Ditto Reunion

When the idea of staying in a Lakehouse was suggested for the Ditto reunion, we were in. Driving 12 hours to camp brings out all sorts of crankiness in me. Driving 12 hours to have a place to pee, somewhere to cook, and something soft to sleep on makes a world of difference. This year, we went to a new city- Priest River which is along the Pend Orielle river in Northern Idaho. We checked into the Lakehouse on Wednesday afternoon, and checked out Saturday afternoon. We drove to Spokane Tuesday and came home Sunday (well, technically Monday since we pulled in at 12:20am).

There were 44 people at the reunion and we were missing several! Nathan who is serving a mission in Madrid, Grannie who is serving in Chicago, Tyler and Hailee who just got married, Alysee and Dallin, and Tavia and Calvin (who stayed home for a football camp). We were in charge of making one of the lunches for everyone and Andrew grilled hot dogs from Costco. We got some of the huge 1/4 pound dogs too. We served pineapple, chips, and Oreos with the hot dogs. It is challenging to gauge how much food to get. 7 of the biggest pineapples I could find seemed like the right amount.  We were also in charge of a breakfast with another couple. We slept in the bunkbed room. We got to share the downstairs bathroom with some teenage and tween boys who left their mark. But hey, I'll take it. Anything but camping.

 Here are some snippets that I want to remember:

• An emergency stop on the side of the freeway near Dillon, Idaho so Izzy could pee on the side of the road. She could not wait the 15 minutes to the next gas station.
• Andrew handling incessant talking from our 6 year old. "James, you don't have to say everything that comes to your mind out loud. Sometimes you can just think about things without telling us." This made me belly laugh. Andrew handled our chatty child well! This advice was given after James spoke about cloud shapes, how small the mountain was we were driving by, that he could run up it in 1 second, as well as how good of a sledding hill it would make and can we drive back to it during the winter... etc.
• Staying at Logan and Julia's house. The 4 wheeler was thrilling as were the endless nerf guns. The kids started playing a chasing game with their cousins and would scream "ding-dong" and sprint throughout the house. Even 18 year old George joined in on the fun. Julia gave us adults some "ding-dong" therapy-- aka Reeses which we certainly needed.

• Our kids going tubing! We spent so much time outdoors basking in the sun by the river. It couldn't have been prettier.

Saydee and Isabelle

• James jumping off the tower on the dock! What a brave boy. This was extra scary/significant since Lincoln had taken a hard fall from there.

• Endless games. I loved getting my Hand and Foot fix in. It helped that Andrew and I dominated. Before I get too cocky, luck had a lot to do with it. We also finally had the chance to open "Cross Net" which is a crowd pleaser. The background was stunning.

• Izzy getting sick. She threw up twice and took a 3 hour nap. We think it was due to dehydration. 

• Our kids ate up all the attention and had handfuls of playmates. They played on the outdoor playground and dug in the sand. We hardly saw them. Izzy has many admirers and hung out with the big girls. She spent a good chunk of time in the hot tub. She also relished in the audience and had everyone captivated by dancing to Frozen and singing the books in the New Testament.

James and Rhett

Claire, Avery, Lucy, Malia, Olivia, Chloe, and Izzy

Lincoln and James

• Andrew got to water-ski lots, especially since there were 2 boats. His body took a beating and I guess he has some bruises from the pull of the rope. He also rocked surfing! I decided I didn't want to risk starting pre-term labor and steered clear of any potential wipe-outs. 

• 2 of our nephews gave their homecoming talks on Sunday. Welcome home Addison and Jacob! Both of them will be moving to Provo shortly. Their talks happened to be at the same time. We went to Jacob's talk since it was on our way home. We were able to listen to Addison's recorded talk too.  The people in CA and Argentina were lucky to have these missionaries.

Jacob

• Andrew and James kayaking!

• I read 2 books on the trip. It should have been more. I struggled to get into a book at the lake. I finished "This Time It's Real" (cheesy, cute, predictable, fun, and bingeworthy) and listened to "Three Keys" (Front Desk #2--quick YA about illegal immigrants) on the drive. 

We are home and boy does it feel good. I have made more cookies, rolls, and carbs than I should admit. It has been a hectic summer. Our kids will talk about our family reunion for the foreseeable future. Both children have already had dreams about going to the Lakehouse again. In James' dream, he wore his new back-to-school sweater into the lake. Oops. These are the moments.