Lake Almanor = Heaven

We spent the last week in a little piece of heaven; a place where time does not exist because it really doesn’t matter if you check off anything on a to-do list since to-do lists are not allowed.  A place where the water is warm and blue, the trees are abundant and green and the family is loud and fun.  Lake Almanor in Northern California is the annual retreat of my husband’s family, and we look forward to it all year.  It is almost as anticipated as Christmas.

Let me tell you just a little bit about this lake.  It is huge.  HUGE.  It is blue.  BLUE.  It is warm.  WARM.  It’s perfect.  It is by far the nicest lake I have ever jet skied or boated on, and I’ve jet skied or boated on no less than 5 lakes, so I am an expert, of course.

This was a year of firsts.

• First, I fell off the jet ski.   My husband and I were frolicking in the middle of the giant clear lake on matching jet skis.  So romantic.  He was spending his time learning new tricks and showing off for me.  I was spending my cautious time running over waves made by him, driving in straight lines, and circling wide and far to make any change in direction.  Somewhere in all that, I fell off.  How does one fall off a jet ski when driving in straight lines?  One must be as klutzy as yours truly.  I can teach you how, if you want.

• Ryan caught his first fish on only the second fishing trip of his life.

It was still wiggling and alive when he brought it inside.  The poor dear.  It reminded me why I don’t eat fish.  But Ryan did.  And he claimed it was good.  I will never know.

• Lydia ate her first plum.  After a bath.

I think she enjoyed it.

• A bat entered the house.  Unfortunately, I do not have a picture of this memorable episode because I was laughing too hard from watching 3 grown men, 1 grown woman, and 3 almost grown boys chase after it while everyone shouted instructions and my sister in law locked herself in the bathroom.  Eventually, the bat was coerced into the breezeway where my brother in law held the net.  My husband and his brother promptly sacrificed their own brother in law to the Dracula creature by locking him in the breezeway with the fluttering night animal.  We heard some screams and a little bit of blood sucking.  Russ hasn’t been the same since.

Other happy things, such as hide-and-seek with cousins and free style, outdoor fairy dancing, took place.

It was perhaps the happiest week of the year.  Much of that happiness, of course, was because of the heavenly location.  But more of that happiness, I dare say, was a result of being with Ryan’s family.  The Wrights are warm, accepting, loud and funny.  They all have this laugh- it has been referred to as a machine gun laugh- and it makes you feel so gosh darn funny you just never want to leave their presence.

But we did leave their presence.  We spent a few days with my wonderful family, not one member in possession of a machine gun laugh, but still warm, accepting, loud and funny.  We met my little brother’s fiance.  She is so short her feet don’t touch the ground when she sits in grown up chairs.

But she looks awesome in skinny jeans.  And we like her.