June Trip to Utah: Part 2 (Bear Lake)

This was our second trip with our group of friends. The WERM group. (White, Elbert, Riddle, Mchenry.)  If I had to describe this years trip in very few words I would say: Exhausting, Emotional, Busy...  I know, doesn't sound too positive, huh?  I try to remind myself often that a vacation with kids is not a vacation and I'll  likely need a vacation from the vacation.  The kids did pretty well, but it was much different from last year with just the 2 boys.  This year we added 2 girls to the mix, and there was always a baby fussing, crying, falling, escaping, stealing another's toy, etc...  God bless the childless Riddles for still wanting to hang out with us!

And another thing that was different this year, without sharing too much... All four of the couples are either right in the middle of some big changes/in need of some big changes/anticipating some near future changes, and instead of us all being able to escape life for the week, the trip kind of compounded all our 'stuff'.  In a way it was good because there are no other friends I trust more than this group to help/talk/cry/pray with.  And I think I can speak for all of us in saying that.  But still, we all left feeling really exhausted and drained.

White, Elbert,

 Riddle, Mchenry.

But believe it or not, we actually had a lot of fun, too! 

We got settled in and enjoyed the giant house we rented on the first day.  The adults unpacked and talked, and the kids played and watched a little baby signing times.

The next day all the guys went golfing.  Paul says he has pictures on our other camera, but I'm not patient enough to wait for them, so you'll just have to trust me that they were golfing all day and had a great time.  We hung out at the house with the kids, caught up on some Bachelorette, talked a lot, and played outside in the water.

That night the men drove all the kids into town for dinner and us ladies walked down and met them.  The kids played while we waited for dinner and after we ate, we walked down by the lake.

The next day the med were on baby duty.  The girls had a pinterest party.  We all picked a craft and snacks from the site.  It took us a long time and we left for a lunch break, and even did a little after-dinner finish-up, but we all finished all the projects and had some great snacks, too.

I found my family floating in the hot tub one morning.  Such a happy little group!

The house had a huge theater room upstairs with several lovesacs, ping pong, and other games, as well as about 10 more full size beds.  It also had 4 bedrooms on the main level.  You could easily sleep 30 people comfortably in this home.  It was beautiful.

And the middle picture of Garrett here?  That's the walk in closet off the master bedroom.  It was bigger than both of my kids rooms combined.  That's where Garrett slept.

One evening we rented those family bikes...I don't know what they are actually called, but they hold 4 adults and 2 babies.  It was a lot of fun and the kids loved it!

More downtime at the house. 

Beach day!  We rented wave runners and had several flotation devices to keep everyone happy for the day.  It was great weather and everyone had a great time.

 I even took Garrett on a short ride on the wave runner and he loved it.

Garrett and Bennett-Grace on the wave runner.  These two are so cute together.  When we ask Garrett, "Who's your girlfriend?"  He responds, "Beeeee!"

My aspiring chimney sweep.  If there's a way to get dirty, he'll find it.

 The WERM women.

Just before we left.  All the kidlets saying good-bye.  B, Lulu, G, and C-bug.  We want these kids to be forever friends.  And although it was busy with 4, it's fun having 2 boys about the same age and 2 girls even closer in age.

 Thanks, friends!  We miss you already!