The R's family reunion at Bear Lake

This years Family reunion was quit interesting, to say the least.  We had reservations at Payson Lakes.  My sister got a call from them the day before we were to go and said that they were closed for a few days because of bear problems.  Now what to do?  The weekend of the 24th of July isn't an easy week to find camp grounds....and so Teri (my oldest sister) called her In-Laws that live in in Idaho and have beach front property at Bear Lake to see if we could camp on their property.  They lovingly said Yes!!!  So we changed some plans at home, did some more packing and headed to Idaho.


We had a great time on the private beach and playing in the water.

There are lots and lots of little sea shells every where.  The children enjoyed collecting them.  Even Hope helped.  Ethan decided that if we collected a lot that we could bring them home and put them in our sand box.  Then we can play beach at home.

Ethan and his bowl full of sea shells

 we  played outdoor games and cooking outdoors.

Our family decided to go to Minnetonka cave.  Mike told us that it wasn't that cold.  And that we didn't even have to hike in to get to it.  So off we went.
Good thing we had a blanket in the car and that Paige and Zach had on their light jackets to share.  The cave temp is 40 degrees F.  Guess it may not be cold to some, but to kids it is.

                                                     Here we are before we go in the cave.

While waiting for our tour through the cave we read many facts about it. 

Fact 1.  The cave is 40 degrees all year round.

Fact 2.  There are 888 steps through out the cave.

Fact 3.  The longest stair case has 71 steep steps.                       

Fact 4. Bats live in the cave.           

Fact 5. The round trip through the cave is about 1 1/2 miles and takes about 1 1/2 hours from start to finish.

 

We took turns carrying Hope.  She loved the cave and would point and squeal.  Then she got tired and fell asleep.  It is hard to carry dead weight.  And even harder going down the steps that are uneven and wet...when you can't see your feet.  But we all made it and thought that it was amazing.

Us at the end of the tour. Out side the cave . Tired but happy.

This is an original pioneer log cabin on the Lovelands property .  It has a few updated things on it as it was lived in until about 40 years ago.  There is also an old 

Black smith building that is now used as a shed.

What a great 3 days of camping and partying.

Could this week get any crazier???

Could this week get any crazier???
Zach went on an over nighter  with the scouts.  Loren also went as a parent volunteer.  The scouts were to back pack in to their camp site which was supposed to be about a 5 mile hike.  Loren and another Dad drove to the camp site to set up camp and get dinner ready.  To their surprise a site had not been reserved and the place was full.  So they travel further on and found a place that they thought was free camping, got everything set up and fires going, in time for the ranger to show up.  The ranger asked what they thought they were doing and they told them about the scouts.  Apparently, they site was reserved and had been paid for by someone else.  The ranger hung around until everything was taken apart and put away.
Loren then proceeded to call one of the leaders on the hike to let them know...only to find out that they weren't sure how much longer it be until they made it into camp.  Hours went by....and still no sight of them.  The leaders finally decided that they must have taken a wrong turn and where LOST.  Loren told them to turn around and come back the way they had gone in and he would meet them at the trail head. This was at around 11:00 P.M.  Loren kept in touch with them most of the way back down the mountain  (when they had reception). Loren called me to let me know what was going and and told me to pray for their safe return.  So of course I did.  I was worried and stressed. Loren and the other Dad where very concerned about the boys and how they were doing and if they would be able to find their way back down. So they got in touch with the Sheriff, who told them as long as they were headed down the mountain, they would make it into Provo.  The Sherif how ever went out to look for them in his truck with night vision goggles.  The boys made it back to the trail head around 1:00 a.m. tired, hungry, and exhausted.  Loren and the other Dad had jerky and some other snacks and drinks for the boys.  The boys where then told to call home and inform their parents that they where headed home to wait for them. Loren and Zach made it home about 2:30 after dropping off some of the scouts and explaining to sleepy parent what had happened.  I of course couldn't sleep until I saw them in my house safe and sound.  Not a lot of sleep for us last night.

The 5 mile hike turned out to be more like a 13 mile hike.  Zach says that he is never going camping again.  I don't blame him.  He will be going camping again...just wait and see.
I am very grateful for the power of prayer and to my Heavenly Father for watching over all of the scouts.

One of those dayssssss

Have you every had one of those days where things just don't go the way you would like?  Well I have had a few of them right in a row.
First Hope got sick Sunday evening with a stomach bug.  It isn't fun cleaning up small throw ups and diarrhea that makes out of the diaper.  Monday Hope is still ill and I get a call from my mother saying that my Aunt Janice suddenly passed away from... doctors are unsure at this point.  She went into a coma at her home and was found by her daughter the same day.  My poor Uncle Bob is in a nursing home right now recovering from hip surgery and going through physical therapy to find out his wife would not make it through the day.  Aunt Janice is my father's only sibling and I feel for him right now.
Tuesday...Hope is still ill. Parker fell from the monkey bars in our backyard and cut his head open.  Luckily no stitches were needed. He just has a sore head.
Wednesday...Both Braden and Paige now have the stomach bug but hope is feeling better though still has the runs.  I'm hoping that the kids are better tomorrow so the 2 older ones can make it to youth conference and I can make it to the funeral.
I think Loren need to give a few blessings tonight.

On the upside, I saw 2 deer prance through the field behind our house. What a gorgeous sight.

Camping at Cherry Hill

We went camping at Cherry Hill July 5th - 8th.  It was a blast.  Not only can you camp there but also has a huge water park, miniature golf, rock climbing, areo ball, batting cages, and more.  Here are some picture's of our fun.