Each year we plan a summer family activity, usually in the mountains, where we can be together and relax and visit and play. To me that's what a reunion is all about, enjoying your family. And we certainly do that! This year we had better attendance than last. We started out hiking around the rubble and boulders of Frank slide. From there we caravaned to our campsite.
This year we gathered at Chinook Lake, probably our favorite camping area in the Pass! Crowsnest mountain can be seen over the lake. As my children have grown up, when they look at this mountain they see the temple, and as a result to my family this is Temple Mountain. We always feel closer to God when we are here appreciating the great blessings of nature, the beauty and the scenery, the wildlife and the climate.
Some of us walked around and just enjoyed the sunset over the calm mountain lake.
This year since we have invested in life-jackets to go with the boats, the kids also used them for swimming and ventured clear across the lake. Here they are standing on a grassy little island on the other side of the lake.
The time was well spent as we enjoyed being together, contemplating the beauties around us, laughing as we played games and had fun, and filled our lungs with the fresh mountain air. As we hiked around, we came to a few little streams coming into the lake off the mountain. I remember as a child, stopping in such places for a drink of natures perfectly filtered water. I have never tasted anything so good in my life when it comes to water. I wish we could still do that....
Back at camp we did some art and tried some new painting techniques. This year we worked with oil pastels and paint thinner to create our pictures. It was a fun medium to work with. Below you can see some of the art that we produced.
With everyone together we wanted to celebrate Chad's birthday. I had packed what we needed to make a dream pie, but when I went to make it I realized that I had forgotten to bring a pie plate. Thankfully I had a large frying pan that served the purpose very well. It was a delicious dessert to have in the lap of nature as we enjoyed the mountains and each other.
We sang happy birthday, enjoyed our pie, and opened presents. It was very fitting, because Chad loves the mountains, and so I love to celebrate his birthday when we are there. It is the perfect setting for his birthday!
One of the activities that we enjoyed again this year, was breaking pinata's. Charity created a bunny this year for that purpose. She didn't have time to paint it before we left home, so we packed the painting supplies, and she decorated it in camp. She made it so cute it was almost sad to crack it open.
I decided that I wanted to manage the height of the pinata. It was a hoot. I had so much fun trying to trick those guys, especially the men. We played and played, it was a very good game! Of course the sweet treat at the end helped, but you know, next year, I'm going to have to be sure to fill that thing with chewy candies because all the ring pops and hard candies had been hit so many times that they were little more than powder in their wrappers!
We also enjoyed hiking and exploring together. As we walked around the campsite I noticed the sun coming down perfectly on this rock I couldn't resist taking pictures of my children and such a beautiful setting.
You might notice that Breanna has a little sling shot that she is carrying around. The kids enjoyed trying to hit trees as they walked by. Another popular activity was the BB gun. We were camped in a site with a steep hill to one side which made it perfect to set up our target there without any fear of hitting anyone walking by. I think there were a lot of little green BB's left in the bush, though we did try to shoot them into the target that actually gathers them for you. There were lots of activities to do, and no chance of getting bored on this trip!
One activity I brought along for myself, was the wedding book. I had Alisha help me a little and then before we broke camp, I assembled the binder-cover in her wedding colors.
Charity discovered a really cool tee-pee someone had made. This is something that if the kids can find enough poles and a good spot, they almost always put something like this together as well. This year we just enjoyed somebody else's creativity.
As we left the campground, we stopped in town to do one more hike together as a family. This time it was a short but well marked trail that took us up to an old mine called the Miners Path. There was a little waterfall up there too. It was very pretty and fun to explore one last time before leaving the area.
As we hiked around we even came across some horses. Talk about a bonus for my horse lover, Melodee! Before leaving, we played a little in the water park, doing our best NOT to get wet since we were loading up into the vehicle right away.
This last hike was unique. As we began the hike, we noticed a group that looked quite familiar to us. It took a couple of minutes, but we recognized them as the Bly family... cousins! What a small but wonderful world!!!
This was a wonderful week, and with all that family time in such a beautiful setting, summer was begun right. I feel so blessed to be able to have such rich and satisfying experiences with the people I love so very much. They are my richest source of joy. In fact, seeing their joy and happiness, adds to my own. What a blessing family is and the experiences of today will become the treasured memories of tomorrow, rich and full of love and happiness.
