I lied

I did. I said the last post was a buttload of pictures. But this is the *real* buttload of pictures. Hang on to your knickers.

We just got back from a family reunion at Bear Lake. It was lovely.

It took us about 18 hours of driving to get where we were going. We broke it into two days. A jaunt down to Medicine Hat "the Drumheller way," and then down to the lake.

Claire enjoyed the trip.


Sometimes you have to resort to crazy ways to keep yourself entertained.


We played eye spy, did puppet shows, had sing alongs, made forts and had lots of laughs and lots of stops along the way.

The girls sleeping in the car. Thankfully this happened quite a bit during our trip.



We were lucky enough to stay at the Jensens new place in Medicine Hat. The stars aligned and the Thompsons were in town at the same time, so we had an impromptu JeThompTon extravaganza.


Our family decided to rent a house for everyone to stay in and it was a great idea. Here's a picture of it. Guess how much it was selling for? $399 000. That's right. We all had been guessing 1.2 million or so. A house that costs that much in Edmonton does *not* look like this and is *not* overlooking a beautiful lake. Sheesh.


However, there was one drawback. THE DRIVEWAY. This was the scariest driveway of my life. Turning off the tiny, windy road down this was like going off the edge of a cliff. I don't know how, but Ryan managed to back down several times without killing us all. Amazing.


Our lovely bedroom.


Lake view from the house.


The steep winding road to get to the house.


Ryan and I on the deck when we first arrived, after driving 13 hours in one day.



As usual, we had tons of fun together whether it was structured activities or just lounging around. But it wouldn't be a Patterson reunion without games. Somehow Uncle Mike manages to cram this many games into their car every time.


Grandpa and Madeline having a serious chat, enjoying the beautiful weather.


Ry and Rob contemplating life and music.


Following Grandma's tradition of waste not, want not, we tried to only use one cup each. Some of the names inscribed on these cups were quite creative.


Because we got back late from our seadooing, we missed the scavenger hunt. That put Ryan in an ideal position to be the judge of the remaining 3 groups. Nola was very attentive to his comforts but that still didn't help her team win. :)


Maddie with Mel's birthday boa.


Joel and Claire spending some quality time together. He's so sweet to her.


Madeline helping Grandma make birthday cakes. We celebrated Mel, Tori, Brandon and Carrie's birthdays while there.


Playing Family History Jeopardy on the deck. Good job Nola!


Madeline found a furry friend in the house. Meet Teddy.



Last time we were at the lake, Grandma introduced us to the world of the Pickleville Playhouse and Juanito Bandito. We were happy to see that this year they were doing a sequel of sorts.

It was hilarious!


Us at the play.


We had a ton of fun at the beach and on the lake, despite many of our white Canadian bodies being scorched by the sun (especially Daren, Joel and Ryan)

Ryan and I at the beach.


Madeline and her trusty floaty crab. I swear she didn't know what to do. She was so excited and kept flitting from one activity to another, staying about 5 seconds at each one.


The boys sharing a seadoo, Ryan Greg and Rob.


Madeline hanging out with Ryan and Daren.


Where are my feet mom?


The girls playing with the parachute.


Ryan wakeboarding like a pro.


Claire enjoying the beach. She even fell asleep.


Claire and Ryan at the beach.


Brandon, Steph, Ryan and I on the seadoos. GEEKY TOURIST PHOTO!


One last family picture before heading back home.


We all have our cheesy jokes about Butte Montana (BUTT...ha ha). But we had a fun time staying there. It definitely helps break up the long drive home.

Hotel bed jumping!


Having fun in the hotel pool.


When we got home, we expected that Madeline would be glad to have her own bed back, but no. She kept asking if we could go back to the hotel.

It was a wonderful trip with wonderful people. Did I mention it was wonderful? It was wonderful and we loved it. This was definitely our kind of camping. And it was wonderful. :)