Bear Lake report

Last week GH and I headed north and spent a few days in Bear Lake, UT with his family. His three sisters and their husbands were all there too, along with the 3.5 grandchildren. (Note: Not that it's a competition or anything, but my kid was the quietest.)

Here are a few trip highlights:

When I was told that we would be "staying in a friend's cabin," I was mentally prepared for, you know, a cabin. The kind with log walls, dead flies in the windowsills, much plaid and other homey furnishings, and perhaps some end tables made from stumps carved in the shape of bears. This thing turned out to be a McMansion up in the hills overlooking the lake. The only nod to "cabin" was the part where the wood paneling around the doorways (like, for instance, the one leading into the master bathroom with its sunken jetted tub) looked slightly rustic. This place was plush, I tell you, with loads of room for everybody.

All the power went out in the valley around 11pm our first night there. By the light of cell phones and iPods we managed to locate the candles and flashlights, which, thank the merciful heavens above, actually existed. Also I turned on the gas fireplace, which worked, and which made me look like a blackout genius. Made me realize that I need to get on the ball with regards to my own apartment's candles/flashlights/matches stash or we could have some unpleasant times ahead.

Sister-in-law K & husband J were visiting from Pittsburgh with their 3-month-old baby. He weighs about 87 pounds and is all cheeks and dimples and baby chuckles. Adorable. I'm pretty sure that baby sweater I knitted for him back on the Hawaii plane could have only fit while he was still in utero. (Note to self: Take possibility of super-advanced Hulk babies into consideration when planning knitted gifts.)

We had access to the swimming pools down near the lake, which was a good thing because the water in Bear Lake was cold enough to make your toes retract into your body and it possibly had ice chunks floating on the surface. Not that I found this out for myself, I just observed other people hobbling rapidly back up from the water's edge, all blue and toe-less. Here's hoping it will warm up a bit in the next month before my side of the family makes the trek up there for our own get-together.

Almost had heart failure at the pool watching a fearless kamikaze red-headed toddler launching himself into the water regardless of whether someone was actually there to catch him. I'm thinking his parents may want to look into a flotation device. I saved his life at one point, and credit such catlike reflexes to my Library Job Which Shouldn't Perhaps Be All About Saving Toddlers From Certain Death and Yet Which Still Very Much Is.

Didn't get sunburned at all! Yay for repeatedly slathering self with SPF Eleventy-Thousand until resembling a flaky ghost! Sure I got some weird "Are they remaking Powder?" looks, but who's laughing now!!!! Also? I love you, Neutrogena Ultra-Sheer Dry Touch Sunblock. And I love Costco (shocker) for selling you in twin packs for cheap.

There was much good food, including Garden City's famed raspberry milkshakes from LaBeau's. Each couple was responsible for a meal and people brought their A-games with things like homemade Cafe Rio salads, Swedish pancakes, and grilled steaks and such. Unfortunately they also invited some white trash relations who showed up with Stoffer's lasagna, frozen garlic bread, and bagged salad. (Me, me, me . . . )

During the course of a "how well do you know your spouse" board game, GH let it slip that I was not necessarily favor of circumcision if our child should be a male child. I think he did this on purpose to drum up support for his own side of the argument, which his b-in-laws were, of course, happy to provide. Lucky for us all, GH's mom shut the friendly discussion down before it could get out of hand. And now the guys can feel free to give GH pitying glances and headshakes like, "Hey dude. You married her."

Aw yeah he did.