I wish I wrote

This. Written by my sister, Tara.

I love that when we go to Priest Lake we are forced to be together as a family without cell phones or the internet or TV or interruptions from things that cause my life to be busy unnecessarily.

I love getting to the point on East Shore Road where you can finally see the lake and the sky opens up in front of you.

I love the way the trees are so tall that when you are walking through the forest you can't see the sky. Speaking of trees, I love the smell of the forest and the moss and the pine needles and the rocks and yes, I even think the rocks have a smell.

I love the crunchy noise that the car makes when you turn down the driveway. It's like the final sound that needs to happen before you can start your vacation. I even like hearing other peoples cars making the crunchy noise when they get to the cabin. It means that everyone is going to rush outside to see who's arriving to give them hugs, grab their bags and welcome them to the lake.

I love Dad's shed collection. I love that he thinks it's fun to go hiking in the woods to find something that is like a nail clipping to some people but is a treasure to him.

I love the deck. I love the memories of bubbles and the hot tub and the rocking chairs that multiply like rabbits every summer. I love the railing and that we can see through the bars (you have to hand it to Bruce on that one) and I love the weather vane by the hot tub that spins when it's windy. I love the picnic tables and the white chairs and I love that we can cook on the barbecue every night for dinner and then eat on paper plates and it seems like a feast.

I love walking through the front door of the cabin every time I get there and seeing someone sitting in the big chair in the corner. I think it's hilarious that it would be such a coveted spot considering it doesn't look out on the lake. In fact, I think the reason why it's such a "spot" is because the person sitting there has a view of everyone who is in the cabin. Don't you love that we all want to have that view.

Speaking of the people. I love that when we are at the lake we can now make it a week without a major "discussion" of our "opinions" of what is right or wrong. I'll leave that at that.

I love the food at the lake. We have our traditions and I wouldn't change a thing. Sometimes I think we run out of days to cook all the things that we want to make. You can't go to the lake without steak, salmon, huckelberry pancakes, taco salad, cinnamon rolls (although we managed to miss them this last time) or smores around the fire. The list goes on but I'll get too hungry.

I love the duvets on the beds and how Dad has extra wood under the box springs on the top end of the beds so that your heads are a little higher than your feet for proper blood flow while you sleep.

I love how cool the basement feels even during the heat of the day.

I love watching my kids becoming so independent as they learn to kayak, motorcycle, and even shoot bee-bee guns but at the same time I appreciate the concern from my brother that they might get hurt. I promise I will try to keep them alive.

I love the fire-pit and that the giant tree didn't crush it. I think it say's a lot about Dad's rock stacking skills that the entire thing didn't go exploding into the lake under the weight of the tree.

I love the dock. It's going to be strange sharing it with our neighbors. I hope they get used to the hustle and bustle of kids jumping off the dock and screaming as they hit the cold water in June, bouncing on the water toys, throwing water balloons, blowing bubbles, laying out on the mattress, and yelling at people who drive by too close.

I love the storms and the power of the lake when the waves pick up. What would a summer at the lake be without a big storm. You have to have stories to tell and this year's storm topped them all. We will be pointing out the root balls of the trees that topples for years to come I'm sure.

I love the quiet of the time just after bedtime when the kids are asleep and we can sit around the living room reading our books or more recently working on our computers.

I love that in a weeks time we can take over 2000 pictures. I will never be able to get caught up on my scrapbooking as long as we go to Priest Lake. I give up.

I love that we have been going to the lake as long as I can remember and that my kids will never have a time in their lives when they can remember without the lake.

I love that my sisters will take their vacation time and their husbands vacation time to come to the lake to spend their time with the rest of us.

I love that the lake provides us a place that we can continue to grow closer together as a family even when time and distance can pull us apart. The lake gives us time uninterrupted time to be together and just be.