Echo Lake

I think we had the most fun this year than any other year at Echo lake! One of the reasons was because it was the first time since I married into the family where the water wasn't super high, so we actually had a BEACH! They all told me there was a beach under all that water, but I'm not sure I actually believed them until this year. So much sand, and the kids played in it for hours on end every day. Leo also loved it, although he was drawn to the lake and loved playing in the shallow part. He is definitely not afraid of water. It was always fun cleaning him up when he needed a nap (not!). The kids also enjoyed the paddle boats and with Brek and Emri's help they could actually go on it without an adult. We also bought a Lily Pad this year and the kids had lots of fun playing on that and swimming. We also did water balloons one day, and found some turtles and fish another day. Deacon is absolutely obsessed with any living creature, so he was in heaven.

As far as boating goes, we did take the kids out a number of times, although the weather wasn't always great so not as much as usual. All the kids really liked the EZ ski, tubing, and Bentley and Emri even knee boarded together! We started them from the shore already on the board so they didn't have to do much, but I was still very impressed that Bentley held on to the rope all the way around the bay. The mistake we made was that we put the strap on her knees and didn't think about what would happen when she was done. She made it to the dock and let go of the rope, but then tipped over and was stuck under the water. She couldn't get the strap off! So I jumped in to save her and everything was okay, but it definitely traumatized her a bit so that was really too bad! The boys also had their fun on the surf board behind the boat, all trying to get up on the same board.

Sundays are always a little hard at the lake, but we kept pretty busy! After church we headed to the duck pond we normally go to in Kalispell to feed the ducks and walk around. By total coincidence we pulled up and saw my parents and Tamara and Lee and family! So we all fed the ducks the bread we had, which the kids just love to do, and then went for a stroll together. Afterwards we stopped at Snappy's and went to the pond they have in the back where you can feed the fish. I've never done it before and didn't realize how cool it was! You throw out some food and the fish just swarm toward it. There's also a window you can look through to see the fish under the water. When we were back at the cabin, Cindy had some new toys for all the kids to keep them entertained. She also had Sister Leishman make superhero capes and masks for all the kids and they were so cute! Bailey made some sugar cookies and the kids also got to decorate those. It was a very good day I'd say!

 July 4th was so much fun! This was another reason why Echo lake was so fun this year! We went to a parade in Big Fork where the kids collected mounds of candy, it literally felt like Halloween. I really enjoyed the parade and the kids found it entertaining as well. There was a little bit of rain, but it passed over pretty quickly so nothing was cancelled and we weren't too drenched. The streets were packed, but we made it home afterwards. That night we spent a lot of time at the neighbors place where they had a dance and fireworks. We let Bentley and Deacon stay up really late for the fun. Luckily Deacon had a nice nap during the day so it worked out perfectly! We put Leo to bed and headed out to the dance. They had some dancing games and Bentley was absolutely loving them. I adored watching her, and even danced out there myself with the kids for a song or two. When it got dark, we found some chairs to sit on for the fireworks show. We sat down and people started bringing out one treat after the other as we waited for the show to begin - popcorn, candy sticks, warm cookies, it was amazing! It took a while to begin but the fireworks started and they were absolutely unbelievable! I guess they spend thousands of dollars on these and they have it all lined out on a dock on the lake so it's like a real show. It was WAY better than I had even anticipated. The kids thought it was awesome, but were starting to get cold and tired. It didn't end until 11:30 pm.  It wasn't until then that I heard them say they were tired so they did amazing! Bentley's my night owl and thank goodness Deacon had a nap. Anyways, we all had a blast and were ready for bed!

 The other cool thing that happened this trip was getting to ride in a helicopter! I guess our neighbor is friends with these guys who have a show called the diesel brothers. They build vehicles and helicopters apparently. They came to visit from another lake and decided to come in their helicopter. Our lot has the perfect space for them to land so we let them land there and then they ended up giving all the adults rides! It was seriously so fun!! I've never been in a helicopter before so it was a neat experience and even more fun than I thought it would be. The kids loved watching it come and go, but unfortunately didn't get to ride in it. 

 We also got to meet up with some of my family one day to go white water rafting! We left the kids with Brent and Justin to watch, and met up with Joce and Jeff and Jordan and Melanie, and some of their kids in West Glacier. It was chilly when we started so I put on a wet suit and fleece, however as we went it actually got really warm and turned out to be beautiful. We took a bus to the start of the trip and had a guide leading us. Some of the rapids were pretty crazy so she did her best to prepare us for them. The first one was the hardest one and we almost got sucked under a rock that we were trying to avoid, it was pretty crazy! But, we just barely made it through and definitely got soaked. Both the Jeffs were in the front so they got the worst of it, I was in the middle so I think I actually had the best spot. Anyways, it was a lot of fun! I could've had a few more rapids but still had a blast. Jeff and I ate out quickly before we headed back to the cabin to rescue the adults from our kids! Apparently they were great, so that was good to hear. 

Bentley and Deacon absolutely love their cousins and look forward to playing with them all day at the cabin! They do have their fights here and there, but overall it is so much fun for them to be together. We really cherish these weeks in the summer with everyone.