My Cabin by the Lake

We just returned from a lovely time at the lake, and, once again, it's that time of year when I start dreaming about how I could one day have my own cabin somewhere by a lake.

Every year, our amazing friends invite us to spend time with their family at a cabin on lakefront property in Garden City. It is one of the best things that happens to us each year.

Every year, Brian's side of the family holds a reunion in the High Uintahs where we make unforgettable memories like fishing on Moosehorn lake from the canoes and hiking to the top of Bald Mountain. This year, the Uintahs were a no-go because of the unusually cold weather. So, Brian's family decided to hold the reunion at Bear Lake. And, it turned out to be the exact same week that we were invited to be with our friends.

So, we combined the two, getting to be with friends in the mornings and evenings, and spending our afternoons at the beach with our extended family.

On Sunday, there was a brilliant sunset as we lazed around the huge yard at the cabin. I've mentioned before that I love yoga. The past few months, I've been getting to attend classes twice per week. As I gazed out over that gorgeous lake at the sky changing colors, I was itching to do some outdoor yoga. But, I wasn't sure if I was brave enough to just start striking poses right there in front of everyone.

Then . . . I did it. I decided I didn't care if everyone was going to make fun of me or not and I started some sun salutations. It was the first time I've gone through a yoga routine without an instructor guiding me. I'm finally doing it often enough to be able to do that. Soon, the kids were copying my poses and the adults were saying, "That's really cool." Whew! Relief that they weren't making snide remarks (although they may have been doing that behind my back).

It felt awesome. And, the next morning, my friend's step-mom (who I'm guessing is around 70 and really outdoorsy) came to me and asked me to lead her through a yoga routine. This was the first time I've ever led someone, so, I learned two things this week. 1) I can do yoga without an instructor leading me and 2) I can talk (and somewhat remember the names of the poses) while doing yoga. This is fabulous because, for a couple of years now, I've been considering going through yoga teacher training. It's not so much that I want to be a yoga instructor as it is that I want to get better at yoga. I've always wondered if I could actually keep my balance while talking, leading, and thinking through what is coming next . . . now, I know I can.

Yesterday, at the beach, I was itching to do a headstand. I was a little nervous of what Brian's family would think, but, once again, people were nice. In fact, one of my sister-in-law's revealed that she has just started doing yoga too, and, then she whipped out a perfect shoulder stand right there on the beach. We were about to do a few poses together, but, just then, the wind picked up and started blowing all of the shade structures down. So, that was the end of that.

Now, I'm home and back to the daily grind. But, only for a few days, because we have to get back up to the lake so Brian and Steve can do a 100-mile bike race. That Brian is a powerhouse. He's doing the "Grand Slam" (all the marathons in Utah) and he's added 100-mile bike races to his regiment. (except, his bike race last month was actually 140-miles)

Now, he's talking about preparing for an iron-man triathalon (which at this point, basically means adding swimming). So . . . maybe if he gets his triathalon, I'll finally be able to justify the expense and time commitment of going through instructor certification . . . hmmm . . . not a bad idea.

Meanwhile, does anyone want to go in on a cabin together? Anyone?

I mean it.