Family Vacation '09 - Priest Lake

Earlier this month, we braved a cross-state road trip and headed to Priest Lake in Northern Idaho for a family vacation. The weather was unseasonably cool, pouring rain off and on. This probably would have disappointed most, but we welcomed the excuse to cozy up and take lots of naps. An added bonus of all the rain was it kept the pesky yellow jackets at bay.

Kaleia used the week to do some good growing and learning how to charm.

Because Magnolia was a bundle of energy, wanting to explore every minute, Brian and I were thankful for the extra hands of Grandpa, Nana, great-Uncle Craig, and great-Aunt Sherri.

Maggie drug her great-Uncle Craig around smelling all the flowers.

She enjoyed a short ride on the four-wheeler.

Great-Aunt Sherri taught her the finer points of berry picking.

She caught right on. Of the pint she picked, about 10 huckleberries ended up in the bag.

Purple-faced and -fingered, she was a happy girl. Diaper changes the next day were not happy.

We did see some bear scat on our trip, but these were the only two bears we saw.

Otis and Trudy love going to the lake! Rain or shine they take full advantage of exploring the forest with its abundance of smells and playing in the water. Otis chased many squirrels at full speed bounding over fallen trees.

Trudy played so hard she could hardly walk.

Our other adventure was riding on the boat. We got to stop in a cove and see a bald eagle.

Maggie loved going fast.

Any time we slowed she signed for more.

All in all is was a great week. We were all a little hesitant to leave -- well, maybe not Brian. He was pumped to get back for soccer.