Chapter Two, in which there is a lot of sand and water

In our house, the entire kid year revolves around two events, Christmas and Bear Lake. Starting December 26, we look forward to Bear Lake. And whatever date in July marks the end of Bear Lake is the day we begin our Christmas countdown.

As I mentioned in Chapter One, we pretty much do the same things every year: boating, dig in the sand, swim, eat. But it never seems to get old.

Here are some things that made this year different and extra fun:

1) For the first time in a long time Spouse was able to spend the entire week with us. This was a far superior arrangement than the usual situation in which I am solely responsible for our children's health and safety at a huge resort with multiple water hazards. This allowed me to relax more.

2) Our family has reached a new phase in development where 2/3 of our children are mostly independent and responsible. This means more relaxation for me.

3) The lake was unusually full of water, thus the shoreline and beach were significantly closer to our condo. Less walking = more relaxation for me.

So pretty much it was a great week because I got to relax a lot.

I just said relax a lot and now it sounds weird. Relax, relax, relax. Sit back and relax while you view some of my relaxing pictures.

#2, little cousin and #1 out in the tube. #2 was hoping for a bit more exciting ride, but it wasn't happening with these little ladies on board.

#'s 3, 2, and 1 in a dog-pile with some sweet cousins.

Sadly, we were without wind and that is pretty much as high as the kite got that day.

Ahoy matey!

Lean in, I'll let you in on a secret. I actually bought that hat for me. What was I thinking? So much better on #3.

#3 is a slave master at the beach. She gets a vision of the size and scope of the sand castle she wants and then she doesn't let her little cousins rest. She bosses and scolds and surprisingly they all obey her orders. This year in their digging they discovered a live snake!