Bracelet Maker!

We’ve all been really excited about making these braided bracelets the past two weeks. The girls and I have been the only ones to make the bracelets, while everyone has been happy to wear them. Until today; Ben actually made this bracelet for his friend and it couldn’t have turned out any better!  Love this little maker!!

Roommate

With Kyle gone with Jack to Arizona and then Michigan, this crazy guy is my only roommate. So funny to wake up to this nonsense each morning!!

Puzzle-Mania!

You’d think it was a Covid shutdown around here with the completion of 3 puzzles in 4 days, but I guess these three would puzzle anytime regardless of what is going on in the world!

Kyle even pitched in on this one despite his crazy schedule in between trips with Jack to Vegas and Michigan!

 

He’s a Naughty Pet!

Not really, just a really cute one!  Thanks for taking this picture Norah!

360!!

After a fun night with some friends on their boat, Jack was motivated to complete a 360 like a couple of our friends. Their boat makes a much bigger wave, but Jack was not deterred. He actually completed the 360 spin, but since he wasn’t holding the rope he floated away from us. If the wave was bigger, though, he might have stayed with us!  Way to go buddy!!

Bored??

I caught this guy watching our oven clock in anticipation of it changing from 11:59 to 12:00.  Not sure how I feel about this complete lack of activity!!

Waffle Love!

I made some Leige waffles for breakfast today and was disappointed I could only eat one before getting full!  They are night and day delicious when warm verses cold!  Kyle and Jack hit the breakfast buffet in Vegas and were quite jealous of these guys topped with homemade whipped cream and berries!

Almost!

While at the lake with friends, these four almost got completely on the paddle board at the same time!  It was quite funny to watch them try over and over to get up. They did eventually get completely on for a second, but I missed it!

Beach Friend

We took some friends with us to the beach for a few hours after ditching the idea of taking the boat out by myself while Kyle and Jack are in Las Vegas. The beach was great, soft sand, warm temps, views for days, and this little guy making us laugh!

Sad Ending!

We said our goodbyes over another round of Zip’s shakes and then the remaining families split up!  We were halfway home when we blew out a trailer tire on the road.  We were going about 70 when it blew, but it was surprisingly easy to pull off the road and find a spot for some tire changing.

We have the right equipment for the job in the Lexus and Jack and Kyle were able to make a quick 15 tire swap out, but the spare was a little low on air. We went to the nearest gas station about 10 minutes away and discovered all the tires were over-inflated.  Once Kyle started letting some air out of the tires he discovered that one of the valves broke. The tire was leaking air out quickly and we still had about an hour’s drive home. 

Once Kyle forced the valve cap on, we all started praying the tire would hold air. Things were going ok, but it didn’t feel safe to keep driving the boat all the way home. We still had access to our storage unit parking spot and decided to park the boat there until we could get 2 new tires. Everyone was sad to leave the boat behind, but there really was no other choice!

All the boating we did in Bear Lake will hopefully tide us over until we can get new tires on the trailer next week. In the mean time, we are hoping and praying the valve cap holds the air in and we will be ok driving the trailer over to the tire place!

One More!

After cleaning up the house and checking out, we headed to a fun Danish-inspired pancake ball breakfast spot and enjoyed the clouds and company. The kids continued to have the best time together and were eager to take another fun picture!!

Besties!!

These four could not get enough of each other!  They were always together and were able to keep things so light and friendly!  No fighting or jealousy was observed even though they were all averaging  around 8 hours of sleep each night and completely exhausting days!!

Let Night!

While the adults had another Zips date, these guys were in charge of all the younger kids. Once they were all tucked in, this group stayed up super late watching Guardians and laughing together.  It’s so fun to see how familiar and silly they are together, especially Jack and Grayden, even though they haven’t been all together for a year!

Lessons!!

Jack and Ava got driving lessons from dad today.  They both did great in the middle of the lake with no boats in sight!  Wonder how they would do in the harbor here or at the dock at Pineview.  We shall see!

 

Friends!!

We see these guys in Michigan when we visit, but being on this lake is way more fun!!  The water is still pretty chilled, but the air temps this trip were in the 90’s!!

Adult Zips!

We grilled last night, but the rest of the adult dinners were spent together at the amazing Zips!  This little food spot is the tastiest and most popular, and we all agreed we could eat here multiple times during the trip and not get sick of it!!  In the end, during our 3 day stay we either got take out or ate here no less than 3 times!  Raspberry shakes and fries for days!!

Daredevils!

The three youngest riders were by far the most excited to be on the lake. These smiles and thumbs up really made all the work on the lake today so worth it!!  When the thumbs weren’t raised to the sky, these little legs were kicking wilding in anticipation of the next set of bumps “Uncle Kyle” was going to give them!!

Caribbean Waters!

The “blue raspberry Gatorade” water is unbelievable and mesmerizing!  We all were in awe as we got out on the clear waters today for some boating!!

Bear Lake Views!

Cass’ flight was canceled last night, but she talked her way into a free hotel by the airport as well as meals and a later flight tomorrow!  I was so relieved she was ok and was able to focus on us leaving for Bear Lake today after Kyle and the boys got home from LA. 

The girls and I managed to go to church and get ourselves and all the food prepped, marinated and packed in addition to taking Ulli to our friends’ house while Kyle and the boys repacked themselves and prepped the boat. 

We hit the road later than we’d hoped and didn’t get into Garden City until 6:30. We immediately started grilling our meats while all the kids got reacquainted!  It was stressful to get here, but it sure is beautiful and the company is so familiar in spite of our year hiatus. 

Sisters!

Growing up, Cassie and I weren’t close at all, you could even say we didn’t really like each other!  That has all changed, though, and I feel like she is the best sister I could have imagined!

Lucky for these two, they have loved each other and cherished their sisterhood since birth. I’m so happy they have each other and truly appreciate that blessing!!

Girl Party!

Kyle and the boys left on Thursday for California, giving the four of us a few days of uninterrupted girl time!  Yesterday was spent getting haircuts, watching Somewhere in Time, making French toast, going on a hike to the waterfall, walking Ulli and chatting along the way. 

Today, we decided to take things easy in morning with a trip to the post office, working out and yoga; so as to have enough energy to rent a jet ski, as well as paddle board and play at the beach for 3 hours!  We followed that amazing-ness up with monte cristo sandwiches and Pride and Prejudice!  Another great day!!

Birthday Gift?

The low point of Kyle’s birthday was definitely him staying up super duper late working so he could take Jack and Ben to a basketball tournament in California early the next day!  This guy works harder than anyone I know and deserves a break, perhaps a chocolate plaque that says Happy Birthday even!!

Birthday Boy!!!

Our anniversary is the day before Kyle’s birthday and the day after the 4th of July making things a little crazy every year. Somehow, though, we always seem to manage to hit all the notes; albeit not perfectly. This year Kyle and I woke up in our hotel in Park City, got ready, headed to the Tesla dealership to charge up and then went to City Creek for some forced shopping and to pick up Kyle’s birthday cheesecake!  We spent another afternoon on the lake christening Kyle’s new surfboard and had slices of the Oreo dream cheesecake to wind up the night!

Cassie In the House!!

I picked Cassie up from the airport during the volleyball tournament and missed the last two matches. It wasn’t a big deal though, since those were the worst two matches!!  We got home from the airport just in time for dinner with the family as well as Matt, Kenzi and their boys. We toured Northfork after that and then headed straight to fireworks. It was fun to have so much company for a change!

For our anniversary, we decided to go boating and then head to Park City for a night away while Cassie stayed with the kids. 

Puppy Power!!

While at Liberty Days for the volleyball tournament Kyle was in charge of, our neighbors had two husky puppies.  Ulli was with us and was so excited about the puppies, he was whimpering!!  After a couple hours of volleyball and puppy staring in between matches, the moment arrived when we were tasked with watching the puppies for a few minutes.  We were all in heaven and took turns cuddling with these adorable creatures!!

Norah’s 11 serves in a row to win a game 15-2 was the highlight of Liberty Days with the puppies being a close second!

Signage!

Ava and I stayed up and worked on these two signs together for tomorrow’s Fourth of July volleyball tournament. Pencils couldn’t be erased, so we had to completely freehand these signs using paint pens!!  The odds were definitely against us, but somehow they both turned out perfect!

Morning Routine

Ulli is happy it’s summer with all of home more and that he has been able to enjoy regular morning walks while it is in the 60’s!  Norah has been such a big help with him while I get dressed and drink a mug of honey lemon water!!