Lake Shasta

For probably over 50 years now my mom's family has been going to Lake Shasta every summer. It has become, by far, the one thing I really look forward to every year. When I was a kid we would really rough it; sleep in tents, bathe in the lake, build our own bathroom, pack all our food (enough for a week) in ice chests, and cook with a camping stove. I'm not sure what changed, but we finally decided we would only half rough-it. We still sleep in tents (most of us), bathe in the lake (most of us), but now we use the houseboats for cooking and bathrooms.

This year we had a record breaking number of people come...78! That includes 31 kids all under 12! We had four houseboats, five ski boats, and one jet ski. We played games, roasted marshmallows, read books, played with kids, floated in the lake, wake surfed, skied, hiked to the Shasta mines, told hilarious ghost stories around the campfire, visited with family, and many more.

I love my family and extended family very much and I am so grateful we all are able to spend time together every year. Until next year....

This year we did our own 4th of July celebration. We played patriotic music while all the kids walked down the shoreline with their attire for the parade. It was so fun to see all the kids having a great time.