- We were thoroughly entertained: fourwheelers, puzzles, Nertz games, Twister, Diamondbacks baseball on tv, hiking, and various encounters with wildlife (see story below).
- We were well fed! Thanks to Suzanne and Ali's genius menu planning and cooking, we all gained 5 lbs and went home saying mmmmmm!
- We laughed alot! Between the kids saying and doing hilarious things, the adults staying up too late, and the over abundance of caffeine and junk food - there was a great deal of fun had by all.
- We came within 4 feet of a huge black bear! This had to be the scariest experience of my life! Mitch, Dallin, Hayden (Dallin's friend), and I were hiking in the mountains, just enjoying the amazing scenery and talking casually about the do's and don'ts of bear attacks, when all of the sudden Hayden yells "Bearrrr!!!!!!" "Run!" Mitch was in the back, so he ushers us all around him to go first and to be honest, I did not even look for or see the bear. I just turned and ran the other direction as fast as my fat belly could go. Sheer fear and adrenaline took over and I thought of nothing else but putting distance between me and that bear. I was terrified! We ran for what felt like an eternity back to the fourwheelers at the bottom of the mountain. And raced back to the cabin to spill our scary story. Come to find out, we did everything you're not supposed to: looked it in the eye, yelled, panicked, then ran. But I must say, in that situation, you would probably do the same, it was so scary!
- There was a second encounter with the bear! Being the intelligent men that they are, Mitch, Steve, and Scott decided later that same night to go see if the bear was still there. This time they took a video camera to document their adventure, you know, in case they didn't come back alive or something. And of course they told us wives that they went to look for Elk (but the minute they left we knew where they'd gone and started figuring out our life insurance policies). They came back with 10 minutes of footage of this huge bear with proof positive that we all owe our lives to some serious heavenly intervention and one poor elk. The bear was there all day and maybe all week because he had a huge elk to eat and guard. That is why he did not even think about making a move when he saw us. I will post that video as soon as Ali gets it up on youtube - prepare to have a newfound fear of the great outdoors.
- And last but not least, Arden and Rachel got some serious BFF time. They were so stinkin' cute playing in Rachel's tent and giggling, crawling around in the little cabin cubbies and giggling, sharing candy and giggling, did I mention they were giggling. It was seriously adorable to watch them enjoy eachother so much and laugh so hard.
Yeah for the cabin! What a fun trip we had! Thanks Searle's and Rose's for coming and showing us a good time. And thanks Grandma for being so generous with your cabin. Love all around!
