We went to Palisades this week!  My favorite place on Earth!  Well, top 3 anyway.  We packed up on Monday and arrived in the middle of the afternoon.  This year we had the Griggs join us for a day, a Grigg and a Grosland for 2 days, and Gillespies for the whole week!  Fun times!  I don't feel like I'm super fun at Palisade.  I just like to let the kids play and I play a bit and read a lot and swim in the sweet, cool water everytime I get hot.  Ahhh.  It's the best.  We left Friday morning after jumping off cliffs, floating on rafts, canoeing, pushing each other off the swim dock, paddle boarding, catching minnows, and playing in the water to our hearts' content.  We turned various shades of red and never knew what time it was.  It truly is a bit of paradise.

Kevin wasn't able to join us this year.  He needed to work and he was fighting a bad infection that made him really miserable.  Poor guy!  He started feeling better once we got home which means we are the best remedy!  (Or the antibiotics started to kick in.  One or the other.)

Savannah and Sarah came on Monday and Thursday because they are responsible wage-earning types, as well!  But still, we had a great time with them while we were there.  Sarah even wrote this tribute, and I'm sharing so ya'll will know just how awesome it is!

There isn't a place I would rather be than here at Palisades. It is such a beautiful Lake! So peaceful and calm. A place where family and friends can gather and have fun. Creating memories as we jump off rock cliffs telling each other to "joe" (a combination of Go and Jump. Joe!) Cheering when someone jumps off the highest spot or even just jumping in at all. We lay on rafts till we are in middle of the lake talking about life and what the future will bring. PBJ sandwiches at lunch with a bag of chips and a Capri Sun. Then right back at it as we jump off the dock or push each other in is a better term. We canoe around the lake ripping into the water to go faster and faster. Taking turns on the paddle board as it rotates through every one. Reading books when there is nothing to do and when we get too hot, jumping in the water again. Playing with the rocks as if they were sand, covering ourselves and making words. As the sun sets we walk around the lake, as the mountains reflect off the water creating a beautiful  picture, as we walk around this lake we talk about names we would like to name our future children. Aiden, Duane, Everest, Jaron, Isi, Oliver and many more. At night as you lay in bed you can sometimes feel the rocking of the waves. Palisades the best camping place on earth! So lucky we get to go every year!