That's what memories are made of... Day 2

Jeff and I took advantage of two things today. A small part in the clouds... well not really but they were less gloomy looking. And a babysitter (thanks Jesse, Emily, and Ruby).

So we started up the 4 wheelers and headed up the trail. It's a good thing we went when we did because the rest of the weekend was miserable weather wise. Our only problem, well mostly my problem, was I'm not equipped with cold weather riding gear. I managed to scrounge up a pair of thin, cotton gloves in the old trailer and put a somewhat thicker pair of gloves over them in the hope I didn't loose a finger to frostbite. But I don't own any boots and didn't pack a coat. Had we been stranded up at the top, I'd have frozen to death!

We saw a wild turkey perched on a rock. Last year when Jeff took Pearl up the trail, they saw a whole flock of them and it's all she talked about for weeks. I almost didn't believe her... wild turkeys? Well, now I know for sure there are in fact wild turkeys in Utah. We also saw some deer but we weren't close enough to get a good picture.
The trail was one muddy mess. All the water we've had this year has left it in ruins in parts. The ruts in some spots were huge. At one point, as I turned the bend and saw what was ahead of me, watching carefully to see how Jeff maneuvered his way through the ruts, I said to myself, I'm going to die! I'm sure Jeff will tell you I am an overly paranoid, scared chicken and that the trail wasn't that bad and that the more dangerous it is the more fun we will have. Well, I am an old lady now with two kids to worry about! Pre-kids I would have just jumped on the back of Jeff's 4 wheeler and hung on for dear life... without a helmet! But now, as I watched my husband speed off (knowing full well I was holding him back from how fast he really wanted to go), the only thing I could envision was seeing him roll the 4 wheeler, ride off a cliff, die, or get a traumatic brain injury and be a vegetable. Overly paranoid? Probably.
The ride was fun. We don't get to go together very often with two little kids so it felt like a real date. Jeff even asked me if I wanted to make out on the water tower when we got to the top of the trail. But we're old geezers and frankly, I was too dang cold for making out!

Today was our day to cook dinner. Usually my mom brings a ridiculous amount of food and spends all weekend feeding her adult children and then cleaning up after them. It's really not fair so this time around my mom and I suggested to everyone that we divide up the meals. Each family was responsible for buying all the food, cooking it, and then cleaning up (ok, so my mom still did most of the clean up) for 2-3 meals. Any snacks, drinks, or extras you wanted you brought yourself. It worked out great! We didn't have nearly the amount of leftover food as we usually did, we got to try new things and upgrades to Bear Lake meal favorites (the Chipotle Mayo is a must for wraps... thanks Emily), it helped with costs, and it was actually kind of fun to do some meal planning. Did I just fun and meal planning in the same sentence?

Jeff suggested for our dinner meal, we make Southwest Egg Rolls. I had prepped everything the night before we left and figured it would be lickety-split to make up there. It was for the most part. I didn't really think about where I was going to bake 20 egg rolls once I finally got the huge pot of filling warm. But between me in the trailer with the oven and Jeff outside on the grill, we finally managed to get dinner on the table... late. I think everyone really liked them. Even Miss Ruby ate them. I thought they were tasty... awesome grilled! My Dad was approaching what is known in my family as "ugly hour" when I said dinner was finally ready. The only problem with dinner was trying to eat it before it got cold. It was freezing outside!!! Seriously, no kid should ever have to wear a coat, hat, and mittens at Bear Lake. Cole hated wearing those mittens! He would scream and squeal because he couldn't pick anything up. I finally gave in to the idea that his hands would turn into popsicles and yanked them off. He was much happier. For dessert, Jeff bought everyone a milkshake. The nice thing about bad weather at Bear Lake is it cuts down on your milkshake wait time substantially. It was also sort of our way of having a birthday cake for Pearl. She had told us she wanted to have a birthday party at Bear Lake.
I think my mom's face in this picture is hilarious! She was fighting with my dad over his hot fudge milkshake! Neither one of them wanted to share. After milkshakes, Pearl got to open her birthday present from Grandma, Grandpa, and Uncle Kurtis. She got these super cute mice dollhouse toys... Fisher Price Hideaway Hollow or something like that? I thought they were way cute and was probably more excited about them than Pearl. Although Ruby was pretty pumped about them too. It was just too bad Pearl didn't share in Ruby's enthusiasm.... she wanted nothing to do with sharing her new toys. After a few threats, we finally convinced Pearl to let Ruby play with them too. The only problem with these things was getting asked 50 bazillion (I am not exaggerating) times, "What's her name?" "Tina! Her name is TINA!!!" (or Priscilla or Maddy... but they both remember Baby Max's name).
While I was picking up our milkshakes, Jeff took Pearl and Cole to the KOA. He was on a mission to find a second light saber so Cole could have his own to play with. He loves the one we got Pearl last year and goes around the house daily, wielding that light saber, jabbing you in the face, stomach, neck, leg, and then slashing at the T.V. and any other random object. It must be a boy thing. They managed to find Cole a light saber and Pearl this hideous, freaky looking mermaid with wings Barbie doll thing. It was bad. Really, really bad.... you can tell from Jeff's facial expression exactly what he thought of it!After dinner, presents, and milkshakes we just sort of hung out together until it was time for our kids to go to bed. The rest of my silly siblings stayed up until the wee hours of the morning doing who knows what. I was actually grateful to have two little excuses to say good night at a reasonable hour.