The Lake House

We're entering my favorite season... Fall. At least it's my favorite season in Utah. If I were still living in Texas, I would probably say Spring, but that's because there's only two seasons in Texas - Hot and Hotter. (Bad joke!)

A few years ago, my Dad got tired of the hustle and bustle of city life (more like suburban life) and decided to purchase a little lake house out in East Texas. Located two hours from Dallas, it was just far enough to get away, yet not too far.

The little town he moved to was called Avinger. Complete with dusty, country roads and one functioning stop light, the town boasted a "Welcome to Avinger" sign that read Pop: 486. When my sisters and I first saw it, we whispered to each other, "Toto, I don't think we're going to find a mall here."

But we adjusted. And over time, we grew to love this little lake house with the back porch that overlooked the lake and surrounding forest. And when the holidays came around, this was the first place we wanted to come to relax, unwind and recharge.

This is one of my all-time favorite family photos. I believe this was Thanksgiving 2002 and my Mom made us wear red and green sweaters for the Christmas photo she was hoping to capture. We're actually sitting on my Dad's sail boat that he christened "Trop De Filles." If any of you know French, it means "Too Many Women."

And since my Dad is a captain for American Airlines and "the captain" of his boat, we saluted him properly.

Here my sisters and I are having our own "King of the World" moment.

Here Holly and I are rocking the red sweaters! She had just cut her hair to play an extra in the Julia Roberts movie "Mona Lisa Smile". Set at an all-girls college in the 1950's, she literally had to embrace the bob. When she told the producers she didn't want to cut her long locks, they said, "Either you cut your hair or we'll find someone who will." And so she did.

Even Lexus made an appearance at the lake house from time to time. She wasn't too keen about the water, but she loved to roam and breathe in all the clean, country air!

I just took a drive up Provo Canyon last Sunday. While I saw a few pockets of color, it's still a little too early for the bright golds, reds and oranges that will surely blanket the mountains. Until then, I'm enjoying the shorter days, the cooler temperatures and the promise that Fall is right around the corner.

PK