Bear Lake

We just got back from the most glorious few days at Bear Lake with my family. We rented a Beach House that we could all stay in and it had everything you could hope for and more!! Bear Lake is always nostalgic for me as we spent time there as kids nearly every summer. It has changed in many ways over the years, but some things will always be the same. It is one of my favorite places for sure!!!


My brother in laws hauled up all their water toys for our enjoyment and we certainly did not let them go to waste.... We played in the water as much as possible.

We boated.......and attempted to Wake Board for the first time (much different than skiing:)



and played on the tube.....A LOT!!! Emmrey became quite a brave lil' passenger and was always up for another ride she was also upset when her turn was over:)

We spent as much time as possible on the lovely deck...

We prepared meals and ate scrumptious food......

and we spent a lot of time just hanging out with those we LOVE!!


We soaked in the Hot Tub and made Hazen his own version so he didn't feel left out:)
We made an attempt to visit Minnetonka Cave with part of our crew, but failed miserably~ CRAZY BUSY:( Instead we took a little jaunt through the jungle to see Blue Pond Springs........
To make up for the disappointment, we headed for LeBeau's for a Raspberry Shake (which by the way did NOT disappoint....yummy!!

Our last night together we had the chance to show off all of our talent:) It was better than I had anticipated and I was so very entertained that I didn't get pictures of all of the acts. I tried to get all my girls, but some of the pictures were just too poor a quality to even share. Bailee played a piano number by herself and also one with Landri. Emmrey put on a puppet show with hand puppets she had made herself (our little arts & crafts gal), and my adorable little Karsy "juggled" for us....I was such a proud mama!!! We also had some dance numbers, gymnastics, magic tricks, a comedian and a couple of skits. Bailee had the cousins do a skit that poked fun at Grampa Wayne;) I hope he knew it was with LOVE. My sisters and I did the Chicken Dance as the show opener....complete with music, costumes and plenty of moves!! Kris had put a lot of work into making this happen and it was pretty hilarious if I do say so myself:) I wanted to add some video of these acts, but it is taking so darn long to load I can't take it anymore:(


We also celebrated birthday's for me and Chris. It has been a while since I have had ALL my family around me for my birthday so that made it extra special:)



When we first arrived at Bear Lake, we had been warned about this black critter who had been spotted around the Beach House. The owner was not sure exactly what the animal was, but he had told Kris that if we spotted it to let him know right away:) Well....throughout the trip a few "reliable" sources had seen it and Grampa and Gramma even saw it cross the road by their car one evening. Needless to say, the kids were all a buzz over it. On our last evening before dinner, Grampa called all the kids out on the lawn because something was moving in the trees nearby....and yes, it was black!!! So we all assembled on the lawn and watched with anticipation and fear. As the movement continued WARNINGS were called out from loving parents to "stay back" or "don't get too close". I have to admit I was getting a little freaked out myself. The movement behind the brush became bigger and more exaggerated until out came this HUGE..........BLACK.........GORILLA!!! The unsuspecting kids all went screaming and running toward the house. Apparently a good number of the adults had been let in on the little joke, but I was not one of them. I went a racing for the deck right along with them. I am ashamed to say that I may have even pushed past my own little ones to save myself...ha ha:)
Mom and Dad had bought us all a T-shirt with our number on the back. Not just any old number, but the number in which we came into the Fortie Family. I was #7, Mark #20, Bailee #23, Karsyn #26 and Emmrey #30. It was so much fun to put everyone in numerical order even though not one of us is "just a number" in this family. I loved the idea so much we had to get a picture of the gang from the front as well as the back (some numbers are not in view but we did our best). There was a total of 33 family members so far....all but 6 were with us (we missed you Leslie, Sean, Courtney, Killian, Breckon and Lance:) Such a fun idea Mom and Dad...so glad you thought of it!!!!
We packed so much fun into our 3 days. This family trip was just my style and I loved that we all stayed together and could just hang out and relax.....can't wait for next year!!! When it was time to head home we were all sad to leave...

We had the best time....but man were we worn out~whew!!!
It was a fabulous way to end summer but boy was it hard to get back into the swing of things and be ready for school to start up again!!