Utah: Week with the Nelsons

We have been planning this reunion so it was fun to finally see it all come together.
The reunion started with a party at Christine's house complete with smore's and a dance party.
On Tuesday, after we packed and went grocery shopping, we all headed up to Bear Lake to spend a few days at the Willis lake cabin. I was a little worried about all being under the same roof but everything worked out perfectly. There was plenty of room, a bed for everyone, a chair for everyone, meals worked out great, and there were so many snacks that we all literally left with a weeks worth of food. Like all family time spent together, it went much to quickly and we could have spent at least two more days there. The cabin was just perfect: beautiful, huge, and close to everything that we wanted to do. One day Christine and I even saw a moose walk through the backyard.
We had so many things planned so naturally we only had time for a few of them. What we did was great, but I just wish we could have spent a few more days together.

Wednesday we rented a boat and boated all around Bear Lake. I lost my camera in the lake that day and I am still very upset about it. It had so many great videos and pictures. I just can't get over it. I don't care about the lost camera but the lost pictures. Ethan keeps reminding me that we don't need a documentation of everything for it to happen. Those memories still happened even though I can't see the proof.

All the parents started using the boat as nap time. It fit 17 so we would always throw on the tired kids to just sit. I think everyone under the age of 5 took at least two naps on the boat. 

 This picture needs to be framed!! There was like a pond thing that you had to cross to get to the beach, and of course my dad didn't wear shorts or flip flops. He is the only man I know that will wear jeans and sneakers to the beach! Anyway, because of this, we had to literally pull him to the beach. It shouldn't have happened but it was hilarious!!

There was some drama with the boat. Not only did it take more than an hour to get it out on the water, but we weren't allowed to drive it up close to the beach AND there wasn't a loading dock. This wouldn't have been a problem but they didn't tell us that when we called. The boat had to be parked about 200 meters away. It was fine walking for an adult for the water only got up to your shoulders, but we had so many kids and that was just not going to work. I didn't realize that I was so upset about this, but I marched over BY MYSELF and very pointedly told them how they were going to help us. I'm not a very assertive person so this was a big deal to me. Here's how it went:
" Hello. I'm Cami Wing and I just finished the process of renting your boat. I know the lake levels are out of your control and we are not mad about that however we can not get to the boat. It is parked too far away. As an adult it would be fine, but we have kids in our group who can not reach the boat.
Again, we are not upset becasue the low lake levels are not your fault. However, we as boat renters who paid almost 1000 dollars to use your boat, coming from out of town, we should have been informed about the boat situation. We need something from you. We will take a discount, or a jet ski, or a anything. What would you like to give us?" BOOM GOES THE CANNON!!! I stayed so calm, did not get upset but was so to the point!! I had offended a dear friend the day before and was still running off I'm mortified/embarrassed/WHATANIDIOT juices, was stressed about the reunion, and have really been struggling personally with some emotional things and I guess it all just came to a boiling point to help me with this boat. I just can't believe how calm I stayed.

Anyway...
"We can not give you a discount of any kind."
"That's okay. What will you do instead?" (Notice I said will and not can!!)
"Well we can give you a canoe but you have to bring it back after every use just in case someone wants to rent it.
"So, to make sure we are on the same page. Your solution to us not being able to use the boat that we spent 800 dollars on, is to borrow a canoe and carry it back after every use. That is not a solution. What else do you have?"
This is where one of them started to get uncomfortable and I think its because I was so direct and smiling the whole time.
"Can't we give them a canoe man?' "No, what if it gets busy?"
"Excuse me, can I interrupt? As someone who is coming from AZ on a week day after the holiday, you could just tell people that a canoe is already taken. We have a problem due to your lack of communication and you need to help us please. Thank you"

AND WE GOT A CANOE FREE OF CHARGE!!!
Lets get real though. That was the only solution since they weren't going to lower the cost of the boat. We already had waited over an hour to get in the boat, we had to CARRY the jet skis into the water by hand, and now we had a bunch of kids who couldn't even get to the boat. As someone who comes from a family who owns their own business, this all just made sense.
So as it turns out the canoe ended up being RIDICULOUS!! but that's not the point. We over filled it almost every time, tipped at least 5 times, and then stopped using it because it was easier with the jet skis, but still not the point. The point is, I did something forceful and direct for the first time in my life and did it calmly and politely. It was a powerful moment for me.

the view from the deck

I tried this new treat called camp fire cones. They were a smashing success among the kids

 We really indulged ourselves!

Thursday we hiked up to Bloomington Lake to swim, cliff jump, and rope swing. It was frigid seeing how  the snow was still on the banks of the lake but once you got in and the your skin froze, it was actually quiet nice. The air was also freezing being only 68 in the afternoon so over all it was just a super cold event. The hike was perfect though. Less than a mile and flat the whole time. The drive up got a little annoying because it was on a bumpy dirt road for like 10 miles.

 a baby lake on our way to the less baby lake. It was such a green and breath taking hike

Told you! New smile phase!!

This picture is hard to show the depth of the water, but it was so clear that you could see the bottom even though it was deep. The darker green is probably 10ft deep.

 Ethan braved the rope swing while I braved the cliff jumping

 Madison was really having a day that day. She and Ethan almost didn't come becasue she was so awful. The Petersen's took Madison to the lake which was helpful to get away from her, but while we were at the lake she just kept being hard. There must have been something wrong with her. Anyway, a lot of the day she spent screaming, but as soon as we let her just walk she started to calm down. Even Madison couldn't deny the greenness and beauty. It doesn't matter and no one thought different but I just wish Madison would have been her normal happy and spunky self so that the family could really meet her and get to know who she really is. The whole time we were in Utah she just wasn't her self and although she had good moments, she just didn't show people her true character.

 We were quite the group getting to the lake. The funny part was that we were one of like 4 family reunions up there. Apparently it is the thing to do while in the Utah/Idaho area

 I asked Kelsey to smile and this is what I got. Oh boy

The nights were filled with shaved ice, games, raspberry shakes, and family pictures. We had to be out of the cabin by Friday morning so we spent that morning cleaning and packing. It was sad to say goodbye because it felt like we had just started. I really wish we could have stayed even one more day.

I made this video for the reunion and I really feel like it captures how much fun we had

 So I only post this in the spirit of memory: not mocking or anything else.
We got home on Friday around 1. We bathed the girls, gave them food, and let them watch a show. I don't remember how it started but Madison got crazy upset. Like CRAZY upset. She started rolling and thrashing. We knew she was tired but it was also only 4:30. If we put her to bed now, she would wake up super early. Well, bad parenting moment for not putting her down because she just lost it. We took her outside to hopefully calm her down, but it made things worse. She got to the ground and literally started rolling in the mud. It actually got pretty funny because she was so besides her self I have never heard a cry like this. It was quiet but powerful. It was like she had already fallen asleep but was somehow crying with her eyes open. None of that makes sense but I just can't describe it any other way. And for the record we tried to hold her but she threw herself to the ground. It was safer to have her on the ground. After about 20 minutes of rolling, we took her to the bath tub, washed off the mud, and while putting her diaper on she fell asleep. She did wake back up around 8 for about 30 minutes (we gave her a blessing and a bottle) and then she stayed asleep until like 8 the next day. Poor Madison. It was not how I wanted to end the week, but the whole week had been kind of like this so I guess in a way, this was the most fitting ending for an already hard week.