry her in the water with him and giving kisses for rewards ...

The way she snuggles up to him and how he makes her giggle like no one else does ...

Not sure I'll ever be able to cut her hair because of those curls! How her hair bleaches out in the summer sun reminds me of my toe head days at her age. 

Next to shells, they filled their hands full of sand, tossing it into the lake and making the water as murky as possible. 

My favorite picture of ALL TIME! I asked her to "say cheese" and she posed with this face! Where did she learn this?! ;) So much sassiness and personality in such a cute little thing.

In their happy place ...

I love this sandbox overlooking the water. I never got a picture but we built a giant sand castle together on the second day we were there while dad and papa went to rent a jet ski. Liam's one request was that it had a moat. We made several weaving channels that all connected around a big castle and they had a blast filling every one with buckets of water. 

At the end of the first day, we tucked the kids in bed and left them with papa to go for a sunset hike up Bear Lake West. Our shadows looking out over this incredible view... you can even see the moon over the lake!

My father-in-law told me a story from Nic's childhood about how they were in the hot tub together one night and he said something about the sun going down and Nic said, "Dad, the sun doesn't go down, the earth rotates." Always with the best answers that guy of mine. ;) As it slipped behind the mountains we cheers'ed with s'mores!

Liam's bear ear sweatshirt came back to Bear Lake again on Lyla girl this time. <3 p="">

Our kids woke up at the crack of dawn like kids do while camping with the birds loudly greeting the sun. In order to not wake papa, we whisked them outside for a sunrise hike. 

I'm so glad our kids love hiking! They were so excited! Lyla's little legs didn't take her very far before she was wanting a shoulder ride but it was a valiant effort. 

There's Liam, finding more things to collect and add to his gem collection along the way. <3 p="">

That view is something else! I need to find a place to hang this in our home.

I loved spotting so many daisies on our walk. While they haven't bloom just yet, we planted several in our backyard this year.

When we made it back down to the cabin from our hike, the water was like glass over the lake. Liam was already eager to be down by the water, just like I was. We made our way down there just the two of us and sat on the end of the pier. He told me all about his favorite Pokemon characters and their powers. He asked me who my favorite was and I asked him, if he could be any one which would he choose. It really didn't matter what we were talking about, it was the connection we both felt. This moment was so special for me and needed between the two of us. I told him how much I loved it there and he agreed. Then I propped my camera on the edge of a dock and took our picture to remember this moment. A moment where I knew his soul was connected to mine and where I could see so much of myself in him.  

Finding quiet moments to take in nature ...

He found another stick he called his "grappling hook". There are big metal rings cemented into the pier. He'd wedge the pointy ends of his grappling hook into the metal rings and climb his way up. He loved that thing ... until it snapped in two and the tears followed. We helped him search and search for another one but he just couldn't find one that was quite like it.

Another moment that stopped me in my tracks was this one ... the Williamson's Last Resort paddle hanging over the kitchen window. I remember the very first time 10 years ago when Nic brought me here. I was in awe of all the nicknacks and family heirlooms that adorned the walls of this place. I took 2 pictures of us that trip and a million others of all the other special things that I know hold so many memories to such a big family that visits here. I'm grateful to be able to share summer memories at Bear Lake with our kids. 

"Motor boat, motor boat, go so slow ... motor boat, motor boat, go so fast! ... motor boat, motor boat, ran out of gas."

With their papa ...

What they love the most and always remember about this magical place is jet skiing! Especially him ...

Going 10 mph: "Mom, don't go too fast!"

She loved spotting the birds that would dive under water when you got too close to them. We'd wait for them to pop up a few yards away. The boys found one that wouldn't dive under no matter how close you got and we think it had a baby on its back!

In his element!

My favorite picture of him!!

Lyla looking a little disheveled after her ride. haha She liked it, I promise. Just not too fast. 

We ate a famous raspberry shake from LaBeau's and just as our kids were yawning, packed up the car and made the long 5 hour drive home. We said our goodbyes and agreed to come back again soon. Per my father-in-law's suggestion, we took the Logan Canyon direction home and it was an incredibly beautiful drive that first hour! We got caught in the most unfortunate road construction accident that had us at a stand still for close to an hour. Between that and stopping for dinner the trip back took about 6 1/2 hours total and we finally pulled into our driveway around 10:30 pm. Post dinner and the hype of the road hold up, the kids finally drifted off to sleep. We've been trying to fix their sleeping routines ever since all of those late nights. ;)

Already dreaming of Bear Lake next year and looking forward to seeing family and friends again as soon as we can.