Idaho Vacation

 As promised here is a post without any basketball photos.  We spent a glorious four days at a floating house at the southern end of Lake Pend Oreille in Bayview, Idaho.  The lake is huge, the 5th largest in the United States.  Our friends the Brysons joined us on this expedition.  The weather was warm, nearly 90 degrees every day.  The house came with a paddle boat and a canoe, and we rented a ski boat for a day too.  The kids spent a day at Silverwood on the rides and in the water park.  While they were at Silverwood the grown ups enjoyed a day exploring the lake, tasting local beers at the Laughing Dog brewery, and having a great lunch at a local pub.  My favorite part of the vacation was getting up early, brewing a pot of coffee, and sitting on the dock watching the birds and reading.  I usually had it all to myself for at least an hour, and then gradually the rest of the crew would get up and join me. This is the view from the dock in front of the house.

 Tracy and I had to hold on for dear life when Forrest took off on a bumpy ride across the lake.

This house looks like someone's mad project.  It is on an adjacent dock to the one we rented.  It looks like a new room in a new style has been added each year for many years. I would love to have been able to look inside.

More Basketball

I have just noticed that all of the pictures I have posted this summer except for the Relay for Life photos have been basketball related.  Here is one more.  Two weeks ago Noah and his teammates attended team camp at Central Washington University in Ellensburg.  They had a great time and won every game they played including the championship game against Lynden.

I really need to get outside with my camera and take some non-basketball pictures.  So far in addition to basketball and Relay for Life commitments I have spent my summer break reading, cleaning out closets, shampooing upholstery and carpets, and working in the yard.  I have discovered two new mystery series.  Charles Todd is a mother/son mystery writing team.  They write the Bess Crawford series about a WWI nursing sister who solves crimes, and they also write the Ian Rutledge series about a Scotland Yard detective and his return to work after WWI.  I have already read six of their books since school got out.

Walking portions of the Centennial Trail is another activity I have been enjoying since school got out.  It runs from Snohomish to near the Skagit County line.  I have walked various portions of it around Marysville and Arlington.  Usually 5 to 7 miles at a time.  I hope to try out the more southern portions soon.  I promise that the next picture I post will not be basketball related.

Hoopfest 2012

 June 29-July 1, 2012 found the Jones family in Spokane for our 7th Hoopfest Weekend.  Alyssa and her favorite babysitting client, Chloe, love to hang out during this weekend of boys playing ball.  They tried to catch some cooling spray from the Spokane River on the bridge between games. As much as I grumble about the cost of our hotel bill at the Doubletree it was very convenient this year. The hotel is part of the convention center complex and Noah's court was right in front of the convention center.  I've already reserved our rooms for next year.

 Noah's team started out strong winning four games in a row. Then they struggled and lost their final two games to take second place in their 16 team varsity bracket.  They all played hard against some tough competition.  The first two games they just had three players so they all had to play every minute of both of their Saturday games.  Noah, Shawn, and Kaleb all worked very hard and won those first two games easily.  Bradey came over Saturday night and joined the boys for the Sunday games. No trip to Spokane would be complete without a visit with Grandma Axtell.  The kids had a great time visiting with her.

I am always surprised when I see how much taller Noah is than Forrest.  I think he's still growing.  He is 6'5" in his basketball shoes and 6'4" in bare feet.  He hopes to reach 6'6".