The { Hunt } for Old Ephraim

 

My dad has been dreaming of going on a bear hunt for half of the summer and trying to persuade us to go with him for the rest of it.

This isn't just any old bear we were hunting for of course. . . it is the legendary Old Ephraim of bear lake!

We loaded up the machines and set out for our adventure.  Along the way we saw many hidden beautiful places and even got free massages sitting in the back of the razor from all the bumps.  I know, what more could you possibly want.  

After many explored trails, lots of treats and being bathed in dirt we finally found what we were looking for.  The monument for this huge bear who had once lived in bear lake was huge.  They built it as tall as he was and taking my families picture next to it made me laugh a little. I couldn't imagine a bear being that big! 

This all day trip was such a beautiful memory.  It was totally worth it to see my dad grin like a little boy and jog up to the monument that he has been wanting to see for years.

Glad we found your bear dad. . . onto the next great adventure!

{ Fireworks } Extravaganza

 

Like every other American I love to watch fireworks.  I have seen some pretty amazing shows in my day, but to me the end of summer fireworks in Bountiful by Brian's moms house are the best I have seen.

His brother always goes early to get us good seats and the fireworks lasted almost 40 minutes!

I could have watched them all night but my favorite part was when Brian handed me the camera in the car.  "Did you take pictures the whole time", I asked!?

"Yeah, he said grinning. "For your blog.  I knew you would want to blog about this so I tried to get some good pictures you can use."  

I love those moments where I swear both of us are smiling our silly faces off.

I love fireworks, but the fireworks between me and this boy of mine are my favorite I think :)

{ Raspberry } Days

Raspberry days is a long standing Siebenhaar tradition.  This year was a first for Brian and we have never been able to come together before because it is on his birthday weekend.

Festivities include a parade, a night-time boat show, fireworks, contests, and our all time favorite, the craft fair.  We had a great time wandering the booths in search of something fun and quirky to take home. 

We ate so well that we spoiled our dinner that night.  None of us were hungry because of the Navajo tacos, refillable sodas, fresh barbecue, scones, kettle corn and snow cones!  But boy was it delicious.

Happy 24th Birthday Wonderboy!

It is pretty mind boggling to think once upon a time we were 4 and 6 and that it has turned into 24 and 26.  I hardly know where the time goes sometimes.

I still remember you in your ninja turtle jammies coming to wake me up in the morning to go watch mario bros with you.  You have always made me laugh and smile. 

I love that you email me songs that remind you of me, that you are always trying to make us laugh, that you are always trying to be better, that you always have something fun going on, and I love that you are so loved by others.  I love that you would rather have a barbecue at moms than go out for your birthday. 

Thanks for always being so excited to see me and for giving us the biggest hugs. I have so many great memories of you and I am excited to be a part of your future ones. . .

Happy birthday little brother.  You are so loved.

Our first taste of Coronado

So we have these fabulous friends who tell us about their adventures in Coronado every year and how beautiful and amazing it is. 

When we went to visit family in Cali for labor day, we decided to spend a day in Coronado and boy was it not enough!  We should have taken their word for it and planned to stay an extra day.

The beach was so warm and empty and the views were incredible.  While Brian was napping I took a long barefoot walk along the beach just snapping pictures and taking it all in.  It was amazing how close the seagulls let me get to take their pictures too!

We brought some boogie boards but the water was pretty chilly.  That didn't stop me though.  Brian took a gazillion pictures of me out in the waves getting hit again and again.  They are pretty hilarious.  Too hilarious to post on the blog.  You might fall off your chair laughing :)

After we went exploring the hotel del coronado.  We heard some ridiculously cool stories about the hotel from locals and even got to ride in an old fashioned elevator with an operator and cage and everything. 

By the time the sun was setting we had made up our minds we would be back and this time for more than a few hours.  Coronado is truly one of our new favorite places.