...Livin' in the Brochure...

I honestly do not even know where to start describing my summer at Priest Lake!

It's hard to believe I didn't blog the whole time! I should say it was nice to not have the distraction of a computer, but in all reality - thank God for the iPhone so we could stay in touch with the real world!

It wasn't difficult to wake up to this each morning...

We got a new table & chairs when we were there in May. It was so nice to sit under during the day and eat at in the evening. A great investment!

One of the things Mom & I really love to do at the Lake is go to Sushi Wednesday at Hill's Resort

and listen to this guy sing. Mike Wagoner.

He's a local guy that sings covers of songs but also writes his own - mostly about Priest Lake!

On our last night at Sushi Wednesday, Mom & I frantically wrote down some of the lyrics since they resonate with us so much!

Here's some of the lyrics:

"Lord, I am livin' in the brochure.

Hard to explain what it is up here -

Hard to love it certain times of the year.

Idaho is what America was

and I keep comin' back just because..."

"Need a place to go to soothe your soul.

I'm goin' to the Lake

I can hardly wait.

Just a little spot I know up in Idaho.

I'm goin' to the Lake

I don't wanna be late.

The more I wander the more it calls out to me.

I learned to love there

God, I learned to breathe the air.

Now, I can hardly wait til I get up there.

It's like goin' home..."

I was so fortunate to get to spend 5 weeks at Priest Lake. And still I could've stayed much much longer!

I quickly settled into a routine. Watch The Today Show in the morning while drinking coffee, read or quilt, eat lunch while watching Days of our Lives, get coffee (most days), sit outside and read, make dinner, quilt, go to bed. Get up and repeat. :)

I had high hopes for getting a lot of quilting done this summer and quilting I did! I don't have pictures of all of the quilt tops I finished, but I completed 9 quilt tops and 4 table runners!

Here are a couple -

I also made some bibs for some cute little babies I know & love!

Mom did a lot of beading - I think she completed something like 40 necklaces and 25+ bracelets. Her fall line is now available!! :)

I also read a ton - 9 books, I think. One of the books I read was Sarah Palin's "Going Rogue." I'm definitely a Sarah fan now - as if I weren't before! I can't believe the way she was treated during the 2008 election. Appalling...

We also tried our hand at making fabric flowers:

We had lots of friends come & visit.

First, we spent 4th of July with Kevin, Tiffany, & Amber.

While they were there, we stained the deck, went to dinner at Hill's, and played cards.

Over the 4th of July weekend, Shawn & Stacie Davis, Justin Bowen, and Josh Wills - and their children - were staying at Baumann's cabin at Cavanaugh Bay. They all spent the afternoon with us on the 3rd, then Justin & Josh came back for the 4th. They tried lighting their fireworks at our place - but just about blew our faces off. Thanks a lot. :)

This is Josh & his son Logan with Melissa & Amber. Logan kept us laughing all weekend long! So funny!

Samson was super duper duper duper scared of the fireworks, so after almost losing our faces, I had a great excuse to watch from inside the house. Samson hid behind some deck chair pads. Note to self: remember to get sedatives for him for next year!

Melissa's friend Nichole came and spent a couple nights. We went out to Hill's on Karaoke night while she was there. And - she taught us our new favorite game, Speed Scrabble! We taught it to everyone else who came and played it A.LOT. So fun!

The DeWulf's came!! Ronda, Clayton, Jack, Luke, & Liddy were here from Minnesota spending two weeks in Washington - and they came to spend the night with us! I only got to see them briefly when they were in town last summer so it was great to spend a whole day with them. I spent a lot of time with Ronda and the kids while I was in grad school. I miss them so much and love any time we get to spend together now. The kids are growing up and are so fun to be around!

It's hard to believe these guys are the age they are -

Jack will be in 5th grade, Clayton in 7th, and Luke in 3rd.

Here's a funny story - we were playing Speed Scrabble with them and it was so hard to concentrate because Jack WOULD. NOT. STOP. TALKING!! Melissa made a comment about how he did in school and Ronda said - "oh Jack? He's a 4.0 student!" To which Melissa replied, "Yeah and his classmates are all flunking because they can't concentrate!"

And this pretty girl - she's a huge Taylor Swift fan! We looked through lots of magzines looking for pictures of Taylor so Liddy could cut them out and make a scrapbook page out of them! Don't forget who her momma is! :)

Also - her and Coco share a birthday! Same day, same year! When we reminded Liddy of that, she cried, "But I don't want to be twins with a DOG!"

The Johnson/Visser clan came to stay at the Baumann Bungalow at Cavanaugh Bay. We got to spend most of the weekend with them - sharing dinner and playing games. Oh - and patiently waiting for our turn to hold Kamryn!

It was her first trip to Priest Lake - a momentous occasion! And - Nick & Kate got to bring their new boat to enjoy!

Dave & Angie got to enjoy some time at the lake while they were in the US for some training. It sounds like they're getting settled into their European life smoothly. It was fun to spend time with them and we're already looking forward to seeing them at Christmas!

Grandpa Gavin had a great time showing Kamryn the Lake life. :)

We were so lucky to get to spend time at our favorite place with some of our favorite people. We talked a lot about how thankful we are for each other's friendship and the history our families have together. So much to be thankful for.

Craig and his friend Dustin came for a few days - driving Craig's new ride! I LOVE IT!

We went to the recently reopened Cavanaugh's with them for dinner - enjoyed sitting on the deck, looking at the beautiful view, and sipping Huckleberry Mojitos!

Most recently, Jessica and the boys came for a few days. Luckily, the weather was nice so the boys could play in the water. I taught Ronan to play "Go Fish!" and we had a good time playing tag in the yard.

The dogs love being at the Lake as much as we do - they love to lay around in the sun...and lay around in the house... go for walks...and lay under the table while we craft!

Samson loves laying under the table almost as much as he loves those pillows on the couch. He's so funny!

Mom & I like to find new things to do around the lake or experience new things. We went to the Leonard Paul Customer Appreciation Day in Coolin and got free huckleberry ice cream. We learned about the Priest Lake Shoe Tree - unfortunately, not before it was burned this summer.
We also found out about the Chico's Fashion Show at Hill's. Apparently it's been going on for 6 or 7 years, but we just found out about it!
Mom and I were excited to go and see what it was all about! It was a lot of fun - seeing the new fall line, enjoying a nice lunch, and then - shopping with the buy one, get one half off special! Mom & I each got a new necklace and sunglasses!

I know I must've missed plenty of things - it's hard to cover a whole month in one blog post! I'll add to it if I think of things. We had an unforgettable summer - and are so thankful for the gift of the Lake Grandma has given us. We are so lucky!