Bear Lake Family Reunion

This past weekend we had our 2019 family reunion at Bear Lake.  We rented a nice cabin that came highly recommended by Skylar and Sarah as the Rigby's had visited there last year.  It was a three level cabin with six bedrooms that fit us very well.  While Rick and I and Kaitlyn and her kids took the rooms on the main floor, Skylar and Sarah had two bedrooms upstairs and Brach and Kendra he'd two bedrooms downstairs.  

The cabin had a very nicely stocked updated kitchen situated next to a comfortable family room.  There were two doors leading out to the huge deck overlooking the lake.  Bear Lake is so big, beautiful and blue.  It was fun to see all of the watercraft out on the lake.  It made such a picturesque view.  The upstairs was situated with a game table and reading material with a nice place to sit and read.  (But we did not have time for that!)

Our Reunion began at 6 PM on Thursday evening.  Rick and I prepared a dinner of teriyaki chicken, rice, salad, chips and pineapple.  It was delish!

We have celebrated FIVE birthdays within the last month (Sarah, Kendra, Henry, Skylar, and Merik)  so we had a combined birthday treat with cake and ice cream.  They each got to blow their own candle.  I made Baking with Blondie's Monster Cookie Cake and it did not disappoint!

That evening we had planned a scavenger Hunt for each of the kids and their parents.  Kaitlyn and I stayed back with the babies while the families could go a hunting!  The kids all got to choose two prizes out of the prize box!

Next we were able to have a "treasure hunt" on the back patio.  We filled a small pool with candy, coins, and little toys and covered them all with wood shavings.  The kids had to dig to find their treasures.  They loved it!!

The next day was LAKE DAY!  We were so excited to get to the lake!  After Rick and I served up some breakfast sandwiches and spuds we all got ready and headed off to the North Shore of the lake. It was a wonderful day of paying in the water and sand, riding on wave runners and practicing our skills on the paddle boards.  It was a bit of a windy day so that added to the excitement!

Needless to say, the kids had a blast playing on the beach.  And I loved watching them!!

 The kids had a fun time at the cabin as well.  There was a slide from the deck level to the ground level.  The kids had fun with that!  Also, there were swings on the ground level that kept the kids busy.  And gravel.  Kids+rocks=FUN!!

That night we had a corn hole tournament with Skylar and Sarah coming out on top!  They won a gift card to Arby's!

The next day we drove up to Minnetonka Cave.  There was an hour wait to get into the cave so we hiked around a little bit.  The kiddos had fun exploring.

Our time in the cave was nice.  There were 400 steps to maneuver but the kids did pretty well.  I think they liked it:)

Afterwards we we all HANGRY!  We stopped at a local drive in for some corn dogs and shakes.  Good stuff!

Before Kendra and Brach's dinner of tacos and watermelon we had a family talent show.  Everyone participated and it was really fun.  

The Bomans started us off with a rendition of "She'll Be Comin' Round the Mountain When She Comes"

Henry and Charlie each sung a song from Aladdin.  

Sarah and Daisy sang a song from Tangled.  "Mother Knows Best"

Skylar did a reprise from his HS Days and favored us with his "ROMEO" song on the guitar.

Haivyn did a dance to "Seniorita" while Merik walked around:)

Kaitlyn sang a song.  "( I don't know the name:(

Rick did a coin catching talent??  Not sure what else to call it:)

and I did a dance to Michael Jackson's "Beat It"

 It was a fun night and we all had good smiles and laughs!  The Phelps's and Bomans had to pack up and head home for their Sunday responsibilities and we were sad to see them go.

The rest of us stayed another night.  We enjoyed church the next morning and then after lunch got packed up  headed home.  It was a memorable and fun family reunion!

Blessing of Chloe Rose

This past Sunday our little Chloe Rose was blessed.  Her father gave her a beautiful blessing.  Two  things stood out to me. The first that he blessed her to have a tendency toward strict observance to obedience. He also blessed her that she would be close to the Holy Ghost and that He would be a guiding influence in her life.  Those that stood in the circle were both of Chloe's grandpas, her great grandfather Boman, and her uncles Skylar, Saige, Bridger, and Riley.  

After the block we gathered at Doug and Leesa's home for a luncheon.  It was really nice with the two families visiting and the kids playing with cousins outside in the Boman's beautiful yard.  

We love our little chloe and are so excited to watch her grow and become what Heavenly Father wants her to be:)

PS  Another beautiful dress crocheted by Great Aunt Laurel Phelps.

New England Road Trip Part 2

It 's been over a month since I posted the first part of our New England Road Trip.  Here's the 2nd part.  Better late than never!

After our night in Lake Champlain we drove north up to the border and crossed into Canada.  Thankfully for the GPS on our phone we were able to drive right to the temple (and anywhere we needed to be for that matter).  There was A LOT of construction on the roads of Montreal, plus everything was in French so those little gadgets sure were handy in getting us where we wanted to be.

Our first stop was the Montreal Temple.  The workers treated us very kindly and they even had the session in English.  There were about half English and half French speaking members on the session (with a few Spanish thrown in there:)  So that was very nice of the workers to accommodate us, the Americans.

The Montreal temple is very small.  They didn't even have a chapel.  We walked from the dressing room right into the ordinance room.  There was space for about 30 men and thirty women and it was almost full.  It was a beautiful session and the celestial room was very beautiful.  What a great opportunity for Rick and I to visit this temple as well as others!

After visiting the temple we headed over to the Montreal City Center Sheraton.  Rick asked the clerk if we could get an upgraded room.  He said they didn't have any rooms for an upgrade but to give him a minute to talk with his supervisor.  He came back and said, "I think you will like this.  We are putting you in the Vice Presidential Suite."  What??  Wow!  Not sure how we got so lucky but our room was super nice!  We were on the 36th floor with a view over the city and harbor.  

We even had double doors into our room.

Here are some pictures.....that dining room and chandelier!!!  If only we had friends with us to have a big dinner party!  We loved our spa-like bathroom with the deep tub and our bedroom had a huge soft bed.  We were so glad we had two nights here!

This particular hotel has a concierge lounge where we could go and enjoy snacks and dessert in the evenings.  They had so much food that we just made that our dinner!  Soup, meats, cheese and crackers, vegetable tray, bruschetta, and desserts.  Good stuff!

The next morning after a nice breakfast in the concierge lounge we wanted to get over to the Atwater Market.  They had a lot of fresh produce, candy, maple syrups, flowers, and seafood.  We had a fun time perusing the different vendors.  Didn't buy anything, though!  The produce was just beautiful!

          Next we rented some E bikes and spent the day riding around the harbor.  I love electric bikes.  They are super fun!  Especially on those hills.......

One of the main stops for the day was the Notre Dame cathedral.  There were lots of people milling about and it was a gorgeous day.  The cathedral was free to walk through and it had a lot of beautiful stained glass features.  

Of course, we stopped and had lunch and did some shopping along our route.  We were able to ride along the St. Lawrence river for most of the way.  It was such a pretty day!  Before returning our bikes we stopped at a food truck and got some beignes.  They were super yummy!

That evening we ate in the concierge lounge again.  We love free food!

The next morning we left Montreal for a big driving day.  Before leaving Canada we were able to see a covered bridge just a few miles off the main road.  All of the covered bridges we saw on this trip were painted red.  Not sure the significance of that.??

After driving for most of the day we ended up in Lake Winnipesaukee, NH.  We love being by this beautiful lake.  Unfortunately, there was no dinner boat going out that night so we weren't able to do that.  Big bummer!  That was the main thing we wanted to do in Winnipesaukee!  We made up for it though by eating at a great Italian restaurant!  Delicious food and fun entertainment.  We then stopped  at Weirs Beach and had some fun in the classic arcade.  A little bit of pac man, space invaders, deer hunter, air hockey and pinball.  Good times!

The next morning we drove over to the east side of the lake to Wolfeboro.  We stopped at the Wright World War II Museum.  It had a lot of memorabilia and interesting facts from WW II.  

It was a worthwhile visit. 

 On the way there we passed a small, old, roadside cemetery.  It was located in the most beautiful location.  We just had to stop and look around.  I don't know why, but these old cemeteries fascinate me.  Everyone has a story.  I just wonder what these peoples lives were like.  Most of them were born in the 1800's.  Their lives were so different than ours.  I would love to get a glimpse into their life.

After the museum we had a couple of hours to drive to get to our last stop.  We stopped at a roadside diner for a fabulous lunch.  Rick was FINALLY able to get his lobster roll.

The last stop of our road trip was KENNEBUNKPORT, MAINE.  We love this place!  Being next to the Atlantic Ocean is just plain magical.  After getting checked into our B&B which was just across the street from the beach we headed over to the Nonantum Resort where we would catch our sailboat ride on the Pineapple Ketch.  What a beautiful day to be out on the ocean.  We just had time for a one hour sail but we were able to ride out past lobster traps over to Walker's Point where the Bush compound is.  It was really lovely being on the water.

Next we did a little shopping in town.....

and then had a fabulous dinner on a deck overlooking the Kennebunk River.  While I had delicious honey chicken, Rick had more lobster.

That evening we took a drive around the town.  This is the little chapel where George and Barbara Bush were married:)

Our Bed and Breakfast.  While the room wasn't anything to write home about the location was perfect, right on the beach.

The next morning we borrowed the B&B's rusty bicycles and took a ride into town.  I'm glad my rickety old thing made it back.  After breakfast, packing up and doing a little more shopping we drove back to Manchester to catch our evening flight home.

While this trip was completely planned at THE LAST MINUTE, it turned into a very nice getaway.  What a wonderful week it was!  I love spending time with Rick and seeing new (and old) places together.  Especially New England.  There is a romantic and almost magical feeling being by those woods, lakes, and beaches.  And as always, life is best with my hunney at my side!