Football Begins!!

Well the day and come and gone. We started football camp on Wednesday morning at 12 AM. It has become a tradition to start at 12 AM on Wednesday so the kids can say that they are the first team to practice in the state of WA. There may be another staff that is crazy enough to practice from 12 AM to 2:30 AM on the first day, but we tell the kids that we are the only team. After our night practice the kids slept in the school's gym for a few hours and went at it again at 8:30 AM till 12 PM. It is a bit of a grind, but the kids and staff fought through it. After that crazy first day, things begin to settle down a little bit. We are still doing double days practices that start at 9:30 AM and go till 12:30 PM. The kids and staff get a little break and return to practice at 4:30 PM and go till 6:30 PM. It is a little like groundhog day in the fact that this goes on for a little over 2 weeks. A coach could possibly go a little crazy. All-in-all I really enjoy this part of the year and it is such a great way to get involved with the kids at the school. The relationships that I develop on the football field with my students is amazing. I often step back and think about how lucky I am to have such a great job!

Golfing at Circling Raven

Yesterday, I was able to play one of the nicest courses in the Pacific Northwest with one of my closest buddies. We were paired up with a guy that traveled from Dillon, Montana to play the course. He was a great guy and an extremely good golfer. The name of the course is Circling Raven Golf Club. The course is located just outside of Coeur D'Alene, Idaho in the small town Worley. This is a pretty special course and extremely difficult as it covers 620 acres. Golf Magazine rated Circling Raven as one of the top 100 courses to play in the United States. I was able to take a few pics from the tee boxes.

Priest Lake Camping Trip

My wife and I went on a camping trip with 4 of our closest friends this past weekend. We went to Reeder Bay, which is located on Priest Lake in Northern Idaho. This trip has turned into a tradition for all of us as this was the third year of going to the same place. The weekend was full of great times. We spent most of the days on the water or soaking in sun on the beach. Each couple was responsible for a dinner and they were fantastic. We were also next to a resort, so we had to go there for breakfast one of the mornings. They serve some amazing food! We also spent some time at the resort for our nightly entertainment.

Photo courtesy of realestate.sandpoint.com

(L to R) The LaBelles, The Snyders, The McCullums

Megan and I getting a little sun on the beach

Jim, Bob and I

It was not as high as it looks in the photo

Pend Oreille Lake - Arbor Crest Winery

Well, it was quite the busy week / weekend for my wife and I. We went to her families lake cabin which is located on Pend Oreille Lake. Pend Oreille is located in Sandpoint, Idaho. We decided to head up last Wednesday and spend our 3rd anniversary there. The weather was outstanding and we were able to relax, eat good food, drink good wine and celebrate an amazing 3 years together. We took our dog charlie along with us and he also was able to enjoy his time at the lake (photos below).

On Sunday, we went to Arbor Crest Winery with some of our closest friends. This was a fantastic night. Arbor Crest is located in Spokane and has a beautiful view of the city. Every Sunday, Arbor Crest puts on a concert with local music talent and hundreds of people bring blankets or chairs and enjoy the festivities. This was our first time going to a concert at Arbor Crest, but after attending it will not be our last.

View from the deck at Lake Pend Oreille

Our dog Charlie enjoying the water

Relaxing on the dock

Arbor Crest's bottle and logo design

Meg and I with the McCollums

Meg and I at Arbor Crest with Spokane in the background

Priest Lake Trip

This past weekend my wife and I took a little weekend get-away with some of our good friends. We went to Priest Lake, Idaho which is located in the upper pan-handle of Idaho. My friend's grandparents have a cabin and were generous enough to have us as guests for the weekend. On Saturday, the guys went and played golf at Priest Lake Golf Club. We had great weather and even played decent golf. It is an absolutely beautiful course and pretty challenging as well. While the guys played golf the wives went out on the boat. They trolled around and enjoyed the beautiful weather. Saturday night consisted of a wonderful bar-b-q followed by evening entertainment at a local bar and restaurant called Elkins. On Sunday we watched the World Cup finals at the same bar. I was rooting for the Netherlands because I was fortunate enough to live in Amsterdam for 6 months after finishing college. After the game we decided to troll around on the boat before we made our way back home. It was a great weekend and I can't wait to get back up to the lake! Below are a few photos I took with my phone.

This is a photo of the lake taken from the boat:

This is a photo of the golf course:

Bowl and Pitcher Hike

Well, summer has finally hit Spokane, WA. We have been waiting quite some time for the rain and gloom of spring to leave and I believe that the sun is here to stay... maybe... So, with the warm weather my wife and I decided to get in the car and drive about three miles from our house to Riverside State Park's Bowl and Pitcher. The hike follows the Spokane River and will eventually lead you to the Centennial Trail. All in all it was a great hike and it was just nice to spend some time in the sun!

Here is a photo I took with my phone from the top of one of the rocks: