Beutler Reunion

We gathered as a full Beutler clan last week for a reunion and to celebrate Mom and Dad Beutler's 50th wedding anniversary!  It seemed like the perfect thing to get together.  We rented a big house at Bear Lake that fit all the families so it was a big party! The cousins loved being together and we all partied until late every night.  We played lots of games and ate a ton of food and enjoyed being with each other.  It's not too often that all the families can be in one place at one time so it was great to have that chance for a few days. 

We took a drive up to Bloomington Lake the first day that we were there and it is such a gorgeous setting.  The water is a tad bit cold but that didn't stop anyone from jumping in.  There's a cool rope swing that we all took turns playing on and doing tricks into the water.  And those that didn't swing just had fun playing near the shore.  It was a hit!

There were lots of arts and crafts for the kids to do during the week and my boys especially liked drawing and making bracelets with the other kids.  Josh and I went for a run each morning and the views along the run were pretty incredible with the big open fields and then the lake behind us.  It was really gorgeous.  

One of the days we spent the whole day at Bear Lake down at Rendezvous Beach.  We rented paddle boards, boogie boards and a water trampoline.  The best thing about Bear Lake is the shallow beach that goes out so far! We played and played and played all day on that beach and I never worried about the kids because it's so shallow and was hardly ever even past their waist.  We played cornhole, the kids buried each other in the sand, hunted for seashells, sunbathed, boogie boarded their little hearts out and soaked up lots and lots of amazing sun.  We could not get enough of that beautiful lake and didn't want to go home when the day was over!

But the whole point in gathering was to celebrate 50 years of this amazing family!  We had a night where we watched slide show of old videos and pictures, told childhood stories and even gave mom and dad a memory book with old pictures and memories written by each of the kids and grandkids.  It was a really special day and definitely the highlight of the week.  They have created an incredible family and passed on so many great traditions and qualities to their children.  I'm so grateful that we got to be together for these few days and remember the life they've had and look forward to more life ahead!