Priest Lake '10: Dad on his beach.

I forgot to post this photo of my dad. I really like it. That's my dad (well, his arm), & that's Haidyn & Hudson playing on the beach. 

See, when my parents bought the property at the lake over a decade ago, there wasn't really a proper beach. Just a lot of trees, & a rocky shoreline. But my dad envisioned grandchildren & sandcastles, so he decided to just build one himself. Literally, with his bare hands. Over the past 10 years, the beach has grown from a little square patch of sand to a full blown beach with horseshoes & yes, sandcastles. My dad has reinforced it all with beautifully placed rocks (secured with hidden concrete, etc) to prevent the sand being washed away during storms & winter snow. This last winter (when the water level was down), he decided to create a wading ledge - several inches below the water, with enough space for the smaller kids to splash around & play. The verdict: they all loved it, wandering back & forth, up & down the steps & in & out of the water. I used it as my own little wading area, getting in just deep enough to cool down, but not enough to freeze.

The beach is sort of a little bit of a joke in our family, because it gets bigger every year. But I think we'd all agree that Dad's Beach has gotten better every year, & now it really is just perfect, I think. The kids dig holes & build sandcastles all day long. Danner naps. Babies play. The boys played horseshoes. We all sit in the Adirondack chairs & chat. Our neighbors join us for fireworks. It's lovely. 

But the part that kind of kills me is that this beach is made up of literally thousands of 100-pound bags of sand. And my dad carried each & every one down through the property by himself. And he placed all of the rocks, too (so when Hudson started picking some of them up & throwing them in the water one afternoon last week, I explained to him that Grandpa worked really hard to put the rocks in their special spots). 

Did I mention you can easily spot the beach on Google Earth from way, way up high? You can. I love that.

My dad also built the fire pit (which has also grown a bit larger over the course of it's history) & surrounding benches. He put in the steps that go through the nature preserve (as we call it) between the cabin & the lake. He's moved numerous giant rocks that weigh hundreds & hundreds of pounds (I have no idea how he's done this - but he understands the concept of leverage quite well). His projects have really been endless, & he's always busy with a new one, but the fundamental message in them all is that he loves us, & loves his grandchildren. And that makes my heart feel warm & gushy.