Summer Swimming

Kayla and Maddi took swimming lessons 5 years ago, but I have never put Mason in lessons. I decided this summer to sign them all up for lessons. The girls loved refreshing their skills and learning to dive. When we went to Bear lake they liked to practice everything they had learned.

Mason has always been a little afraid of the water. He didn't even want to swim in the big pool until he was 4. He has never liked getting is face wet, so I was a little afraid of how lessons would go. The first day he got right in the pool and when his teacher asked him to put his head under water he did! (I was thinking, this is going to be great!) He jumped out of the pool and would not go back in. Dave and I tried bribing him with anything we could think of, nothing worked! Another teacher got him into the pool and he screamed the whole time! The next day he cried while he was in the pool, but then every day he got a little more comfortable with the water. By the last lesson (they only had 9) he was jumping in and putting his face under. He learned to tread water and actually can swim! I am so proud of him and for overcoming his fear! When we went to Bear Lake we could not keep him out of the water!

Marlie was a little too young for lessons (I didn't want to get into a swimsuit with her everyday), but we will put her in lessons next summer! She was a very good little sister and watched ever day from the bleacher and cheered everyone on. When we went to Bear Lake she enjoyed splashing, sun tanning, and she even tried putting her head under water!!

Island Park Summer Vacation

Every summer we try to plan a family vacation and go some where different. This year we took off to Island Park Idaho, just 30 minutes from West Yellowstone. It is so beautiful there. We rented a cabin on Bills Island and had so much fun! Here are some of the things that we did. I know it is a lot of pictures, but this is my scrapbook, and I couldn't put just a couple. It was great to have everyone together. My brother in law Cam and Daniella's daughter Dalene could not make it, and they were missed.

Our first stop was at Bear World In Rexburg Idaho on the way. You can drive around while bears and other wild life walk around your car. It is very cool, and the kids love it! After you are done driving around they have a petting zoo, and some fun carnival rides for the kids to go on. It was lots of fun!

It is a little stressful trying to pick out a cabin on the Internet. There are many great cabins to chose from. We were so pleased when we arrived and saw the cabin. We knew it was on an Island, but had no idea how beautiful it was there! Next time we will need to bring a boat!

The cabin and the scenery were so beautiful! The trees were so thick, I didn't even know that there was a cabin next to us because I couldn't see it. There were miles of four wheeler trails and I could have stayed there for weeks!

My parents are always so nice to make sure everyone is comfortable and happy. I think at almost every vacation they are sleeping on the couch or a blow up mattress so we can all have our own rooms! We all appreciate there sacrifice so much! I have to keep teasing Tim and Kim about the room they landed this time. It was the master suite with the most beautiful view of the lake and a walk out balcony. They also had a huge bathroom and a walk in closet almost the size of the room that all 6 of us slept in!! I know they felt guilty, but it was really the room that worked best for them! I am just calling the master suite next time! HAHA!!!!

As soon as we jumped out of the car the kids jumped into their swimming suites. They would have been happy never leaving the cabin! We were right of the lake and I knew that would keep the kids entertained for hours, which it did. The adults even got into the fun and were helping the kids catch crawdads and frogs.

No matter what time of day it was the view from off of the front deck was amazing! This is a beautiful picture that Marlon took on our last night there.

My most favorite part about any family vacation is just getting to spend time together and relaxing. This vacation was great because there was enough room for everyone to hang out do what they wanted. We played a lot of board games, and the boys and the kids had lots of fun playing against each other on the Nintendo D.S.

We took a drive to Big Springs to feed the fish! My Dad's parents were actually married at a little chapel just down the road from there. Kind of fun to actually see it.

We were so close to Yellowstone that we could not pass up the chance to go there. We only saw one Bison and one Elk, but we did get to see Old Faithful and some other geyser's.

I had to put these pictures on here! TOO, funny! each one of my kids came running out of the outhouses plugging their noses and gasping for air!!!

The Men and Daniella went further into the park while the ladies and kids decided to head back to the cabin. This is the beautiful things that they got to see while we stopped in West Yellowstone to shop with 7 kids! What were we thinking? We got back to the cabin 30 minutes before they did!

On our way out of Island Park we drove to Mesa Falls! They are absolutely amazing!
I think so far that this family vacation has been my favorite! ( I saw that every year!) Don't get me wrong , there are always a few bad moods and some not so perfect moments( You can't have 16 people in a cabin for 4 days without a few run- ins!) but they usually turn out to be funny,too! Dave has to throw at least one fit about all the family pictures that we want to take. We all love each other at the end of the trip and that is what matters! The time I get to spend with family are my greatest blessings! We are already planning next years vacation, and I can't wait.