Yearly Lake Roosevelt Camping Trip

In early August we made our annual trip over to Lake Roosevelt to spend part of a week with Jeannie's family.  This has become a ritual and we all look forward to it.  Jeannie was dearly missed but we continue on with our good memories of her and keep her close in our hearts and thoughts.

Last year just our family went to LR after we had did the annual Pearson trip and got evacuated from the campground because of a large fire nearby.  It was very discouraging since it was going to be our last trip of the summer and we wanted to end it on a relaxing note. I would have to say it was a little unsettling to come over the hill and down into the valley to this sight this year.

There was a good sized fire going just right across the lake from us.  It turns out that they put a very large air support crew on it and the breeze kept the smoke heading in the right direction so we didn't have too much smoky unpleasantness.

They had four of the smaller pontoon planes that scoop water from the lake running to hit the smaller spots.  It was fun to watch them fly virtually in formation as they came down and scooped up water and then dumped on the flames.  They also had numerous trips from some of the big prop plane retardant bombers going as well.  Here are some of the spectators.

The next day we were enjoying a nice time on the beach when we had a loud roar come over our heads.  I guess they decided to really get serious with this fire.  We were treated to about 3 trips from the DC-10 retardant tanker that was quite impressive.

I guess that is enough of the fire though.  They got it under control.  Now on to the main event.  We have really enjoyed this little cove the last few years.  Beautiful sand and plenty of things to keep the kids entertained. 

One of the things we discovered about it this year that kept us all entertained a bit was a steep section that made for fun jumping, diving, canon-balling.....ect. into the water.  Ok, lets see if we can all go at once and get a picture of this.......uh take #20 ok are we all ready this time? Go!

Oops I think we left stragglers behind on the beach again.  Well take #21.....

Oh and it wouldn't be fitting unless we got at least one picture of the tube that gets pulled around much to the delight of many...young and just barely older than young.  Here Jeannie's cousin Jan is getting a ride with some of the kids.  

Unfortunately I didn't get a picture of Jan telling stories to the kids but he kept them in rapt attention with all sorts of fun stories both real and fictitious.  It was so fun to have him and his wife stop by for a time with us.  I'm still hearing...."depth charge #1"...from my kids,  any of you that were there know what I'm talking about. :)

This was one of the other "main attractions".  Barb had gotten a big floating island for us to enjoy.  Here is a picture with all the cousins.  Much slashing, diving, and lounging was spent on this.

Now this was a new event this year.  "sunbathing"???  I guess our little girls are growing up and now they need to "sunbath"  Well they did just long enough for a picture anyway.  There attention span is still a little short for this sort of thing.  I'm sure we are not far off though when this becomes more of a main event for them.

And just when you thought you were going to make it through one of my posts without dead fish...yep, here they are.  Rainbow was one of the main targets this year.  The walleye fishing was a little slow at times.  Lane and I did manage to pick up 14 in a couple hours one morning but by in large we did more rainbow fishing.  Even some of the nephews got in on the action this year.

A final parting shot from inside our cozy camper.  Not sure these kids are ready for bed yet but they are ready for another day on the water....I think they are developing webbing between their toes this year.

Summer Days

This summer was a little slow to warm up but things have been in high gear for a while now with lots of sunshine and warm weather.  Our fruit trees and berries have been terrific this year.  Lots of friends, family, and wildlife have gotten in on the abundance.

Here Lane is showing off the size of some of our blueberries.  They were big this year.  I quit picking after 80 lbs of berries.  Others have been still enjoying them though.  We all may turn into smurfs if were not careful.

I never get tired of the beauty of this lake. A very calming view.

Then I look to the back of the boat and we have general chaos and who knows what they are up to.  I never get tired of this view either.  I love these kids very much!

And of course summer means fishing when you are near our boat.  Here Logan gets a nice bass while perched up on the back of the engine.  He had to really work to not fall off and still get his fish in.  Great job buddy!

We have had good success with the kokanee salmon fishing this year.  They are only 10"-12" fish but very tasty!  Here Brad, Lane, and I got our limit of 45 one morning.

With 45 fish it can take a while to clean them.  Brad is taking his turn at it and Logan is running the water hose to spray things off.  I build a fillet table for the back of the boat and it has come in very handy.

Swimming Lessons

The kids did 2 weeks of swimming lessons this year and it seems to have paid off quite well.  I was with them at the lake the other day and realized that Lane is swimming better and farther than I can.  I'm not sure whether to be scared, nervous, or proud of him.

Just as well start out with a picture of Logan learning to kick with a swim board.  That has been his new thing after swimming lessons.  He now is comfortable to just start paddling about wherever he feels.  He still uses his life jack however.

Swimming lessons aren't complete unless you have had ice cream at the end of the day and if your wearing half of it all the better!

Morgan has learned to dive underwater for things this year.  Here she has just completed diving down, swimming through a hoop to find a ring on the bottom.  Next stop.....the circus!

"now Morgan you listen to me because....blah blah blah"....you get the idea. :)

Other than seeming to get much more proficient at swimming Lane has started learning to dive.  Don and Darlene were watching the kids during this time and Don said he's not sure if he has seen anything funnier than watching a bunch of little kids try to learn how to dive off a flat dock.  There were some sore tummies I think after it was all done.  

Its not a complete day at the beach in Sandpoint unless they Pirate ship has made an appearance!  Always a crowd pleaser.

His flag is a little obscured in this photo.

And there is always plenty of time to just dig in the sand.  One big sandbox.

Lots of Help

Before getting into the next post of swimming lessons I wanted to mention that I have had lots of wonderful help with the kids this summer.  My sister came out on a couple occasions and we put together a calendar that people could choose days that would work for them to watch the kids.  In no time we had a full calendar.  

My sister getting the kids their bedtime story.

Niece Lana getting in some beach time with the kids.

Doing typical crazy things off the dock.  We have had lots of our friends from Canada come down again this summer and even they have gotten in on babysitting the kids.  It usually involves water and boats.......they are very pleased.

Many others have been taking good care of the kids as well which is a tremendous help.

Tennis Lessons

One of the last things Jeannie did was get the kids signed up for some summer lessons.  She knew that it may be touch and go with her and she may not be able to make it to them but we decided to go ahead and get them signed up.  Its still hard to believe that it was only a couple days latter that she was gone.  She even had the strength to drive herself to the rec center to get them signed up.  She was feeling very pleased to be able to do it.

The kids had some tennis lessons last year and they really enjoyed it so we thought we'd give it a go again this year.  The weather was a bit sketchy but with a few cancellations and makeup days they managed to get a week in of fun smacking the tennis balls around.  Logan was a little timid at hitting to start with until he managed to make a solid connection and hit his teacher.  Then he quickly realized he could make these lessons exciting by getting a rise out the teacher trying to hit her with the ball.  We have wanted to get back to the courts and do some practicing but so many things have been keeping us busy this summer.

Logan showing some "form".  He's a lefty and it threw his teacher off a bit.  Maybe that is why he was able to make a good solid hit on her. :)

Logan and Morgan at the front of the class at least acting like their listing.  They do that to me a lot too but then I find out they really were just thinking about something else and putting on a good act.  "were you talking to me?"