Under The Big Top

The Hurd Family Reunion at Bear lake was just like a three ringed circus!  Willie the clown even joined us for the week providing hours of entertainment for the kids while they attended "clown school".   The refreshments for the week included an unlimited supply of snow cones and cotton candy!

In the morning while the kids were occupied my dad and his sisters and mom and dad had a chance to catch up.  They sorted through old family photos, putting names and dates with faces. We had a good time reconnecting with our cousins as well.

When clown school was out we headed over to lake.  The kids loved digging in the sand, finding shells on the shore, canoeing and kayaking in the lake, and playing in the water.  

The entertainment on night two was Karaoke!  The Armstrong sisters did a soulful rendition of Cher's Do You Believe in Life After Love.  Brynne sang Go Diego Go, Pete rocked Vanilla Ice and the boys brought down the house with YMCA.

The highlight however was our last night at the circus, featuring all our little ones, aunt Bev the MC and Willie the clown.  My little Brynne started off the show with this number!

In between the kids acts Uncle Bob showed off his juggling skills, and David wowed the crowd with his mad skills on the pogo stick!

When the tents came down it was raining and 45 degrees outside! We were ready to head back home to bask under the hot California sun!  See ya next year...

Thrill Rides

Any day on the lake is a good day.  I love sitting in the back of the boat, surrounded by family and friends, the smell of crisp fresh air and a hint of coconutty sun screen, music playing, the wind blowing in my hair.

Some rides are spent holding the flag , watching as others take their turns behind the boat. 

The youngest ones usually falling  asleep,

While the oldest ones battle it out for who goes next, 

and begging the driver to make big waves that either come into the boat or launch the person behind it high into the air. 

We all love jumping into the water and cooling off between turns.

The thrill rides are the ones at the end of the rope with the back of the boat in sight. Over the years I have enjoyed that ride in so many different ways. The first was wearing two skis starting when I was 7 years old and wearing just one a few years after that. Some like it best strapped to a knee board.  

My youngest kids love being pulled on our big inflatable we call "the taco".  My favorite are the ones where someone else is out there with you!

But really, any ride is a good ride!

This summer we learned how to ride the wave behind the boat, 

sometimes without the rope! 

My kids even tried this ride, 

some with a little assistance from our good friend Aaron.  

I love driving home after the sun has set, muscles a little sore, cheeks a little pink, 

heads a little sleepy, 

faces tight from smiling,

 and relationships a little closer. 

Little Swimmers

Our house is full of little swimmers! Brynne was beaming after her last swim lesseon as her swim teacher Alex Hansen, who Bynnne called Alex Handsome, called for the attention of everyone at the swim school. "Ladies and Gentleman, boys and girls Brynne is our newest champion swimmer!"

Garrett and Drew were in a swim league this summer. Swimming is a sport that I have never been exposed to. It was a bit intimidating the first meet trying to figure out what was going on and how things worked. Garrett and Drew didn't mind a bit they had such a great time out there and even ended up placing in a few of their events! It was such a fun thing for them, and they even had a few friends who were on their little team!

Kylie, Garrett,and Zach

Drew getting started

And here is Garrett during the 25 m butterfly.

And as a complete side note, this bigger swimmer learned a few things this summer too. Those of you who have been following my blog since last summer, may remember my encounter at the pool as quite disastrous. For those of you who want a good laugh go back and read my post called I Have no Skills. Well I"ll have you know that I actually have ventured back into the gym pool and do so on a fairly regular basis now, and I met a guy at the gym who taught me how to properly breathe, and I learned that the flip around mermaid thingy actually has a real name. Its called a flip turn. What do ya know, I wasn't even too far off on the name... Anyway I saw what it is they are really doing under there and learned how to do it. No, I can't quite really do it yet, but it will come! Maybe there really is a triathlon in my future. We'll see, but for now I'm just proud of myself for finally buying a pair of goggles!