For the third year in a row, we rented this little cottage on Lake Sammamish. We love it there, and by now it’s so familiar that we barely have to plan for our visit.

Packing this time was a little different; about half our load wasn’t coming back with us. The kids have outgrown a bunch of stuff, and now that we’re moving we have a whole kitchen’s worth of extra stuff. Plus, this was our first real road trip in our new car!

On our first day there, I had to do some work, so Becky took the kids to a new park nearby. The kids helped out by being models for the family portraits we were shooting in the front garden.

Once all the pictures were shot, we got to relax and hang out. Max, Ryan, and Jase loved all the pop-up books that live in the cottage, and Will and Lucy loved showing them off.

And, of course, you don’t stay on a lake without getting wet. This year some of the kids were old enough to be on floating things on their own, and they took full advantage of the new freedom. All of them still like being ferried around by grownups, too.

We had a great time, as per usual. Tony and Debbie are great fun, and the kids love hanging out together. Here’s to continuing this tradition!