Priest Lake.

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huck·le·ber·ry –noun, plural -ries.
1. the dark-blue or black edible berry of any of various shrubs belonging to the genus Gaylussacia of the heath family.
2. a shrub bearing such fruit.

Huckleberries are definitely a Northwest thing. They remind me of the lake, my family, and summer fun. I don't really even know where to begin. We had such a great week.

Fri: I had a crazy 3 hours at work. I had to be in Greenwich for the morning, then zipped home on the train to catch our 4:45pm flight. There was terrible traffic on the way to the airport and our cab driver apparently thought he was playing drums on the gas & brake. I thought I was going to throw up. We ended up sitting on the runway for 2 hours at JFK thanks to a broken down plane on the runway. We made up time in the air, but still arrived to SLC for our connecting flight to Spokane 20 minutes after it was scheduled to depart. The miracle: they held it. The even better part: our luggage somehow made it, despite being on the ground for less than 10 minutes. We were the last people on the plane. Mike actually had to run down the jetway {no one was at the gate} and ask them to let us on. I was still stuck on the arriving plane {we didn't sit next to eachother and I was stuck in the back next to a gum-smacking 15 year old who talked to her friends 4 rows up the entire flight}. They said that they wouldn't wait for me. Mike wouldn't have that, and they waited. I just about cried with stress/happiness at having made the flight.

Pictures from the storm {that is our trampoline blowing away}.

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We met my mom & Harrison at the airport. Kevin and Joanna got in within a few minutes of us. Joanna was returning from a trip to Africa and Delta had lost her luggage. Bummer. We all made our way up to the lake and luckily, I over packed {per the usual} and had clothes to share. Thanks to a massive wind storm that evening, there were trees & electrical wires down all over the road. Kevin was an excellent driver, and we made it safely to the cabin around 1:30am. No one in Bonner County had electricity, but my Dad had the foresight to buy a large generator recently. We lose electricity quite often in Northern Idaho. Anyway- Almost immediately after getting to the cabin, all of the sisters jumped on the big fluffy bed in my parents room and proceeded to giggle, refusing to go to bed. Heaven.

Sat: Thanks to the windstorm, the huge 150+ foot tree in front of the cabin was pulled up at the roots and was leaning dangerously towards the cabin. The loggers came in the morning and handed over an $8,500 estimate. As soon as Christopher arrived, he decided to do it himself. He's building his own house & has apparently felled {this is actually a word} many trees {in addition to building houses, etc}. We all stared in amazement {aka fear} as Christopher pulled out his chainsaw. The tree came down exactly where it should have. Had it not, there could have been tremendous damage to the cabin, the fire pit, the cute little grove of trees by the water... Nothing was damaged. Christopher is essentially superman. We're really lucky that in general, the cabin, boats, etc. were not harmed during the storm. There were multiple cabins around the lake who suffered severe damage from falling trees.

Tara and I went running in the afternoon. Running in a forest is much better than running at Central Park, although I don't have to worry about bears at the reservoir. That evening, we had salmon for dinner. I love fish. Mike ate it, and even enjoyed it. This was big for a guy who doesn't appreciate food that swims. He was a really good sport.

Sun: Parker gave us the Sunday School lesson in the morning {his talk on baptism that he gave in primary a few weeks ago}. He's quite articulate for an 8 year old. I love church at the lake. :)

We took a long trip to Upper Priest via the thoroughfare Sunday afternoon. Upper Priest is all protected national forest. No wakeboarding, no cabins, nothing. It's gorgeous. It takes about half an hour to go through the thoroughfare {sort of like a connecting river- no wakes allowed}. Parker and my mom decided to kayak their way through. I think this makes Parker {8} the youngest person ever to venture via kayak on his own.

Speaking of Parker- he's working on scouting, and decided that since he can tie a Bowline Knot, he should henceforth be known as the family superhero. He chose the name "Bowline Man" and went so far as to making a tshirt and aluminum mask. After much discussion, we finally convinced him that "BM" was perhaps not the best choice, as many people would think that he was "Poop Man". After briefly considering "Knot Man", we eventually decided upon "Rope Man". We argued that "RM" would be appropriate in later years as well.

Mon: Monday was our first "exciting" day. Spencer is five, and rides a motorcycle {yes, a real one} with the big boys like he is 15. He had an unfortunate spill into a large ditch and came back to the cabin with a large gash in his chin & a sore jaw. Tara & Kevin took him to the ER in Newport {1 hour away, and not exactly a metropolitan hotspot}. They stitched up his chin, and sent him on to Spokane {yet another hour away} with a broken jaw to see the Oral Surgeon. His condyle was completely broken off. He refused to take medicine and would not admit to being in pain. The kid is tough. They decided that they did not have to operate and sent him back to the lake. He came home bandaged and a little melancholy. The first thing he said {through clenched teeth} when he got into the cabin: "Joanna, did you get your bag yet?" He's a sweet boy.

Cavanaugh Bay.

Since Tara was the master of the kitchen all week & planned all of the meals, we went to dinner down the lake at Cavanaugh Bay while she & Kevin were getting their son fixed in various towns. We had a nice dinner outside, right on the beach. The highlight of the night- Harrison and Ellie decided to eat mayonnaise directly out of the packet. I really, really hate mayonnaise, but I love Priest Lake sunsets and the view from the restaurant was beautiful.

Tue: Mike and I woke up early to go for a run. Kevin was up with Harrison, looking somewhat exhausted, so we took Harrison in the jog stroller. I've never used one before {clearly}. Missy- I can't believe you run with Avery every day. It was HARD. I thought I was going to die on the hills. I think I would be in much better shape if I had an extra 40 lbs. to push around for four miles every day. We were back for about an hour when Harrison {2} decided it would be fun to shove a rubber needle cap up his nose, far enough into his nasal cavity that neither the dentist {my dad} nor the endodontist {Kevin} could remove it with the tweezers. Tara called her doctor in Portland hoping for a miracle solution. No such luck. For the 2nd day in a row, Tara made her way to the ER in Newport. I went with her to provide moral support {and to hold Harrison's arms down when they were finally able to pull it out}. Newport, by the way, is a strange place. The population is less than 2,000. There is a Safeway, gas station, one stop light and a McDonald's. That's about it. There was a little boy in the waiting room next to us with a fish hook through his ear. The doctor Harrison saw may have not been a "real" doctor. We were suspicious. The upside- we stopped at a small place on the way back to the cabin to get huckleberry shakes. Yummy.

Elizabeth & me.

The Holdaway's {Elizabeth's family}

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Wed: 4th of July. I spent a lot of time on the dock. I finally finished East of Eden (hooray for Steinbeck- I loved it) and started Pride & Prejudice. The electricity finally came back on, which meant that the electrical outlets were functioning {the generator does not power everything}. All the girls decided to blow dry their hair so that we could look pretty in our 4th of July pictures. As soon as we were showered and just about ready, we remembered that we were supposed to go on a girls wakeboarding trip. So- back into {wet & cold} swimsuits. My turn came around and the water wasn't too cold, which was a nice surprise. However- the first time I got up, I quickly won the award for Year's Best Faceplant. Apparently I didn't even let go of the rope, and smacked my face against the water. Hard. It felt like cement, and I sat there floating on my back trying to determine what bones in my back and face were broken. Mike dove in to save me {I have enough back/neck problems as it is- he was worried} and I sat there and just cried. Kevin pulled me out of the water. My bottom and top teeth weren't lining up. Diagnosis from the dentist & endodontist: Sprained jaw, not broken. ER trip #3 would have been fun, but I took some prescription strength Ibuprofen in lieu of a hospital trip. I was depressed to miss out on 4th of July food {no chewing for me- I tried to smoosh baked beans with my tongue}. Oh- and the best part- even with the wakeboarding and crying, Tara pointed out that my Loud Lash didn't budge. Thanks, MAC. :)

Our {okay, Kevin's- he orchestrated the whole thing} firework display was spectacular. Kevin, Ryan & Christopher set up on the dock while the rest of us went out on the water to watch safely from the boats. The show lasted about 20 minutes, complete with a soundtrack provided by Ryan {he owns a DJ company in Utah} and blasted on Tara & Kevin's boat stereo. It was so good that our neighbors all came out to watch & cheer from their docks. Oh- and my new favorite song is Jason Mraz's I'm Yours. Apparently it's hard to find, but Ryan gave me the mp3. Love it.

The Hudsons {Christopher's Family}

Thur: We woke up at 6:30am {the sun comes up around 4:30am- not a big deal} to head to Spokane & the airport. We stopped for breakfast/lunch {a chocolate milkshake for me} before heading to Grandma Hudson's for a quick visit. We were at the airport 55 minutes before our flight took off, and at our gate within plenty of time. I love the Spokane airport {Boo for JFK, long lines, delayed flights & traffic}. Ryan & Elizabeth's flight took off 10 minutes before ours, so we met up in SLC for a few minutes before we said goodbye.

Grandma Hudson

The lake was perfect. I love that clothing options generally consists of pj's {morning}, swimsuit {all day} and some form of sweats {evening}. I loved being with all of my sisters, but missed Patrick, Kera & Andrew {plus Cameron & Haidyn}. I loved being active & I think Mike did, too. Mike was a great uncle and spent a lot of time on the wave runner with the boys, wakeboarding, motorcycling and playing the Wii with Spencer since he couldn't do much of anything else.

Mike on the wakeboard, & on a motorcycle ride with my dad up in the mountains above the cabin. No bear sighting though. Bummer.

Ryan, Mike & Kevin playing Wii.

My favorite pictures that I took of Ellie.

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The Edwards {Tara's Family}