Priest Lake the second time around was a dream come true once again. We had the kids for a few days and then were granted four kid free days by Grandma and Papa who took the kids back to Spokane to play for a few days. It was a complete luxury to be able to do anything that we wanted on our own time without having to think about keeping two kids alive, fed, and happy. THANK YOU Grandma and Papa.
Our time with the kids was spent playing on the beach, taking boat rides,catching frogs, digging in the dirt, eating treats on the porch, fishing off the dock, and just soaking up the best place on earth for kids to be kids to be in the summer months. Graham was like a little sea turtle crawling towards the water at any chance he got and trying to much on the sand. He'd play in the water until his lips would start to lose color and his limbs were freezing, and even then had to be dragged out against his will. Grady has become quite adventurous in water and liked to walk out until he couldn't see his shoes anymore and then throw himself in the water. Both boys LOVED their time with Grandma and Papa. Grandma played about two hundred and fifty games of hide and go seek even when Grady would forget to find her having been distracted by something and Papa and Grady spent special time in "forest II" and even shopped for and put on a wonderful little hors d'oeuvres party on the boat complete with catered service and all.
Our time alone was spent with long, quiet mornings fishing with coffee and cinnamon rolls on the boat, exploring new territory on a day hike to Lookout Mountain, meals out at almost every resort around the lake, a tour de all things huckleberry, a wonderful anniversary dinner at Elkins, lots of time reading/sleeping on the dock, a few glasses of wine, lots of time playing fetch with Bella off the dock, swimming off the boat, games of banagrams (the only time during the whole year Chris will play games with me), good conversations about our dreams and our fears, and just an overall wonderful few days together. Quiet time together is something that is such an anomaly for us. I think we both needed it more than either of us will ever admit.
I didn't take for granted one single minute of the time we had together as a family or as a couple. I look forward to this special week each and every year and it did not disappoint this year.
As you can see in a few of the bazillion pictures I am posting, the lake was smokey for a few days. It has been a bad fire year at Priest and in the surrounding area. The area is still threatened by wildfire so we are saying our payers.
