Priest Lake 2008.

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The annual Welcome Bear picture.

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Patrick, Dad & Haidyn.

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Dad loves his Boggle, & he's training the little kids to as well. Unfortunately, I can't play with him anymore since my ability to find 5-letter words is limited in comparison to his (that's all he finds now- he's just that good).

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Paddling. With Kera.

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Mom's cinnamon rolls.

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Mike & a sleeping Harrison (who is really trying hard to stop sucking his thumb).
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The many moods of Ellie.

Races on the road (resulting in only one bloody knee).

Harrison approaching his victory.

At some point during the week, Joanna (or Tara?) said that Mary Kate Olsen says the word prune before getting her picture taken so that her face appears more narrow & her cheekbones more prominent. The result: many prune pictures over the course of the week. Joanna- I know you look drunk, but it's the best I had. :)

Mike & Harrison in the kayak out to East Twin Island (a definite adventure for any three year old).

I finished reading Breaking Dawn. Almost 800 pages later... I didn't love it. I did, however, watch the entire first season of Gossip Girl (& I'm secretly obsessed with it. I may have had a dream about it last night).

Harrison & Tara.

Quincy looking like a super model (or Shiloh Jolie-Pitt).

Mike gave quite the victory yell when he made it to the 100th level of Super Monkey Ball on his iPhone. I told him to put it on his resume.

Post-rain.

Dad on his dock, looking at his lake.

Danner is a good dog, thanks to thorough training by Katie.

Fetch.

I never feel like I can write extensively about Priest Lake. I just can't do it justice. The pictures sort of say it all, right? We love being there. I love the smells (trees, rain, pancakes, babies), the general peace & calm, the chance to disconnect & the time to just sit & be with family. The last week was so great. We had record high temperatures (100+) for the first half of the week, & then Septemberish days (60's & raining) that were equally as nice, although not as helpful in the tanning department. The best news? There was only one visit to the emergency room this trip. Tara broke her mother in-law's arm. Or, I should say, her mother in law fell over in the boat while Tara made an abrupt maneuver. :) Otherwise, all other major injuries were avoided.

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The saddest part is always leaving. It breaks my heart every time, & I generally stop crying right around the plane crosses the Mississippi River (when I know that going back to NYC is inevitable). The good news - cell phones, blogs & airplanes. What would I do without them? I can't wait to see my family again (either in New York [hint, hint], Utah, Washington or Oregon). In the meantime, we're back home in the Big Apple. We were welcomed by an hour wait for our luggage, a half hour wait in a cab line, an absolutely atrocious yet unidentifiable smell as we crossed the bridge into Manhattan, a cab driver who refused to take a credit card (they have to) which resulted in a 1:30am walk to an ATM machine & an apartment building that is now surrounded by scaffolding for some reason. Welcome to New York.

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*I should also mention that I didn't take all of these photos. Our total for the week included well over 1,000. My contribution was meager - only around 200. That's what happens when you're in a family of abnormally naturally-talented photographers. You get stage fright & freeze. :) So, thanks to Patrick, Joanna, Tara & Erin for such great photos.