Bear Lake

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Several months ago, a girl named Brooke from Texas made a very kind comment on my blog. I always try to visit blogs of people who comment and when I went to look at hers, I saw that they had a counter on the side counting down until they went to Puerto Rico on vacation. I thanked her for her comment then I told her that I would love to go to Puerto Rico and I hope they have fun on their vacation. Well, I believe it was the same day, I got an email from her telling me that they would love to give me a week of their timeshare in Puerto Rico and practically begged me to accept. At first, I was going to thank her and tell her it was nice to receive the offer, but that I could not accept it. After thinking about it that whole day and reading her email again, I accepted her offer depending on flights and the week it was available. Well, after deciding that it probably would not work out to go all the way to Puerto Rico, she said there were places available closer by and gave me a list. I settled on Bear Lake since it was only a two hour drive and more people would be able to come with me. Throughout these months as it was in the works, I have developed a friendship via emails with Brooke from Texas and I am still blown away by the generosity of someone I have never met.
I have been blown away by lots of people who have been so kind in their thoughts, their deeds, their words, their love, their friendship from afar. There really are such great people all over the world and I want to tell each of you who have ever reached out to us through prayer, kind comments, kind gestures, loving thoughts, loving words... anything. We are forever truly grateful.


Aaron Jr. & Leslie









Aaron Jr.


Aaron Jr. was cold and didn't want to walk through the water again. So, he beckoned me to come and get him. I obliged. :)


Aaron Jr & Leslie

These are the friends who came up throughout the first half of the week:


Kerianne & her sons, Brighton & Bode


Carrie & her sons, Easton & Cameron


Sarah & her kids, Corban & Savannah


Rori & her kids, Marley & Carson


Kerianne, Carrie, Leslie, Sarah
Rori had not come with her kids yet... so here are the four of us who came first.


This was an overcast, foggy beautiful evening. This was from the balcony of the condo. If you look close, you can see the line at the top that shows the ridge of the mountain. It all blends together... it was gorgeous.


Sarah, Carrie, Leslie, Kerianne
This was the day that Sarah and Carrie were going home, so we had to take more photos, right? Of course... then it became just plain silly...


I asked someone to say something to make us all laugh. I won't repeat what Sarah said to get us all to laugh, but here are some photos that were so much fun to take because they will hold such great memories for all of us. I don't need to remind you girls what she said... :)
Good Bye Carrie and Sarah. We missed you once you left.


Aaron Jr. & Leslie
After those two left to go home, the rest of us went to the park to let the kids play. It was pretty chilly, but we all lasted a while. And of course, WE ended up playing as well...


Kerianne, Brighton, Bode


Rori, Marley, Carson


Aaron Jr.


Aaron Jr. & Leslie


Aaron Jr. & Leslie


Aaron Jr... my darling.


I was having a difficult day one day. Nothing happened, I was just contemplating the fact that Kerianne and Rori, the last of the people coming for the week, were leaving the next day. Each friend and kids who came had the excitement of returned home to their husband and the kids to their Dad. Once they went home, no one else was coming up the rest of the week and once our week was over, we would return, but not to Aaron.
ANYHOW, at one point, Kerianne screamed something like, 'Les, you've gotta see this, quick!'. So I ran to the window and there was an amazing rainbow. I grabbed my camera and ran downstairs to the balcony. It totally brightened my day. My day was fine after that. Thank you Kerianne.




Rori, Leslie, Kerianne
The second group. (I am not fishing, so please no comments, but I REALLY wish I had looked in the mirror at my hair before taking this photo. What on earth? :)


We did make it to the indoor pool a couple of times as well.


We couldn't swim in the lake, it was too cold and spending much time on the beach was difficult as well. It was always chilly, or the wind would be so strong, it would be blowing sand in our faces. It was beautiful though. Can't complain. It truly was gorgeous.


Brighton, Bode, Aaron Jr.
This day it was finally sunny and we were thrilled to go to the beach. But it was one of the days where the wind whipped sand into our faces and made it difficult to be out there for too long. But I still got some great photos. Loved it.


Aaron Jr. & Leslie


Kerianne, Leslie, Rori
Here is our shot as the final three left at Bear Lake.


Kerianne & Leslie
Kerianne was the one who was with me through all of the time when there were friends there. She was going to be there the whole week with me, but something with family came up and the couldn't stay the whole time. It was understandable, but we SO wished they could have stayed the whole time. Aaron Jr. missed all of his friends once they went home.
Good Bye Kerianne & Rori. We missed you when you went home.


Once it was just Aaron Jr. & me left there, I tried to make sure we had some great bonding time together. We went on a drive one day and I couldn't believe how amazing the countryside right next to the lake was. It was gorgeous.


He became obsessed with vacuuming while we were there. It was a lightweight vacuum, so he could push it around. He got so excited when there was anything on the floor that needed to be cleaned. :)


After one of his baths, I was blowdrying my hair and he loves it when I blow the air on his face. See? Great bonding times. :)
We did go to the beach each day... it seemed to be sunny each day... then we would get there, and Aaron Jr. would ask to go back to the condo about 10 minutes after getting there because he was cold. We built part of a sandcastle until he stepped on it on purpose. :) Silly kid.
The last day, the sun was out, but it was windy and chilly. So, we went back home to the condo and put blankets and towels up around the railing of the deck. Then, we sat on the floor of the deck on blankets and we colored together. It got so warm with the wind being blocked. It was so much fun. That was our last full day.


This was Aaron Jr's reaction when we drove past the pool and I told him he couldn't swim because we were going home.


Then these are some of the faces he made when we got to Logan and we went through a car wash. He was in heaven and so was I watching him.


I love this boy.


Here is the Logan Temple. This is where my parents were married. It is so beautiful.


Closer view.


Me & my little man.

Sorry this was so long... but I took hundreds more photos and I narrowed them down to these. It was such a wonderful week. It was a much needed getaway and we had some very fun times. Thank you to my friends who came up there with us.
And thank you to Brooke and her family for giving us this wonderful gift. The place was amazing, the lake was beautiful, the accomodations were perfect, and we had a great time. Words aren't enough to show our gratitude, but I am at a loss for what else to do... we will be forever grateful. Thank you and God bless you.

With love...

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