Day 14 - Hummingbirds and Old Haunts

Deja vu.

That's what I was feeling all day. 

I remember so clearly being 8 years old and sitting on the porch of the lodge and watching the hummingbirds zip and dive. 

And now we're here again. My children are just as amazed as I was. They want more than anything for a hummingbird to sit on their finger while it takes a sip of syrup.

We spotted them resting in the trees, waiting for another opportunity to fly over for another drink. I don't think I've ever really seen them like that. They are so little and energetic. I didn't even think they would ever stop using those wings even for a second!

We got reacquainted with the lodge and all of it's hidden glories...the game room! I am 100% positive that is the same foosball table we played on as kids.

The store...where knick knacks and spaghettios can be purchased in an emergency. We are now the proud owners of a lovely set of potgut salt and pepper shakers!

Like I said...a blast from the past.

The kids set up a running game at the table. It started with Apples to Apples, but switched to poker in no time. I'm sure my siblings are super thrilled that we are teaching their innocents to gamble.

I often found myself alone, walking from cabin to cabin or down to lake and that familiar feeling would come rushing back. I love this place.

I love teaching my kids the different paths and shortcuts to get to the lake and the lodge.

The gorgeous aspens

Ethan was in fishing heaven. He just roamed about and soaked in the solitude. Mountain-man style. My brother John taught him how to cook the fish with lemon and herbs. He convinced me to give it a taste and tell you what...it was the least I've ever wanted to throw up after taking a bite of fish.

Megan and Everly...just spending time together. Their laughter just fills me right up!

The potgut (rock chuck, ground squirrel, etc) population is flourishing!

And there are more deer than ever!

Whistle pops are still crazy entertaining!

And how come I kind of feel like crying when i see my kids run down this very well-loved path to find their cousins?

It was mom and John's turn for dessert tonight. They did 3 kinds of cobbler and we ate up every scrap.

Jordan, Cheyanne and Reif                                    Terrah, Annie and Joel

Bri and Amanda                                                      Ethan and Zach (Johnny, Jay and Joel in back)

Kaira, Missa and Heidi                                           Ethan and Mark

We took family pictures...we'll have to photoshop Jay or Lara into the best one, but we couldn't miss the opportunity to capture this time we have all together. We are missing our dad, but I know he is crying happy tears that we are trying to build something new.

Day 13 - Moon Lake Happiness

This is one of my favorite drives....it's so beautiful.

Cabin 11...home sweet home!

We unpacked as fast as we could, laid claim to beds and bedrooms and booked it down to the lake. The water line is higher than I have ever seen it. It left only little spots of beach, so we claimed one fast and the girls began their excavations.

Little Ivry!

Mark braved the paddle board. The water is super cold, so the consequences of falling in are severe!

Not that that stopped Mathew....

Or Charlie....

Or Anna....

We walked back to the cabin and we spotted a deer!

We made tinfoil dinners - it's a first night at the camp tradition.

Then the whole family came down to our camp to have dessert together. Tonight was Kaira and Lara's night. They had trays of scone dough all ready. Everybody started stretching them out and giving them to Lara and Ty to fry.

I quite honestly had SOOO many of these. They are way to delicious to hold back on. You know that saying, "Nothing tastes as good as skinny feels"? Well, hot scones with honey butter taste way better. So much better.

Soon we had eaten every one and our bellies were full. Time to sit around the fire and tell our stories.

get to know each other again....

bust out our ukuleles....

We've never had a family reunion like this. Our kids don't really know each other that well....and it's time we fixed that. We are not perfect and we've had our heartaches and failures...but we love each other and we need to start being there for each other.

That's a lot to accomplish in one day! We're bushed we're tucking in for the night.

Good night, Moon Lake.

Day 12 - Guns and Baptisms

We hit Wasatch Crossfit this morning. Their team won the Crossfit games in 2017...we couldn't pass up the chance to drop in and do a WOD. It was a cool place! They were fun and easygoing and reminded me the most of On Track of any place we've been.  We also forgot to take our picture, so Mark just photoshopped us onto another photo...haha! See if you can find out where the picture came from!

Mark took kept the kids busy today so I could get the packing and meal planning done. Trying to grocery shop for a week is serious business when you go out to Moon Lake. A grocery store trip once you get up there is takes about 2 hours out of your day. Planning now means sparing us a frantic run to Duchesne.

Mark took the kids out shooting again.

And then to the Payson temple to do some baptisms.

 Tomorrow we head out to our beautiful Moon Lake!!