The Thomas Family Bear Lake Reunion was under way! Our car was loaded to the brim, and we were on the road. Everything fit. WHEW!! That was a big worry considering how many coolers and how much food we were taking up there.
Rebecca and Sarah were taking lots of food as well. In fact, they were the food committee. So grateful for them being willing to take on that assignment!!
We were able to find a rental home that would be able to sleep our family of 31 (Emma was missing due to her summer study abroad and we were sad about her not being there with us).
When we pulled up and saw the home, I wondered how all of us would fit in there.
I was happy to see a large kitchen/dining/family room area with a huge refrigerator/freezer inside and another one in the garage. The pantry was large as well, which worked perfectly for all our food.
The basement had a large play area for the grandchildren to play foosball, ping pong, arcade video games, or watch a movie.
As the adults were getting their belongings settled inside the house...
We were just so happy to see him join the reunion. We always let him dish up his food first, and he always chose to eat his meal outside in the fresh air as he was trying his best to avoid germs. The last thing he wanted was to deal with a respiratory infection on top of the heart illness.
Surprisingly, there were bedrooms for every family and a bathroom for every family in that home Jacob had found for us. It was great and worked well for our whole family.
It was fun seeing the cousin and family togetherness going on during the week.
The teenage boy cousins thought they would be sleeping in the bunkroom upstairs over the garage, but turns out Rebecca's family would be sleeping there.
The weather the whole time was just perfect. The morning view from the back deck was beautiful to behold.
The playhouse was small and adorable and we had good seats close to the front so we could see the actors' faces really well.
At intermission, they rolled out this adorable snack cart.
We watched the play "Trouble in Hunky Dory" and it was so corny and cute and fun and funny. Every one of the actors and the girl on the piano did a fabulous job. It was time well spent and all ages enjoyed it.
Some of us snuck out to get a raspberry (or other flavor) shake and brought back treats for those left behind. YUM!! The Chevron gas station makes their shakes with hard scoops of ice cream deeming it my favorite place to get a shake.
Glen and I were in charge of breakfasts every morning. After everyone ate, Sarah pulled out her craft bin and got all the children busy making rockets.
Each person was eager to try their rocket on the rocket launcher to see how far it would shoot into the air.
Jonah was the self-designated rocket retriever. It was amazing how long he stuck to it, too.
Here's Maverick with his can of Pringles chips.
And here's Eli using a can of Pringles chips as the body of his rocket. Cute idea, but didn't fly very high with all the weight of the can.
Afternoon family gaming.
A group of us went back to the Pickleville Playhouse to watch another play.
The same actors from the night before were starring in this show as well.
The plays were a great activity for Abe to be able to participate in--wearing his trusty compression stockings to try and help with the swelling in his extremities.
This photo made me laugh. Sarah and Rebecca prepared all the food, but then here's Glen in the photo acting like he helped with the meal. I guess he did because he paid for all the food the girls cooked up for the whole family to enjoy.
I forgot to mention a sad thing that happened at Bear Lake. Claire had gotten sick and threw up, so she stayed in her room for two days.
Lincoln is modeling our new family sweatshirt.
And Carson is modeling the family reunion t-shirt. Sarah did herself proud again designing these shirts!
Our first beach day was close to the home at Ideal Beach. It was the "ideal" location for us to be for the boat rental. There's Abe sitting under the shade. He decided to venture to the beach, but felt like the bumpy boat ride would not be good for his aching insides.
Jeff was the designated captain of the boat for the many hours we had rented it. He had brought up a huge tube which he had borrowed from his sister, and everyone loved riding on that thing. It was perfect for youngsters and also adults.
Wait a minute!! Who is driving the boat now??
After our morning of lake fun, we got cleaned up and had another fun activity planned. The lighthouse was so cute marking the spot we wanted to be that afternoon.
Rebecca had booked us tickets to the Pickleville Playhouse
The Excells (plus two) went for an afternoon horseback ride.
Brooke and Luke were interested in the horseback riding opportunity. It sounded more fun to them than going to another play and definitely more fun than staying back at the house.
It had been a beautiful day for a horse ride. Actually, every day was a beautiful day with perfect weather while we were at Bear Lake.
Once everyone had congregated back at the house, the pickleball games began again.
She finally emerged to join the group this evening when we all donned our matching green family reunion sweatshirts for a family group photo. (Stay tuned for that reveal when Dallas gets it all fixed up--hopefully with our missing Emma photoshopped into the photo.)
After the photo, it was adorable to see all the children circling Maverick getting him to say their names and playing with him.
Out to the backyard for evening playtime and s'mores, and more pickleball of course,
S'more fun photos to come in the next post...
