Coeur d'Alene: Being a Kid

Still workin' on last summer here.  One day I looked out the window of my parents' house and Miles was floating in a tube out in the bay, a good ways away from the dock.  The tube was tied to the dock, but he had a paddle to paddle around and it so looked like childhood.  I grabbed my camera and ran down to take some pictures, but he had already started to pull himself back to the dock before I got there.  Missed the moment, but took some pictures of Miles being a kid anyway.

Then he wanted me to take his picture while he pretended to ride the jet ski:

Being a kid is the best!

Coeur d'Alene: Uncle Adam and Bikes

We got to spend more time with my brother Adam up in Coeur d'Alene than I had in, I don't know, probably 20 years.  He's delightful!  And he's a good uncle.  He took Miles out to show him how to put a bike together and tried to teach him to ride sans training wheels.  Poor Miles; he doesn't have much desire to learn how to ride and we don't really have anywhere safe to teach him.  Maybe he'll be ready to learn this summer!

Coeur d'Alene: Boating

Tell you what, the lake water in North Idaho is cold, after a barely refreshing pool in Houston, TX!  Miles acted like he was getting attacked by sharks after he naively jumped in with his cousins.  And it took quite a while to get him used to that water.  After his first time going in, he didn't want to again!  What a Texan!  Still had a great time, though.

Dinner on the boat.

Family on the boat:

Tubing!

Coeur d'Alene: Hikes

We went up to Coeur d'Alene last summer, of course.  'Twas grand, per the usual.  Having access to nature really, really, really feeds my soul.  Miles is such a city kid, it is sad.  I had to talk him in to going on hikes, but made him go on as many as possible and he finally came around!  As someone who spent just about every single day of their childhood hiking, it was sad to me that he wasn't jazzed about going at first, but I think we've made a believer out of him.  I hope!

Talk about a view!