Antelope Island Bison Roundup

Every November the park rangers at Antelope Island round up the bison, give them immunizations, and take count of the animals there for their records.  Brian, the kids, my parents, and his parents have all been before, but this was the first year Isabel and I have been able to attend (we always seem to have dance rehearsal conflicts this time of year).

Ann Evans used to be one of our neighbors many years ago when we lived in Kearns and she works for the state and gets us the VIP tour every year.  (She was also the one that got me a job at This is the State Park many years ago.  It was one of my favorites.)

We had a rare opportunity to go in the corral with them and chase the buffalo down.  It was cool but a little scary too.  Those buffalo are SOOO big, and they've been known to turn and go after you, so you need to be prepared to climb the fence if they come after you.  Yikes!  I'm pretty sure that if I had a fight with one of those bison, I would lose!

Isabel was thrilled because they were just talking about the Great Salt Lake, Antelope Island, and bison in her social studies unit in 4th grade.  She took back some buffalo hair to her teacher and it was a great hit.

It was the first time we'd all been to the Great Salt Lake together.  How could that be?  It was a great teaching/learning opportunity for us all.

Summer Traditions

The Family: A Proclamation to the World states that wholesome family recreation is important in building successful families. I know that by creating traditions that bring us closer to God, we can strengthen family bonds, fortify commitment to religion, and teach important principles.

"Who must know the way to make a proper home,

A quiet home, a kosher home?

Who must raise the family and run the home,

So Papa's free to read the holy books?

The Mama, the Mama! Tradition!

The Mama, the Mama! Tradition!"

I've been singing the song about "TRADITION!" from Fiddler in the Roof in my head all day. That play is about a father of five daughters who vows to protects his family's ideals and traditions despite outside worldly influences. Oh, how I can relate to that.

I believe in family traditions. I love them. I need them.

And for me, one of my most prized, sweetest family memories of my childhood is our summer trips to Bear Lake. I often think about the time up there at the lake, and how happy I was to be with my family.

And so I couldn't be happier when after our most recent trip to Bear Lake over Labor Day weekend, when we were driving home I asked the kids their favorite vacation we'd ever been on. Joey said, "I think it might have been this one!" They love Bear Lake as much as I do.

Here are some of our Bear Lake TRADITIONS:

Games--We often gather around the table to play games. This trip my dad taught Joey to play Chess. He's such a great grandpa.

Homemade rootbeer--my mom's specialty, and everyone's beverage of choice!

Time on the lake. Clean. Beautiful. Warm. Okay not warm, but still clean and beautiful.

Tubing--We were able to meet up with the Kopayghoras who were also up at Bear Lake for an afternoon.

Playing on the beach

The kids bury their dad every year. I always smile at this, because I remember burying my dad as a kid too.

Spending quality time together. This is my sanity. Life is so busy. I came home from this Bear Lake trip feeling completely rejuvinated!

Digging in the sand...

...while being constantly interrupted by Mom, petitioning for another picture!

Wakeboarding, waterskiing, wake surfing (our new discovery of this summer), and knee boarding

We always go get our picture taken up the canyon after church on Sunday.

Riding the four-wheelers

Reading a good book.

More late night games.

Hikes

Golf

And LOTS of food. Too much food. (Is there such a thing?) As a cooking sidenote: I made this peach cobbler on Sunday afternoon. I forgot to bring up a can up Sprite, a key ingredient in my opinion to give it a nice fluffy texture. So I poured a can of Black Cherry soda over the top before cooking. Pretty, and delicious.

None of us spend much time primping or bothering with hair up at the cabin. Brian was the exception to that this year.

*Have you been to Bear Lake?*

*What is your most memorable tradition/vacation from your childhood?*
*What traditions are you creating with your families now?*