Priest Lake '12: Part I.

We got home from the lake several weeks ago & I've spent that time doing what feels like a zillion things - settling back into our routine at home, trying to prepare for Little Brother to arrive (& all that goes with it), keeping up with the day to day, & sorting through the zillions of photos I took while we spent most of July at our happy place. 

And now, it's just all a little bit of a blur. A happy, peaceful, surreal, always-barefoot three week blur full of lapping water, laughing family, good food, hot chocolate & sunshine. 

I always say that each summer at the lake was better than the last, but really - it just keeps getting better. Our family is constantly evolving (more additions, more maturity, etc.) & it continually changes the experiences that we have at the lake. Right now, it means that there was less drama than ever (we're a family of 7 kids, as many spouses, & 20 & counting grandchildren - it's bound ot happen), & more people - both of which are really lovely things. What was especially nice though was getting to experience the lake through the eys of our sweet toddler. He was too young last summer, but this year - you could see the wonder. He was happy, happy, happy every day (most of the time, of course) & was exhausted at the end of every night. Q took great naps, always had someone to play with, & was constantly discovering somewhere new to explore. He learned how to walk up & down stairs by himself on the steps all around (& inside) the cabin, picked up new words along the way, & grew more & more blonde with each passing week. His confidence grew, his sweetness grew, his love for his family grew... It was so much fun to watch.

The lake has always been my happy place, & I'm fairly certain that it is Quinn's now, too.

I got to see every. single. member of my immediate family over the course of three weeks, & most of my in-laws on the Hudson side. I wish we could have all been together at the same time, but since we're in this everyone has a family stage of life now, we're all a bit spread out (I always seem to live the farthest away!) & have conflicting schedules to boot, it's virtually impossible to make happen. As a result, there was quite a bit of in & out with different siblings being there at different times, but also some overlap. It was really nice.

Getting to spend so much time there was really special. It's a really sacred place, & I appreciate it more & more the older I get, especially now that I have my own family to experience it with. I'm especially greatful for the fact that my family wants to be together every summer, & I know we all wish it could happen more often. I love my family & I love that they are my sweetest friends.

Next summer, we're tacking on an extra week for sure.

Mike was with us for the first week, & per usual for him, it was a little bit chilly (the water was freezing). But we had a really nice time relaxing, & were really happy having Dave & Kylie come up & visit for a few days (it's nice showing people what the fuss is actually all about). They're newlyweds & just oozing with love & happiness, & that's just fun & inspiring to see.

Also, I should mention that I did a fairly horrible job taking photos of much of anything except Quinn. Oops. 

Other snippets from that first week: 

Q quickly discovered his love for driving the boat with Grandpa (buttons!!) || He also discovered that the chandelier light switches were easily accessible in the living room via the napping chair & also Gradma's shoulder (enter new climbing skills) || We went on several way too early walks thanks to Q not quite understanding the concept of Pacific Time (which was not helped by the sun waking up at 4:30am) || He immediately loved seeing all of his cousins, but probably loved Parker the very best || Grandma's play house was the highlight of his trip - complete with a doorbell! He was in heaven every. single. day. || Christopher gave him his first necklace from the Woodland Elves (a Hudson-only Priest Lake phenomenon that cannot be openly discussed, of course) || He crawled through Grandma's play tunnel - one of the first pieces of evidences we've seen that shows that he actually does know how

Video: Three Weeks at Priest Lake