Edwards Reunion: Bear Lake, Mouse House

We are healthy for a couple days before the Edwards reunion.  Thanks to our mad Tetris skills, we were able to get all the lunch food and our dinner food and luggage packed into the car, and it only toppled onto Owen once.  Ahhh!  We weren't even the car bringing extras like beach chairs and mountain bikes, so we can only imagine the packing skills by other family.

First up: a pit stop in Logan where we all gathered at the Beehive Grill where Cory, Brady, and Zachary ate last winter while we skied and claimed had the 2nd best burger in Utah.  Kate still feels resentful over this meal--her tummy couldn't handle anything heavy and she watched us all eat with envy.

My heart beat fast for the signs we spotted in Logan.

Kristen and Cory planned this reunion, and one of our favorite itinerary items was to divide us into groups and send us to pick up the local specialty: raspberry shakes.  We split up and came back with 6 or 7 varieties--one group per venue--then took turns explaining the merits of our groups' shake before everyone had a taste test.  It was a delicious pre-dinner dessert and hilarious ice breaker.

We finished the evening with a devotional, badmitten and other outside games, and rousing games of Cover Your Assets.  I eventually found Brady in bed with his parents.

A group of us set early alarms and set off to trail run/mountain bike.  My favorite part of the experience was Logan getting duped into coming with us ("It won't be long," and "I'll turn around with you," says his mother), and then running with me and Kristen for 6 or 7 miles.  What a cool teen to run with his aunts.  It was a party for us.

Tanner ran most of it but swapped out with McKay for the bike after McKay took a tumble.  (I also took a slow motion tumble, visible to everyone, and basically tripping over dirt.  Don't feel bad, Mac.)

We gathered as a big group and did the Timberline Trail (incidentally, the name of Kate's new school!), where we found cairn diversions, meadows, and sunshine.  I loved seeing and participating in all the cousin and family interactions.

Karens with the cairns.

Lunch at La Beaus involved the largest sandwich I've ever seen made for one person, a few more raspberry shakes to share, and some ping pong games right by the tables.  A few people snoozed after their attempts at the giant sandwiches.

Afternoon foosball and air hockey.  Karen Christine is an ace at foosball and it is now a priority in my life to beat her at some point.

Later that afternoon, we made family music videos.  We were again assigned groups, given two hours, and sent off with a theme.  This was the highlight of the reunion for my kids, or at least competed with the lake day.  I was grateful to Logan who messed with technology to make our video work, and through C&K were very strategic planting a phone-savvy teen/adult with each group.

Devotional first, then the much-anticipated video reveals.

Each group presented their theme.  Zac's group did Moana, with Zachary diving into the lake with his Moana outfit at the end.

Owen's group did, "Save a Horse, Ride a Cowboy," involving a clutch scene at the end with Owen guzzling soda.  He was so excited, he could barely contain himself.

Brady's group did "New Shoes."  My group was Taylor Swift and Miriam and Walker hammed it up as a couple.

Paper plate Academy Awards.

We did a little more mountain biking on a dusty, very steep trail.  It didn't last long but got us breathing hard and it was fun to have Elise biking and to initiate Kate on trails!

Why do we have so many pictures of Brady and Dad catching mice???  This is a family theme, perhaps for all families.  I'm glad my head is not down with the mice droppings and electrical destruction left in the wake.  It caused some hiccups, but I also came away from the experience thinking there was a life lesson that might not make it into any devotionals: a little creature can sure cause a lot of havoc.  A little grudge, a little envy, a little jealousy, etc.  Too much?  Too cliche? 

Agreed.

Another event we have so many pictures of over the years: Zachary with little kids.  He has a gift and wins kids over so easily.  I love how easily he makes them laugh and feel comfortable and I'm grateful he has such a big heart.

Ryan and Karen ran the Family Olympics with relay races, water games, and some kind of golf/lacrosse/soccer mix that came down to penalty kicks (!).  This was my favorite whole-group activity from the reunion--everyone cheering each other on, giving kids plays while still playing competitively, and laughing so hard.

Olympians need their naps.

That afternoon, we split into two groups: team golf and team find-a-beach.  I was/am still pretty tender about leaving behind my Kaua'i beaches, and while I had low expectations, they were not NEARLY low enough.  I will get over it but seeing groups of people huddled around rocky shore, wading in cold, shallow water was bitter.  I kept trying to tell myself that I don't want to be bitter and I want to be someone who finds the beauty and joy in varied experiences.  Too soon. 

It was delightful watching the girls jump around in the water.  The best part was renting paddle boards and taking the girls out with us.  At first, they were all too timid, but once Bree decided to go for it, Miriam announced she was game, too, and next thing you know, sister pressure had them all standing and paddling the lake.

I did not get to see my girl golf for the first time, but the report from Kate was instant love.  This girl falls hard for everything and I love her enthusiasm.

Thanks, Coach Bryson!

We saw the traveling production of "Newsies" that night.  It was charged and animated with these actors, and while Cory jumped over us to find bathrooms and Karen Christine ended up puking all night, the rest of us fell for the actor shaking Elise's hand.

Boat Day!  Kristen and I took off a bit early and got in a hot 5 miles while I heard her stories of India and felt inspired by her to contribute and love.  Bear Lake is supposed to feel much more chilly than Lake Powell, but with the blazing sun and country tunes, the day was toasty and satisfying.  We felt bad for Karen, still down and out, but glad we could take the girls out on the boat.

Brady dropped Kristen and I off to rent paddle boards and we had the brilliant plan to paddle them back to the beach where everyone else was while not boating.  I am a little overly confident with paddle boards, and assumed we rented the world's junkiest boards as we took off and made almost no forward progress.  There was no fin so each paddle stroke had us alternating directions, and after 45 minutes, I decided to start surf paddling the board instead.  When I jumped down, I suddenly realized the board DID have fins; they just needed to be pulled out of their storage compartment.  Such a humbling moment.  We booked it over and felt pretty sheepish retelling our tale.

Anyone hungry for pizza?

Hot tubbing after the beach, where Miriam and Allison challenged us to "Never Have I Ever" and I got out instantly.

Final sunset over the lake:

Minute-to-win it games that night.

This was an aggressive game and I don't remember the point but it was hysterical.

Tanner and Hannah watched a movie with the teens/pre-teen.  They know how to make cousins feel like gold.

The next morning, we joined every other Bear Lake visitor in the most packed chapel (900+) we've ever attended.  This is most definitely the way Kaua'i should do their services and help with visitor crowds and parking.  It was also the most hot meeting of my life, too, and we were the first of 3 services hat day.

We broke up the drive home with a stop for lunch on the Logan Temple grounds.

We arrived home to plenty of packages full of furniture that needed assembly.  So relieved to finally have beds, kitchen chairs, bar stools, and a table!