We made the trek out to Eastern Washington for a week of camping at Lake Pearrygin.

This was the first time we had packed for this trip in our new house and let me tell you it was amazing.  Normally we are drowning in the amount of crap we have to take for a week at the lake, but this year, The Great Gathering, barely got in my way.

And bonus, our car fit in the garage with the cartop carrier on top!


This was the also the first big drive we took in the new car and the DVD player was life changing. 

There was still whining and crying, but nothing compared to normal.

Plus, Paul and I even had energy to eat at Denny’s instead of McDonalds.  Although we were questioning this decision when Miles was screaming and wouldn’t get out of the car because he’d never eaten at a Denny’s before and it made him feel uncomfortable.  #lifewithspd

Our sweet room for the night. 

Then it was Pearrygin Life for the next week.

Constant hanging out on the beach.  

Miles was always on the look out for adults to share his wide range of knowledge and animal facts with.

GiGi and Teddi were quite popular the entire week and we had to keep a rotation going for the great grandkids to play games with her in her trailer.


Can’t beat Pearrygin lunches in the shade with cousins.  


We had a rainy morning and the kids wanted to catch the ducks that were all over our campsite.  So, we caught ducks and each kid got to pet them.  It was highly entertaining.  

Then while we waited for the wind to pass we went into town for pizza, park, and ice cream.

Luckily, we only had one morning of non-boating weather.  And the rest was pretty much perfection. 

This year was filled with Sombrero riding 

My afternoons were spent organizing the Sombrero rides and making sure everyone got a turn, adults included.  

There seemed to be a bit of a learning curve with pulling this beast.  There were quite a few crashes with lots of screaming children in the water and even hitting a buoy.  

But overall The Sombrero was a huge hit.  

And there was never enough time in the day for these kids to ride on it.  

and Knee Boarding. 

All the kids got in on the knee boarding action this year and life got much easier because they also learned how to deep water start.  

Miles finally got the hang of it this year and loved it.  He was always on the look out for anyone to go with him.  

Notice Paul in the water helping the girls with the ropes.  That’s one of the great things about Pearrygin, everyone is always willing to step in and help when needed.  

Adults got in on the action too.  

We did our bi-annual quadruple kneeboarded with CJ and Shaunna and it always proves to be one of my favorite Pearrygin moments.  

And there was of course some animal riding.

Brianne and I got to go on an evening kayak ride where she showed off her amazing rowing skills. 


Lots and lots of floating.  Dave brought along the crazy island from costco and it proved to be the favorite hang out while waiting for a turn behind the boat. 

And of course non-stop cousin action.


Love these kids.  

The ride back from Pearrygin is always an interesting one because we are extra dirty, extra tired, and extra sad.  

Ruby looked like an insane wild woman on the 15 hour drive home and pretty much encompassed how we all looked and felt.   

And it’s not a trip to Pearrygin if someone doesn’t come home with some sort of injury.  This years winner was Macey with a black eye from knee boarding and sombrero riding.