Idaho Priest Lake...Year 3.

Traditional Family Photo

Big Girl greeting the lake...

When we arrived at our cabin this year our neighbors were already outside enjoying the evening…first we discovered we both attended SDSU and almost automatically came the question, “So how long have you been coming to Elkins?”  For us it is our 3^rd year…our neighbors in cabin #4, 15 years.  Their son happens to be 15 as well and we all realize silently that Ally too, has been an “Elkins” kid…and maybe if we’re lucky we too will sit around in 12 years meeting young families that also have been privileged enough to discover such a slice of heaven!

Our travel this year was different then last, we flew in the Pilatus – it was a joy to pack what I liked and seatbelt the kids in their PJ’s, leaving right from French Valley and arriving in Coeur’ D lane in a mere 3 and half hours…flight was great…a few forming thunder clouds and smooth sailing…Ally even showed off her comfort by dancing her Mickey Mouse Club House dance…this is something I usually enjoy while Ben’s at work and Natalie is already at school but this morning she rocked it at 28,000 feet!

We packed nicely into a rented jeep Cherokee and headed off to Sandpoint, Idaho.  Here we stopped for the second year in a row at Arby’s and then I filled whatever room was left with groceries…another leisurely hour drive and a premature moose sighting!...and we turned into Elkins’ worn dirt road.

There is a weird lead up to this “vacation”.  It’s not like we look forward to it like an exotic adventure or a tropical vacation filled with constant entertainment.  Idaho is more of a dose of family time.  Something we need, we know it will be good once we are there but the weeks then days leading up to it are more like preparation for an important event that is needed…no one “needs” Hawaii but a few short girls and one tired mom and dad may argue that Idaho isn’t so much a luxury as it is more an investment in our overall good.

The first glimpse of the lake, the trees, the haphazard cabins…they have become so familiar and yet a memory so easily forgotten when we leave.  It is like breathing in a familiar smell or seeing someone you have missed for a long time.  You don’t realize how much it’s missed until you return.

So here we are…first stop the swing set.  I hope after many years these repetitive swing set pictures will be favorites.  This year is Indy’s first, and we learn loads of families bring their fury friend…we sort of feel like newborn parents a little nervous and very unprepared.  We note how other canine lovers bring certain leads or gear to make the week at a sandy lake more tolerable.  Or maybe Indy will visit a pet retreat…after all he is a terrier and he is the only terrier we’ve seen here.  But he is water dog and for that he is enjoying himself as much as the rest of us.

Family meals and ice cream, board games and finished books…a trip in a category all it’s own. I sit on the porch, our first day accomplished and wonder what this year brings?

Ally Bally at 3 and a half...

 Look at you...the littlest princess in the family.  You truly are your own person and have your own likes and dislikes and your own personality...

 You are silly...always doing something then saying, "That funny daddy?"  You like to include "stinky underwear" in every joke...you copy your sister and think everyone should laugh at you!

 I love looking at these everyday pictures of you and remember how much fun you are at 3 and a half...you are a little special something that makes doing everything a second time worth doing right!

I love your little puppy smile and all your antics, you make being 3 look like so much fun!

Summer @ the pool

It still exists...yes, The PUBLIC POOL!  In fact we have a really cool one.  This summer the girls are big enough for big kid swim which means deep end, water slide and yes, big stick popsicles.  Today we met our friends Jillian and Brayden and spent our first 45 minutes in line waiting for families to leave because SURPRISE they are at capacity.Then I paid $18 to get us in...what happened to the .75$ I paid when I was a teenager???

The super cool part of the day was that Natalie passed the swim test...the famous "ask the lifeguard what I have to do to swim on the other side of the buoys" - Yes!  That part of the public pool is still around!

Here is Ally jumping and swimming under...the pool is only about 2 feet here and is perfect for her.

 The X on the band signifies she gets to swim in the deep end!  Those swim lessons sure have paid off!