2008 aka The Year of the Blog

9-9-08 Second Anniversary

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Well, I am finishing the year as I began it... running behind. I was supposed to be at a friends for dinner awhile ago. Not only is it New Year's Eve, but we're celebrating Bear's birthday at midnight. He's a New Year's Baby. (Second only to December Babies) Things have come full circle this year. On January 1st of 2008, I was madly dashing to this same friends . I had been trying to get there before midnight to kiss Bear Happy New Years/Happy Birthday right on time, but arrived about 10 minutes late. Now it's the last day of the year and once again I'm trying to make it over there in time. God willing, I will be make it well before midnight, but the irony of starting and finishing the year in the same way is not lost on me. Good thing I have a blog to remind me that things happened in between and I have grown and changed.

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I started this blog in January and have had the sweetness of experiencing my life twice since then. Once in the living and a second time in the writing. It has made me appreciate the small and seemingly mundane moments of my life, where before they may have slipped by unnoticed. I am grateful for this gift. I am also grateful for the many other blogs I have stumbled upon and the moments of your lives I was able to share because of it. I am excited for this New Year and the adventures it will bring. I hope we will have fun sharing them together.

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Cheers to 2009!

Target... I'm on to you!

Christmas is over... have I waited long enough to vent? I don't want to be accused of being a scrooge. So I decided to do Christmas Cards at the very last second. I bought a pack at Target that said 50 very largely on the package. I narrowed down my list of family and friends to 50 recipients and began writing notes in each one. I seemed to be going through my stack of cards faster than my list of names and soon discovered 50 meant 25 cards and 25 envelopes. Well I never!!! If you think you should have received a card from us by now and haven't, assume you were in the last 25 and not that I narrowed you out to get to 50 in the first place. As if false advertising wasn't enough, I went to address my cards and soon realized my lovely list of family and friends I keep ever so safely on my computer was erased when we reformatted after the virus. Maybe it was a blessing I now only had 25 addresses to scrounge for.

Merry Christmas

Nativity by Brian Kershisnik

Their are many beautiful portrayals of the Nativity. This is our favorite one. We love that Mary is in heaven nursing her baby in bare feet. We love that Joseph is exhausted and overwhelmed, but still awake with a supportive hand on his wife's shoulder. We love that women must of heard a baby crying in a manger and come in to see what was going on. We love the chorus of angels rushing in to witness the birth of their savior and sing joyous hosannas. We love that the puppies can kind of hear the angels and are looking around to find who is making the noise. If this painting had a little barnyard cat curled up at Mary's side to purr and keep her warm, it would be complete in my eyes.

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When I look at the painting, I realize I might have been one of the angels crowding in to get a better look. I always want to be in the know, so this is probably true. I think of myself as the blond angel peering over Mary's shoulder with my hand in awe covering my mouth. I think of Bear as the curly headed angel patting Joseph's head to say, "You did it brother." Most of all I think of my Savior as a tiny little baby and I realize the potential in all of us is bigger than we will ever realize. God loved us so much, he sent his only begotten son to be born, live and die for us, that we too could return and live with him again. Merry Christmas Love The Bears

30 Rocks!

December is Bear's busy season at UPS, which isn't very convenient with my birthday being smack dab in the middle of it. I decided I didn't want to spend my 30th birthday watching Conan and waiting for an exhausted Bear to get home, so he bought me a plane ticket to LA as a birthday/Christmas present, so I could celebrate in style with my little sister. What I didn't know is my little sister was in cahoots with my entire family and they ALL flew out to LA to surprise me. Had my plane not been delayed and I not bee sick, they would have gotten a crazy, surprised reaction from me. Instead they got, "Hey, what are you doing here?"
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Despite my lackluster reaction, I was overjoyed to see them. I hadn't celebrated a birthday with my family since I turned 17 in 1995. Yeah... it's been awhile. The weekend was filled to the brim with fun dinners, visiting friends, relaxing in mineral springs and... SKYDIVING!!!


My friend Elizabeth and my family drove with me for two and half hours on a rainy day to Lompoc, CA. We had complete faith (most of the time) that the rain would clear long enough for Elizabeth and I to skydive. The good people at Skydive Santa Barbara said they'd give me to 4:30, but then they'd have to cancel since the sun would be setting. Wouldn't you know, at 3:45 we had a break in the weather! By the way, the only instruction you get is arch your back when you leave the plane. Here I am practicing.

I was too worried about the rain not stopping to even be scared for a second about skydiving. The only time I got butterflies was watching the plane leave the ground and realizing the next time I set foot on it, I'd have to jump out of a plane to get there.

Getting very excited... kind of confused as to why I was not more scared.

Here we are all crammed in. You pretty much have to sit on your jump masters lap. Good thing they are awesome and really get you pumped up.

It's a good sign when you can still smile with your feet dangling out of a plane at 13,000 feet. By the way, I should have dressed much warmer. It's way colder up there than on the ground. My advice, go in July!

And just like that, we're flying!

Literally.

Like super-heroes!

Man it was amazing up there. The sun was setting right over the ocean and everything was extra clear and green, because of the rain. Air is rushing, rushing through your mouth, your nose, even your ears.

And then....

Your shoot opens! What a ride. Tie your shoes tight. Between the air rushing past and the shoot jerking me up, I for sure thought I was going to lose them. My pants did roll themselves up and I traveled the rest of the way down in styling shorts.





When I imagined going skydiving, I thought I'd be really nervous till the shoot opened and then I could relax. In reality, I was having such a blast, I probably would have forgotten to open the shoot. Good thing I had Victor, my trusty jump master.

Touch Down Kansas City. My adrenaline was running high when I landed and none of what I said made any sense. Maybe I'll figure out how to put my video on here and you can all laugh at my superior intellect.

For those of you who are scared to turn 30, I have to say... it rocks!!! Honestly, it was one of my best birthdays ever. The only thing that would have made it better is if more of you could have joined in the fun... namely Bear and Noodle! The End.

Babies, Soldiers and Me

My friend Aubrey is the very first person I met when I moved into the dorms my freshman year of college. I simply followed the sound of Alanis Morrisette down the hallway, until I came to a room occupied by a girl with very long hair (equally as long as Alanis's hair). She said come in and I never made it back to my own room that night. My point is, I love Aubrey and her kids and now you have the chance to help one of them win a competition. OOOHHHH EXCITING!

Aubrey's son Peyton's photograph was picked as one of twelve favorites by the photographer. This week she is letting people vote on their favorite of the twelve and the winner gets a free 11x14 print. Peyton is #11. All you have to do is click on this link... http://www.stephanietueller.blogspot.com/ and vote for #11. No forms to fill out, I promise. All the kids are cute, but Peyton is probably the only twin preemie born two months early fight to survive and still look cute doing it kid... so vote for #11!

My Aunt Connie sent me this link to send cards to the troops. It was so fun to pick out the cards designed by kids and it was very quick and easy. I thought I'd share for those who want to send some Christmas cheer over seas... www.LetsSayThanks.com.

Last but not least, my mom is starting to think I have no friends. Please consider making a comment on my previous wisdom post. Would it help if I changed it to favorites? Is wisdom to intimidating of a word? Were you thinking of recommending I read the Twilight series and then thought maybe that wasn't wise enough sounding? Believe me people, I just want to know what you like. I only had one "friends" birthday party. It was at a skating rink and only my mom and sister showed up. My mom said it was because December is such a busy month for parties, but when you're eight that doesn't seem to make you feel any better. If Effie O'Conner was born in December, I'm sure the whole school would have showed up for her party. Don't let history repeat itself. Thank you and I'm done with the guilt trip for tonight.

Learn Wisdom In Thy Youth

I've heard this counsel since I was a child and in typical Lil fashion, am leaving it to the last minute. I turn 30 in three days and need to cram some last minute wisdom into the final "official" moments of my youth. I say "official", because I will try to bank on the fact I look young for as long as possible and may still be caught doing childish things for many years to come. That being said, I am throwing myself a Wisdom Party and you are all invited. If you have tips, quotes, scriptures, poems, songs, paintings, book suggestions or words of wisdom for me, please leave them in the comments or email me at lillithfare@aol.com. It doesn't have to be anything profound, just something that you love, that inspires you, makes you feel good, maybe something you think I need to know or something that reminds you of me. For example, if someone else was throwing a wisdom party and I was invited, the first things I would want to share would be:

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Little Women- Because it teaches me so much about being a sister and that is one of the most important things you can be in this life and it makes me cry every time, in a wonderful way.

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To Kill a Mockingbird-Because it takes me back to being a child and reminds me how smart children are when I deal with them now. Plus, it's just beautiful to read.

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Everyday Grace-Because it reminds me there's magic in life and I hate when I start feeling too much like a useless muggle.

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You can contribute as long as you want. I'll keep checking back. Thanks for coming to my party. Maybe next year I'll fly everyone to Tahiti for a different kind of party... wink, wink!

Thanksgiving Wyoming Style

For Thanksgiving, Bear and I headed to Casper, Wyoming, where we had a yummy dinner with his little brother Cody and wife Melanie. Afterwards, we made our way to his Mom's house in Worland. The best thing about Thanksgiving in the country is they're not going to call the cops on you for starting a fire. Although, this fire was so big, maybe they should have! I didn't get any pictures of the fire at its biggest. I was too afraid of missing all the fireworks, if the power lines way, way overhead and to the left caught on fire. Apparently so were the neighbors, who came a runnin' to see if we needed their hose. From their window it looked like the house was on fire. All this took place as Bear assured everyone that the fire was under control and continued to add more wood and leaves. 98% of lefties are pyros. It's a fact. I read it on Wikipedia.

My best theatrical/unpolitically correct interpretation of what happens when you do not share your pie with the Natives.

Important Events

Two great things happened on this day in history. My friend Margaret was born 30 years ago and my parents were married 34 years ago! I am so glad both things happened.

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My parents, Hal and Iris, have done a lot in their 34 years together. The most important being having me. Along with me, they had my sister Jessica and my brother Luke. After they had us, they spent the rest of their lives collecting strays. Stray cats, dogs, turtles, pigeons, and people. Nothing is too big or too small to find a home with them. If you traveled to my house in Missouri right now, you would find a family of six in our basement and two more people upstairs. That's not counting my mom and dad. They aren't quite saints, but if they ran a certain inn in history, believe me, there would have been room. If honoring your parents means your days will be long upon the land, then I'm going to live to be 124, because I love them so, so much.

Happy Anniversary!

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I would show you all a lovely picture of Margaret, but I lived with her before the era of digital cameras. Trust me, she's the cutest. I've been listening to Tiffany all day to commemorate your special day. Congrats on making it over the hill. I'll be joining you in 9 days!

Movie Post: The Sequel

It would be impossible to put every highlight of the movie in a post, so I am writing about what I will remember most. This movie gets the honor of being the first time I've felt my age. Maybe it's because I was turning 30 in less than a month, but man was my body tired. For hours one end, we would have to run and throw ourselves up in the air and onto the ground when the director would yell "BOMB". The picture above is an example and the special affects will be added in later. I was filming with two actors, Stacy 17 and Solo 14, for most of the running and bombing parts. I started to notice, after about the fifth bomb, they were still bouncing up and I had to push myself up with my hands like an old granny. Watching it played back to me on the dailies was even more embarrassing. Then the next day, I asked the kids if they were sore, as I hobbled down the stairs in pain. No. Not at all. Not even a little! I had to remind myself I am literally twice their age, just to make myself feel better.
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I love any kind of action in movies. It is my favorite stuff to film. I did a movie about three years ago with tons of action and never got sore or tired. There can't possibly be that big of a difference between 27 and 30. Can there??? Maybe I was just sick? Yes, that must be it.

The Movie Post

This is Bear as "Luc" flying green screen style. It's harder than it looks people, but not as hard as falling green screen style. Believe me, I know.

Luc had to have short hair and had to have this goatee thing. I don't mind the short hair, but definitely do NOT miss the goatee. It did make him look quite devlish though.

Here he is corrupting the children. Type casting at its finest.

This is "Duck". I kept trying to adopt him, but apparently his real mom can actually cook, so he's staying with her. Whatever! Don't you think he looks like a young Brad Pitt in "A River Runs Through It".

This is my husband changing a tire in a freak snow storm. Wouldn't you know we'd get a flat tire on the only day of bad weather.

This is me and my red nose inside the van while my husband dealt with the tire issue. It's nice to be a girl sometimes.

Okay... the jigs up. This is what we were really doing in Montana. Just kidding. If you want to see more from the movie, go to www.pilgrimproductions.blogspot.com. There is a synopsis of the movie and lots more pictures. It is an awesome project, with a very bright future. If any of you want to tap into your inner movie producer, I would be glad to give you information on investing.

Oh Idaho, Why Hast Though Forsaken Me?

To be clear, I have nothing against Idaho. I think it is a very beautiful state and my own dear brother was born there. Idaho, however, does not feel the same way about me. When driving to Montana, I told Bear the directions... get on the 15 going North and don't turn till Missoula. Pretty simple right? Well, except for the Bermuda Triangle around Pocatello.
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Our friend Robert had made the trip three weeks before us. He told us he had stopped in Dubois for gas. Every sign I passed, I kept looking for Dubois. We never saw one. Hmmm... maybe Dubois is just past Boise, since we kept seeing signs for Boise. (This is the point in the story where people who know Idaho better than us realize Boise is not on the 15 going North.) After filling up our gas tanks in Boise and thinking it was weird Robert could make it further than this without having to pee, we got back on the freeway and than saw the sign that made our hearts sink... West 84. That's not North 15. How could this be? We never took an exit... well apparently that was the problem.
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I quickly called MomStar, which is my mom and mapquest on her computer. I told her where we were and asked her to look up how far we were off course. We were really hoping it was just a small detour back to the 15. That's when I heard her swear. She broke the news to us. Around Pocatello, the 15 exits to the right and we had stayed to the left, which then turns into the 84. Boise is three hours past Pocatello. There is no short cuts back to the 15. We could have driven for ten days and never made it to Montana, because in fact, we were quite close to Oregon. Our only option was to go all the way back to Pocatello and try again. This is when I heard Bear swear.
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We were both in denial, so we called our friend Aaron for a second opinion. Then we called Robert for a third opinion. Unfortunately Mapquest does not lie. (Well most of the time, but that's a different story.) We began our way back. Our ten hour roadtrip was now going to take 16 hours. I said, "This trip is cursed!" As soon as the words left my mouth, I wanted to take them back. Afterall, we still had a long way to go.
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We had been in Pocatello at two that afternoon and we found ourselves back there at eight. It sucked, but wouldn't you know it... right outside of Pocatello was a sign for Dubois. We stopped there for gas, since we needed it again. Big mistake, because the rental car would not start back up. Isn't that why you get a rental, so you don't have to worry about your old car breaking down??? My husband, the impromptu mechanic got us back on the road and this is where the real nightmare began.
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We made it into Montana, just in time for some very thick fog. Our last three hours of driving were filled with many prayers as we crept our way through a bloodbath of dead animals. If it was in a horror movie, I would have thought it too unbelievable. I'm from Missouri and we have plenty of roadkill, but I have never seen anything like this. Mangled deer everywhere and literally the streets red with blood. Gross! Just what two tired drivers need, the fear of wrecking into an animal. What a way to end the night.
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In the end, we made it to Kalispell without harm. On a positive note, I read somewhere if you want to test the strength of your relationship, you should get lost on a roadtrip. Bear and I passed the test with flying colors. We had no arguing, no blame-shifting, just a few choice words for Idaho and then reluctant acceptance of our fate. Noodle also handled the trip well once we let him out of his carrier. For those animal activists out there, I know he's safer in the carrier, but is he really safer if he's so upset he's foaming at the mouth and panting like he's having a heart attack? It's a hard call, so I went with peacefully sleeping on a blanket. The End.

Not Down With OPC

WOW! November was busy. I'm finally breaking my blogging silence. I have been out of town for most of November. I had high hopes of keeping people informed of my activities as I went along, but it turns out I am not down with OPC... Other People's Computers! I will do my best to summarize the months activities in an interesting and educational way before the next time I leave town, which is in a week and a half. I also have two Summer posts I'm still trying to do, so can we put a hold on Christmas untill I'm all caught up???

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For those of you wondering what my cute husband would look like with short hair... ta da!

Really cute, but I miss the curls. He cut it for his character in the movie, apparently Lucifer must have short hair.

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For those of you wondering, they FINALLY called Missouri a couple weeks after the election. I'm pleased to announce, by a margin of about 3,500 votes, it is still a RED STATE. Let's hear it for small and inconsequential victories. HUZZAH!

Apology

Sorry for the short and boring posts. I'm off to Montanna for a bit, but I should have fun stories and pictures when I get back. They have still not called Missouri. I think it might be the first official Purple State. It is kind of fun seeing it as the only Black State on a map filled with Red and Blue. It's as if they are saying people from Missouri are the coolest and I'd have to agree.

Just Wondering

Are they ever going to call Missouri? I know it doesn't make a difference in the outcome, but it is my state and I'd sure like to know.

Election Day

Well actually we voted a couple weeks ago, but hesitated to post anything political on our blog. After all, blogs are for happiness and butterflies, as we previously stated and politics is anything but. However, on Election Day, I feel safe posting a few reasons why I voted.

To honor the women who were jailed and beaten, declared insane and SUFFERED so I could vote.

To say thank you to those who founded our country and to those who defend it today.

To lend my voice to those who don't have their own.

Like this little guy.


Or this sweet little girl.


Because I believe strong families make a strong nation.

And when I make a Pledge, I mean every word.
Remember to be the change you want in the world. No candidate has the power to make you happy. Only you can do that for yourself.





Now back to the BUTTERFLIES...

Cram Session

For those of you who missed the debates and are pulling an all night cram session to make up your mind, or for those of you who just want to cap of the never-ending campaign with a good laugh, I have provided the following link.

http://video.236.com/services/link/bcpid1612766543/bctid1885473979

It's worth two minutes of your time.

Halloween Recap

Rachel Ray may be the queen of 30 minute meals, but I am the queen of 30 second costumes. Don't be jealous. We all get to be the queen of something. I think my Chiefs Football Player costume was even quicker than the year I pinned my red bandanna to the back of my shirt and went as Super Girl. Looking at myself in this picture, I kind of resemble the run away bride girl in the news... anyone remember her??? She smiles too big too. Well, maybe next year. So Halloween was not my favorite day this year, but since blogs are mostly for happiness and butterflies, I won't go into that and instead I'll tell you what I liked about it.

#1 I got to hear the Ghostbusters theme song on the radio.

#2 I got to see people from church dressed in jeans... that's always fun. (Except for my Bishop, who still wore a suit... maybe he was Clark Kent or something??)

#3 While dressed as a Chiefs Football Player, I came across a baby dressed as a Broncos Cheerleader and I got to brag, "We beat you, we beat you!" Who cares that she probably thought I was saying, "Oh look at you... googly goo." The rivalry lives on!

Happy Halloween

a HALLOWEEN message from my mom that I loved too much not to share
hope everyone gets more good candy than lame raisins this year

Hair Drama

More like hair trauma, because that's what it caused me. I'm not lying. This is literally what a licensed hair professional did to me the other day. You can tell I'm really thrilled about it too. Thankfully it's close to Halloween, so not too many people pointed and laughed as I held my head down in shame and made a run for my car.

Who doesn't love Bon Jovi, but nobody wants to be his identical hair twin. Maybe in 1985, but not now and definitely not two weeks before they film a movie.
If only I could explain the horrors I had to go through to end up with this lovely do. The story includes holding the hair dryer above my head for 20 minutes, as it was broken and she didn't want it to burn me and also having my face smothered by an overly large woman's breasts while she rinsed my hair.

Yes, I paid for these bleach spots. I even said thank you and tipped... then I cried on the way home. I was in shock. I mean, was I getting punked? The moral of this hair story is, if they are charging $40 less than the going rate there is a reason why. Run the other way fast!

No Day But Today

There have been two days in my life where upon waking I've received news that immediately

brought me to tears.

The first was September 11, 2001. I'm sure I'm not alone there.

The second was October 25, 2006 when my husband gently shook me awake and said, "Lil you need to call your family. Your dad had a stroke."

I never want to feel like I felt on either of those days ever again.

On September 11th, I was hurting for the nation,

grieving for all those who lost loved ones, but mostly

I was worried about my sister.

I knew she lived on the same block as the towers and for hours

we were unable to get ahold of her. I was so frustrated I couldn't be there with her.

If she was going to have to experience this first hand, then she

should at least get to have her big sister with her.

On October 25th, I was completely in denial.

My Dad couldn't have a stroke.

He was only 56, in good shape, no high blood pressure. He's pretty easy going and he'd just run a marathon three weeks before. He doesn't smoke, he doesn't drink. He fell into NONE of the"at risk" categories and this was NOT FAIR!

Both experiences really taught me mortal life is short. Sometimes we don't even know how short. Each day we get to live on this beautiful planet is a giftand the most important thing we can do with that gift is make sure we are doing what we need to do

to be with our FAMILIES FOREVER.

To my Dad and Sister: Sorry for bringing up some unhappy anniversaries.

On both of these days, I'm grateful for my prayers that were answered.

I'm grateful you both take care of your bodies, Jessica, so you could walk out

of the dust and debri barefoot and in your pajammas and get to safety and

Dad, so you could heal so quickly and completely.

I'm also grateful you are both so funny and made these experiences

easier for US to get through. Yes Jessica,

surviving a terrorist attack should mean you get free cookies everywhere you go

and No Dad, we probably won't stop referring to you as Strokey the Bear.

I'm glad you're both still here.

Love Lil

Go Jen

This August my roommate Jen got married. Which roomate Jen you ask, afterall I had three of them. The tall one? They were all tall. The blonde one? Two of them had blonde hair. The one in the picture? Ding, ding, ding... that is correct. She was married to this guy (look down) whose name is Abraham, as in Father or Lincoln, take your pick. They got married in the DC Temple, but luckily for me had an open house in Salt Lake City.

So we quickly caught up in the small amount of time you actually have to talk to people at these things. Besides getting married, she's a civilian journalist that works for the army, she just got back from her honeymoon in Hawaii the day they had this party and she is a first time homeowner. She also eats fruit with Hershey's Chocolate Syrup. Which I think is a grand idea. Who has time for messy fondue machines anyway.

Catch Up

I'm still playing catch up from when my computer was on the fritz. I already did one post about my brother Luke's visit, but I thought I'd share a couple more pictures and stories with you. First up is Luke randomly deciding to climb the mountain behind my apartment. When I say behind, I mean WAY behind. I live on 300 East and the mountain starts at about 4500 East. That didn't stop Luke. He just walked straight up 3300 South, bought some water at a gas station he passed along the way and then climbed right up the mountain. I asked him why, because I could think of many other things I'd like to do on a hot August day and he said, "I live in Missouri, so mountains are cool." That's true. Mountains are cool and sometimes I forget. By the way, it took about six hours, the way up was easier than the way down and he only came across one rattlesnake. Just one!



It was so hot, we decided to head up to Bear Lake and cool off. We packed our swimming suits and everything. On our drive up, a huge storm began swirling around. The winds picked up before the rain, so at one point we were blinded by a huge dust storm, but then the rains poured and settled down the dirt. If I learned one thing at Utah State it's if it is raining in Logan, it's snowing up at Bear Lake. Good thing we packed sweatshirts along with our swimsuits.










The cold didn't keep us from enjoying some World Famous Bear Lake Raspberry shakes. That's right. I said World Famous! If you don't know about them, you need to get off your computer and get out more. I promise they are worth the trip.








I included this picture of the menu at the Bear Lake Pizza place, because of the last item on the menu. The Little Bear for $6.49. Not only did I do a double take, because it looks like my name Lillith Bear, but whoever wrote it stole my handwriting. I mean honestly, that could be my signature.













We spent the night at our friends the Mills, whom we have kept in touch with since we lived in Laketown 27 years ago. Back then they were a family of 14, 12 kids and 2 parents. Now they are their own army, with too many grandkids to count. Luckily for us, they were having a reunion at the KOA, but since the weather turned bad, they were all cramming into their parents house for the night. Luke and I just sat back and watched the chaos that ensues when big families get together. It was a highlight of the trip, but the spectacle was too much and I forgot to take pictures.








The weather was a bit better the next day, so on the way down the canyon we stopped at Rick Springs for some pictures. If you're familiar with Logan Canyon at all, I'm sure you have some old pictures there yourself. I love Logan Canyon. It is truly one of my favorite places in the whole world. This trip was even better, because Luke was with me. Yay for the canyon, yay for family... oh and super yay for yummy raspberry shakes! The End.