Bear Lake with the Hess family

For the first time in a very long time my entire family went up to the Bear Lake cabin for a vacation.  And for the very first time ever, each sibling brought a significant other.  :)  It was, unfortunately, FREEZING cold for the first couple days so we found new ways to entertain ourselves with some biking and hiking.

 We had a good time teasing my dad about his girly Hawaiian hat.

 We rented some funky bikes--and all took turns on this banana bike.

 We brought our bikes up from home and enjoyed riding them around and to the beach.

 Isaac thought the 4 person bike was pretty awesome (especially since he just got to sit and skip the pedaling.

 John was looking pretty good in his vacation beard on the banana bike.

 Esther was a great help as always with Wes.

 We teased my dad about his love for condiments too--especially when this is how is bun looked pre-hot dog.

 It warmed up enough for us to build a sand castle by day 3.

 Wesley enjoyed some quality Nanny time.

 The kids slept in the trailer with John and loved every minute of it.  

 The cold didn't seem to bother the kids much--they spent hours out there in the frigid water playing and exploring.  

 William loved following Isaac around and I think Isaac loved having someone to boss for once.  (He is usually the one getting bossed).

Pajamas and a hat were in order for the cold temperatures but Wesley enjoyed watching the birds and eating the occasional mouthful of sand.

We rented a boat one day and we only lasted two hours before we needed to come back and thaw out.  The water was glass so it was fun to slalom for the first time in a few years (since I was pregnant the past two summers.  The girls both got out on the tube and Isaac just enjoyed riding in the boat.  We did find out Isaac is a bit allergic to horseflies as he got a couple of huge bumps on his head when he was bit--we thought they were goose eggs at first!  We tried dutch oven cooking one night--I think my mom would have been proud.  They were a lot of work but it turned out pretty tasty.  Mostly it was fun to be together-especially to have my brother Dan in town.  We miss his comedy around here.  We played lots of games and had some good laughs.  The kids loved all the new people there too.  It was a fun Hess vacation/reunion.