"I hear lake water lapping with low sounds by the shore... I hear it in the deep heart's core." -William Butler Yeats
Neil has gone to Bear Lake every summer since he can remember. Since I married Neil, 19 years ago, I have gone to Bear Lake with his family every summer. My kids have gone to Bear Lake every summer of their young lives.
Neil's mom has always been the major orchestrator of our Bear Lake trips. When she passed away last winter, Al was ready to sell his trailer, cancel the Bear Lake trip, and end all traveling. We convinced him to hold off making such drastic decisions while the pain of Grandma's death was so raw. Time is the great healer, and Grandpa decided to go ahead and give the annual Bear Lake trip a go. We knew it wouldn't quite be the same without Grandma. The food wouldn't be as good, and the kids would miss their card-playing buddy, but we knew that Grandma would be heart-broken if she knew we had canceled that family tradition.
We showed up to the lake Saturday morning, only to see the most ominous set of clouds looming in the distance. The state park officials were moving from group to group, advising everyone to seek shelter and wait out the storm. We threw a kayak and some chairs out on the beach to reserve our spot, then sat back in our vehicles and watched the storm come in. And boy was it a doozy! Every time we thought the storm might be letting up, it would rally and pelt our van with a fury. Luckily, we had some tunes and snacks to keep us entertained.
The storm did eventually pass, and we were left with a virtually empty beach and a cool afternoon with which to enjoy the lake.
The beach play was in full force. And all was right with the world. There were sandcastles and sand tunnels to build, ferocious digging to tend to, and large lake puddles to lounge in.
This curly-haired cutie-patootie did not leave the sand the entire afternoon. Isabel was deep in blissful beach play and had no time for trifles like eating lunch.
And her baby brother liked to dart off without warning. He had already put the family in a panic at camp when he decided to toddle off and play at the park all by himself. Here he is trying to make another run for it, but his grandma was on her toes. There would be no missing children on her watch.
It was a delight to have Alicia and David and their family with us this year. It's been a little while since we've had little ones at the beach.
Yep, that's Neil. You are not mistaken. He is in a long-sleeved shirt at the beach. This is a man who does not like to get sunburned. You watch, he'll live longer than the rest of us, at least that's what his dermatologist says.
The storm seemed to have scared away most of the boaters, so we had some fairly calm water to take the kayaks out in.
These are the people we love, who we've made all of these wonderful summer memories with over the years. We've come a long way from young families with toddlers in life jackets and swim diapers squealing as their toes hit the cold water. There seems to be a little more sunbathing and frisbee throwing these days. There is something about a solid family tradition to show the steady passing of time.
Spencer had just spent the whole week at Camp Hunt. In fact, we picked him up from the camp this morning. The location of scout camp was very convenient this year. He was exhausted, and spent the first hour or two asleep in the van. But he woke up refreshed and ready to go. Here he is sporting a water faux hawk.
It is tradition to bury Evan in the sand every summer.
Spencer wanted a piece of the action as well. He was a little surprised at the weight of the sand on his little body. No, Evan is not wearing a wife-beater. That is the tan line from his uber sunburn a few weeks ago, when he was wearing a wife-beater.
Twenty years of cousin time at this beautiful lake! Priceless!
That raging storm would return, but it sandwiched itself conveniently between dinner and marshmallow roasting.
We all compared nasty Bear Lake sunburns while the kids roasted everything from marshmallows, to Starbursts, to Sour Watermelons.
And there's our favorite curly-haired cutie roasting her mallow.
The conversation ended up where it usually does, with some silly Monty Python renditions, and as the sky grew dark, and the camp more still, we discussed our favorite Edgar Allen Poe stories. Now that everyone was adequately creeped out, it was time for bed. The next morning brought the traditional waffle breakfast, after which, we packed up and went home.
How grateful we were that Grandpa didn't cancel the Bear Lake trip. This lovely lake harbors so many precious memories for our family. And as we frolicked in the chilly water and laughed around the campfire, I couldn't help but hope that Grandma was being allowed a glimpse of our revelry. And I couldn't help but think that she was smiling down at her posterity as they enjoyed a tradition she created decades ago.
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