Bear Lake #3

On day 3, we went back to the beach!

It was WAY busier than yesterday!

But, as I mentioned earlier, we were never withing 12 feet of anybody else. It's a beach- you can easily spread out. I have seen a lot of pictures of beach goers in Florida- I now see it differently. First of all, nobody likes to get in anyone's personal space, so people automatically social distance from you- it's weird to be within 6 feet of someone on the beach. Second, Bear Lake was limiting how many people could get in, so once the park was "full" they closed the gates, and nobody came and squished in close to us like they did in years past. Third, once you're on the water (which we were most of the time), nobody outside our group was anywhere near us. It was social distancing Heaven!

At night we went over to the Wilkins cabin. It was right on the water, but instead of a beach it was mud. Which the kids loved.

We put the kids to bed and came back for a game night!

Bear Lake #2

On day 2, we headed to the beach! The weather was perfect, and the lake was warmer than it had ever been.

The Wilkins stayed at a different cabin, so we met to caravan over. We were worried it would be overly crowded, but it was basically empty compared to years past. It's nice because it is actually extremely easy to social distance at a beach. Even with a lot of people, there's plenty of space. It was quite remarkable, actually.

Anyway, the kids were in Heaven. Lots of sand, water, kayaks, and food. A perfect day!

Ben left at lunchtime because a whole day at the beach while on a beach vacation is simply too much for him. But, we picked him up to go to La Beau's to get shakes. We weren't sure, or necessarily confident, about the crowds. We didn't know how many people there would be, if they were wearing masks, or what. But, we decided that if we went and there were a ton of people, or if they weren't social distancing, or we felt in any way uncomfortable, we would go up.

But, miracle of miracles, there was basically nobody there! We got there early, before dinnertime, and it paid off! We were surprised, but we took advantage on got our traditional shakes and pictures. It was perfect- we truly lucked out!

Then we went home and played games. It was sweet as Claire read to Max- he kept saying, "one more!"

Bear Lake #1

The girls and I have been looking forward to Bear Lake for so long! After such a LOOOONNNNNGGGGG spring, it was wonderful to think of getting away and relaxing on the beach!

Ben had other opinions. He did not want to come- but eventually was persuaded. It's not that he doesn't like Bear Lake, it's that he doesn't like the drive. And, he was worried about Covid, especially when we stopped for gas on the way and back. That was, by far, the scariest part of the trip. The rest of the time, it was actually incredibly easy to social distance, and we were easily outside of 15 feet of every other person at the beach or the one restaurant we got shakes from. No worries about getting Covid wile we were actually there, just while we were getting gas.

Anyway, our girls are amazing travelers- they were perfect on the drive.

On the first day, we decided to go on a hike. This is a hike we did with my family a few years ago, but last time there were little worms hanging down on us. No worms this time!

It's called the Limber Pine Trail, and supposedly goes to the oldest pine tree in North America. It's a fairly easy hike with a lot of cool nature. It was perfect after the previous day of driving!

Then we hung out at the cabin. Beth brought some water toys from home that the kids enjoyed.

And then the kids were in Heaven because Grandpa let them all drive the riding lawn mower. Claire and Camille didn't weigh enough and had to sit on his lap to ride it.

Fair

Whew. Fair.

4H has been sooooo different this year- you know, like absolutely everything else. They had interviews, but they were spaced out all over the fairgrounds and there were plastic screens between the kids and judges.

There were not very many people who entered this year compared to other years. Since we couldn't have project meetings and get togethers with our leaders, it made completing the projects really hard. I'm proud of the girls (and their mom) for figuring out how to get it all done. We all worked really hard to figure out how to finish their projects!

Camille's frog was very well loved by the judges, but since she is still a Cloverbud it doesn't count. Next year she will be in the real competition.

Claire's Uni-Cat won Reserve Grand Champion. I think that means that she got 2nd for all sewing projects, all ages! Her Uni-Cat and rolls are both going to state fair.

Audra's quilt came in second, so she didn't make state, but she is fine with that. Really, she just loves her quilt- and I am so impressed with how beautiful it turned out!

Lair O the Bear

We got some more much needed Vitamin N thoday! We love Lair O the Bear so much! Ben had the day off, and this is where he picked to spend his off Friday.

We have been watching The Floor Is Lava, so the girls played The River Is Lave. Sadly, Audra fell in. From then on, they gave her the easy routes.

It is so beautiful!!!!