Summer Marathon Trip

No, we didn't run a marathon this summer but we definitely drove one (or 100). 

The first leg of our trip was to Auburn, CA to visit Richard, Kristen and their three children. They just finished building their new home so we got the grand tour and had lovely accommodations. It was a five star resort. Seriously. 
The kids swam until they turned into human prunes, I got to go to one of Kristen's yoga classes (so much fun--which is saying A LOT b/c I am the furthest thing from a yogi) and we had lots of time to visit and just be together (the best part, of course).

Our next stop was Tahoe. We met up with my sister, Nikki and her family while we enjoyed the most beautiful surroundings the world has to offer. 

The first day it rained off and on so we packed up a picnic and took a hike around the lake along the cliff side. We hiked happily through the puddles as we enjoyed the mist and clouds and stunning views. We ate lunch huddled together and laughed while we used a beach umbrella to protect us from the down pour. 

Every day after that was sunny and beautiful. We took full advantage and spent our days in the sun surrounded by the electric blue Tahoe water. 

One Tahoe tradition that my boys and their cousins love is to tie die t shirts. When you multiply three t shirts by the past three summers of making them we have nine in our home. Yet every year the boys get excited trying to determine which colors they will use to create the perfect combination. 

After Tahoe we drove to Utah to stay with Brandon's parents. Brandon took a flight home first thing Monday morning to head back to work and I spent the week visiting with cousins and family. And of course that included a trip to Grandma Frederickson's house. This young gal is 98 years old and going strong. She is always smiling and laughing this one and we LOVE her!

We took a day trip to Herriman to spend some time with my cousin Sara and her two girls. When we arrived she had a living room full of boxes and old books. Her parents were giving away several dozen church books many of which were written and or signed by our Grandpa, N. Eldon Tanner. Sara very generously allowed me to select four books to give to each one of my boys. It was so much fun to flip through the tired, tattered pages of each book and study Grandpa's handwriting and even some of his notes in the margin. 

We went to a big reservoir and swam with the boys for the afternoon and then headed over to a co-op farm that Sara participates in to milk the cow. It was SO much fun to watch the boys take turns milking old Bessy (made up name for dramatic purposes--haha). 

We visited an incredible airplane museum called the Aerospace Museum at Hill Field with Grandma and Grandpa Koplin and the St. Clair family. I can't get over this photo of my oldest and youngest. Melt me.

  

After our time in Lehi with Brandon's parents, we headed up to Bear Lake with Brandon's mission buddies, their wives and children. It is a treasured tradition that we look forward to every year.

 

Look at these brown babies! Here they are eating lunch together just steps away from the lake.

Just about an hour away from Bear Lake is a hidden lake called "Bloomington." We don't go every year but this year we decided to make the drive through mostly rocky, dirt, rural roads. It is one of the most beautiful places on earth. There is a rope swing right into the a glacier fed body of water. The views are incredible. 

 

Here are Benson and Cubby fishing while the rest of us are freezing our bums off on the rope swing!

 

A trip to Bear Lake is never complete without some JB!

We LOVE going to the Pickleville Playhouse and catching a Juanito Bandito play. 

He is hilariously random. This year our favorite was the scene describing the Sultan game. 

I will never forget Kristi Eyre's laugh!

Here is a photo of me and my love along with me and the JB himself.
SUCH a fun night and weekend at Bear Lake with some phenomenal people.