We had our annual family trip to Chelan. My sister did the math and realized we were in our 9th year. No wonder Cambell's gives us free rides on the paddle boards. The weather was great--warm enough to keep Barb, the heat lover happy, but not oppressive to the rest of the Seattlites. Chelan is proof that you don't have to do anything to have fun. We played in the pool. We swam in the lake. We dug in the sand. We read our books in the sun.

New this year was David getting to go river rafting with the grandparents and the rest of the kids. He was scared at first, but it's been reported, he had a blast.

New also this year was the night time trip to the hot tub. Getting the kids to sleep at hotels has a long miserable history, but I think we've finally hit the sweet spot. For the first time, John and I did the bedtime routine, and then went off to the hot tub. Yes, we left our kids, almost 11 and 7.5 alone in the room, and when we got back they were asleep. It was lovely to sit in the hot tub and watch the moon rise. I saw several stars--a very unSeattle experience given my bedtime and Seattle's cloud cover.

We all loved the water park. I remember years when I was so incapacitated by back problems that I couldn't even catch David let alone slide. So, it was with particular glee that careened around corners and bumped my way down.

Dad bowled a 145! In our family, that's a stratospheric score and given that Dad only bowls once a year, really impressive. I bowled in my typically inconsistent fashion--56 the first game, 120 the second. But the best part of bowling was Rose did not pout. I hope it was because we talked about her predilection to go into a pouty funk every time she doesn't win at bowling (on a game that is almost completely luck mind you since the kids use bumpers) and not because she actually did well. It was so nice to just enjoy and not manage her mood.

Other fun things: paddle boards, kayaks, go carts, ice cream, ice cream, oh, did I mention ice cream?