Finally, An Ackerson Family Reunion!! This is the first reunion we have been able to attend since 2008! Allen and Missy were in charge this year and picked Bear Lake as the place for fun. We camped at a group campsite close to the beach. We spent an entire day at the beach with a boat, water-weenie, food, and lots of sand to entertain all. It had been years since I had been to Bear Lake and it was even more blue and beautiful than I remembered.
My family had a time-share at Bear Lake when we were growing up but I was a baby during this time and only have a few vague memories of going. We would always hike the “Limber Pine Trail” together so we did it again on this trip but with 45 people instead of the original 11 (we all missed the “little baby brother” Paul). It felt good to be back in the Utah mountains.
My brother Allen went above and beyond by being in charge of the boat all day. He was in charge of making sure everyone got enough turns and had a fun time. He was safe and followed the rule of only going 15 while pulling the water weenie (wink, wink). Who new you could swallow so much water while being flipped off one of those? I was proud of Charlie for taking a ride on it and even Lucy got to go on a short little “safe” ride. Matthew was content playing with it in the shallow end while it was unattached from the boat. I figured the water would be freezing but it was actually perfect.
There is nothing better than sand at a beach!
Conrad was a gem during the reunion. He got lots of attention, especially from Aunt Missy. A big thanks to sweet Aunt Mandy for warning me that it would be freezing at night so he would need something warm. She came to the rescue with a couple of sweet “Ralphie” suits that Conrad and his cousin Eli wore. During all the cousin fun I discovered Conrad’s first tooth broke through. I was a little shocked because he was just under 4 months! (By the time we made it back to Maryland he had another tooth to join the first one)
The Boys LOVED the fire and spent much of their time around the pit. Before we left for Utah, we checked out a book out of the library called Are we there Yet? A Journey Around Australia by Allison Lester. The book is about a family who travels around all of Australia in their pop-up trailer. Matthew became completely fixated with pop-up trailers and even more so when I told him that his Aunt Nora had a pop-up and was bringing it to the reunion. It was already set up when we got there but he was right there to watch them take it down.
Missy was a wonderful planner and would write up these cute schedules for us every day. Lucy was a little wild like usual and erased a few of Missy’s schedules, hence the warning. My sister Vanessa made the best French Toast I have ever eaten in my entire life. I still can’t stop thinking about the French Toast and the yummy potatoes too. Oh and the spiral sliced hotdogs (supplied by Nora) made by Tom. The pin is going around pinterest and it really works!
The kids put on an impromptu talent show, which was fun to watch. The kids also did a craft making little coloring cases from old DVD cases (thanks again Missy). We also played the newly-wed game with all the siblings and their spouses which lead to lots of laughs (my brothers would rather clean the toilet than go shopping with their wives??). I also can’t forget to mention the Raspberry shake from La Beau’s Drive-In. I hope to return to Bear Lake just for another the shake!
Overall we had a great time with our families and were thankful to take part in two family reunions! When we returned to Maryland, Charlie came to me with this brilliant plan, “Mom, I know how we can live in Utah. We’ll drive our car out there and just drive around and stay with different people!” It sounds good to me!
