My nephew and niece, Kian and Ayla, deserve their own blog entry. I've always been glad that we were able to grow up in place as beautiful as McCall, Idaho. I think we learned most of what formed us (my brother and I as well as the rest of the family). We learned the value of Grandma's cooking, Grampa's thinking, family dinners with always room for one more, being neighborly, returning something borrowed in better condition than when you received it, hard work, the time it takes to pick a gallon of huckleberries, and most of all the ability to just sit in the evening and gaze on the lake and mountains -- there always seemed to be a big white cumulus cloud over the mountain peaks that would slowly turn pink as the late summer light faded. It was always a treat to watch the moon peak over Jug Handle Mountain and then light the night with a white path of light across the lake. It was and is a magical existence.


So, to many more lake visits Kian and Ayla! And let's not forget the dogs, Toby, Calvin, and Mojo!