Bear Lake: Take 1

A nice sandy beach on a hot day is one of my very favorite things. I yearn for one every summer. We've (I've) made it a goal to visit at least one beach during the summer as a vacation. I'll admit California's beaches are probably my favorite to lounge at... well next to Maui's and Cancun's but let's be honest, that's not happening anymore for a while. And this year either was California. The closest thing to the ocean here is Bear Lake, and how I LOVE Bear Lake!! The water is gorgeous and the beaches are great. So when Randy made the executive decision that yes, we would go to his 10 year high school reunion in Logan (which ended up to be so fun with only minimal awkward moments! I didn't end up bringing my camera there though, sadly. I just love Randy's friends! I've adopted them as my own.) I had it all planned. We would make a weekend of it and I would get my coveted BEACH!

So we ended up going on Sunday afternoon (I know, I know... lay off me, we were on vacation!) and as we were getting further into the canyon the storm clouds that were off in the distance earlier kept getting closer and closer. When we finally reached the beach, the storm was right on top of us. It was pouring rain and SO cold. We just sat there in the car, staring. I was ready to cry. I can't tell you how much I was wanting this. Something about a beach on a hot day is so relaxing and such a stress reliever. And you know me, I'm a big ball of stress so I felt like I NEEDED this. I was almost in tears as I watched the huge raindrops hit our windshield. After about 5 minutes it stopped raining, but was still very cold and very overcast. It was in the 60's. Not my ideal beach time. I was ready to call it quits before even getting out but Randy was determined to make this a worthwhile drive. He hopped out and grabbed all of our stuff and the kids and set up at the beach. I sat in the car for probably 5 more minutes, pouting. Finally I got out in my sweats and figured I might as well make the most of it.

What do I love so much about the beach? This right here. Ahhhh, immediate stress relief. One of my very favorite things: feet, meet sand and water. If only it was sunny and hot and I was in a swim suit instead of sweats. ;) But still... Ahhhhhh.

Macey didn't even notice how cold it was and went right for the water. We went to Bear Lake last year and she had a blast! She was also looking forward to this for a long time. She had a better attitude about it than me. 

Collin was just tiny when we came last year so obviously doesn't remember it. He wasn't so sure about the sand. He had a hard time finding his footing. 

 I love this picture. He's like, mom? What IS this stuff?

He was extremely cautious with the water. He just walked along the shoreline until he decided he wasn't so interested in the water after all and that maybe the sand was cooler. 

Probably the only good thing about the awful weather was it made for great lighting with these pictures!

Building a sand castle with Daddy. Or more like, telling Daddy what to do while he builds a sand castle. :)

And then there was Collin. What's this? The beggining's of a castle? Well, not anymore, suckas!!

 Surprisingly, Macey was ok with Collin wrecking it and finished the job.

After the castle was gone, Collin thought that maybe the shells that were brought over to decorate it should go back to their rightful place. This is him throwing the shells.

Collin was cracking me up. While Macey was more than occupied by the beach and water Collin was bored by it in about 5 minutes. Pretty soon he looked and found his chair and was like, what is this doing here?

It should go here!

Sandy feet!

This was our sign it was time to go. Collin is our wanderer. When he starts to be more interested in cars than whatever we're doing that's when we pack up and leave.

I snapped one last picture and we were off. Pretty good thing, too because it started raining hard about 5 minutes after we got in the car!

I titled the post Bear Lake: Take 1 because I'm HOPING we can do a Take 2 this year before it starts getting too cold! That just didn't suffice my craving. Here's hoping the weather holds out and we can find a free weekend! Bear Lake is the best!

SHOES!

I told my family this story but it's one of those I definitely need documented so I can remember and laugh. Collin has been learning lots of new words lately. He catches on quickly!

Well, the other day I was laying down on the couch like a good mom trying to take a cat nap when Collin came up and SLAPPED Randy's giant flip flop on my face and said "SHOE"! I'm pretty sure my face was red for an hour, that thing is a boat and you know you can get a good slap with a flip flop! But oh my gosh, it was so funny slash cute. He had the biggest grin on his face. After that he ran and found the other flip flop and came over to me with raised eyebrows and big eyes again saying, "SHOE"! Haha. He was so proud of himself. I so wish I had caught that on camera. I would have won America's Funniest Videos, that's for sure.

Anyway, Randy couldn't get enough of that story. We went shoe shopping a couple of days after that happened... the plan was for me and Randy to get shoes, but Randy ended up giving up his shoe purchase so that we could get Collin these bad boys. Oh my gosh. I'm pretty sure they haven't come off his feet for 5 days. It's the first thing he wants to put on, and sometimes... it's the only thing he wants put on. :) Honestly though, I don't know who loves the "SHOES" more, Collin or Randy. Randy says he wants to get some matching shoes now. I told him that's gay. ;) (Only because he makes fun of me when I try to match our family!)

Here is a pic of Collin after I had to hog tie him to change his diaper in the morning. He immediately ran off to go put on his SHOES. Of course his hands are down there. Pretty sure it's a boy thing.

I think it's hilarious. I don't even know how he walks in those things cause we bought 2 sizes up (thinking ahead for winter and socks)... but he still is a fast mover! Just hurts more when he steps on your feet. :) 

Girls Night!

Last week we were in the backyard playing when Macey came up to me with a flower. She wanted to pick the petals off and make a wish with each one. She would hold the petal next to her mouth, whisper the wish into it, and then blow it away. It was pretty cheesy, but SO Macey. Her first wish was, "I wish Mommy and me could go on a day date." AWWW. I just had to take advantage. How sweet is that? I asked her what she would want to do and she came up with the idea of going to a theater "futer" and watching a movie with popcorn and soda! Uhhh, OK! Those are all my favorite things! We ended up going to see Shrek at the dollar theater. It was so fun getting all dressed up and hitting the town with my girl! She loved every second and so did I!

It would be an understatement to say Macey loves getting her picture taken. She is way into posing right now, obviously. She saw me take the camera outside, ran and got her umbrella and came out like this. 

Not the greatest picture of me but eh. (Notice the pose? She's pulling her skirt out... such a girl.)

After we took a couple of pictures together Macey ran over to the 4-wheeler and was all, take a picture of me on it, Mommy! So I grabbed the camera again and she yells HURRY, it's freakin' hot on this thing! HAHA. Oh boy. I need to watch my mouth. Hey, at least she doesn't swear. ;)

Hoooly Embarrassing.

So we're at the store today, Collin's in the basket trying to maneuver out of his seatbelt and Macey is hanging onto the side of the cart trying to be sneaky and dragging her feet on the floor to slow me down (or just ANNOY me) when we pass a mom with her maybe 10 month old baby girl. The baby was totally staring at my kids and had a great big smile on her face. The mom just thought that was so cute and stopped and was all "say hi" (even though you can't talk, baby).... so I of course feel like I need to do an equivalent. It's just mommy manners, I guess. So I'm telling my kids, "see the cute baby? Say hi to the cute baby! Isn't she cute, Macey?" Macey looks over at the baby and says in a loud voice,

"Yeah, but our baby is just much cuter." 


Awwwwkward. I guess we have now entered into the phase of life where Macey is going to say really, really embarrassing things. Maybe I need to take some time and come up with an auto response in different scenarios because I seriously had nothing. I just kept walking like oooook, and we're done here. I hope that Mom didn't take it personally because her baby was very cute! And me just walking away like a moron probably didn't help her psyche! I was just humiliated that Macey had said that. HAHA. Ohhhh boy. Why do I feel like this is just the beginning....