8.14.2007

The Trip: Part I, Bear Lake

I will preface this by saying that this is going to be the first of many posts. So much happened on our trip the low down is going to have to come in several installments. I will also add that anyone who wants pictures (digital or otherwise) can either email me or leave a note in the comments section (see the link at the bottom of the post).



Alright, here it goes. As anyone who is familiar with the Atamian family knows, Bear Lake is pretty epic. We started this one with the southern Calif. contingent (G-pa, G-ma, and our niece JD, and nephew JR) driving 8 hours from Orange county to settle in with us in our little house for the better part of a week. Mike's dad exhibits many of the same manic, work-a-holic tendencies as his son (go figure!). This is a double-edged sword that I, at least, love and dread at the same time. It's exhausting, invigorating, maddening and satisfying at the same time. You often wonder if they've found some sort of naturally-occuring stimulant that gives them this inhuman-like energy to help family, complete around-the-house projects, cook, clean, and arrange social activities (our inter-family theory is that it's an OCD, ADHD, and Budweiser cocktail). And, don't misunderstand me, this is not an insult since it applies to my husband as much as my father-in-law, both of whom I love very much. But let me give you a small example.



After he'd restained our deck, taken us out to dinner, mowed the lawn, and played UNO with Mike, me, JD, and JR every night until past 10 p.m., he decided we should take the kids downtown to the Truckee river so they could play at the Whitewater park. Now, there is a theory to Dad's madness, since our trip dowtown consisted of Dad & Mom sitting in camp chairs while the rest of us repeatedly entered the rapids, floating the river or zooming Luci around in the water to her continued delight (insert mental picture of her signing "More, more").



And this is all before the 10-hour drive to Bear Lake. I smile just thinking about it. Everyone gives Mike and I a hard time about being so active, always on the go, and trying to fit so much into our schedules. . . I guess you do what makes you happy. So, as stressful as large family gatherings can be to an only-child like myself, the incessant activity at least keeps me smiling (and shaking my head at the craziness of it all). In the seven days we were at Bear Lake we rented a boat and innertube for the day, went whitewater rafting, wandered around the Raspberry Festival, played in the pool, sat around reading our books and watching the Muppets & Veggie Tales (over & over & over), and of course played the requisite game of UNO every night.




The pool was by far the funniest thing to watch Luci do. Her Aunt Pris brought foam floaties, and after watching her cousin Sarah in the spa, Luci was off. I couldn't turn my back for a second or she'd be off toward the spa saying "bat, bat" (we told her that the spa was warm like her bath). By the end of the week she would crawl out of the spa and then turn around and try to jump back in (to avert disaster I had to teach her to sit down first and then slide in). Watching her walk around on the spa's step and then step off and kick around in the deeper water without any hesitation at all I could think was "Alright, we've gotten past step 1. She's not afraid of the water. Good. But, shit I think I would do well to panic here and get this kid into swim lessons before she starts jumping into every body of water she sees, with or without her floaties on." I know I wanted a strong, independent, and confident child but aren't we pushing things a bit here?




At the end of the week we were all tired (and seriously bummed about not being able to see Little Shop of Horrors the Pickleville Playhouse), but all agreed that we'd had a lot of fun. Sarah and Luci dancing together after dinner in Jackson, playing, and hugging had to be one of the highlights (and best camera opportunities). But I think the one that topped even that was teaching my niece and nephew to whitewater raft and pointing out the bald eagle flying over us while we paddled.


8.09.2007

Coming soon to a blog near you...

* Family trip to Bear Lake, Utah
* Lots of driving
* Crystal and Mike in Yellowstone and the Grand Tetons (wolves, and bison, and bears, oh my!)
* Mike presenting at the AOU conference in Laramie, WY
* More driving
* Mr. Giant singing Sesame Street and "Handsome Moose" songs even though he's been away from the Bean for almost 2 weeks

Stay tuned!