Summah.

I've found that, this summer more than previous summers, I have a knack for completely losing track of time. I often glance at a calendar and am shocked to find that two weeks have magically disappeared, with little to no sign of passing. Working 7 days a week and trying to cram a social life in the cracks definitely makes time fly. I picked up a few days a week at my old job in Salt Lake. It's a pharmaceutical research company. Basically I call people and ask how their doctor's appointments went. Yeehaw. It pays 10.50 an hour, which is a dollar and a half more than I make at Rendezvous. Marci and I carpool and we work the same shifts there so it's not bad, when we're getting along. It's nice to have an excuse to see family, with Star and Russ living just across the valley there. So my Mondays, Tuesdays, and Wednesday mornings are spent there. When I'm finished working a few hours at PEGUS on Wednesday morning, I drive the 3 hours back to the lake and work an 8 hour shift at the beach.

Thursday mornings I get up early and make the staff breakfast. I'm expanding my horizons. A few of the things I've made are pancakes, french toast, biscuits and gravy, my favorite fruit salad, and crepes, always accompanied by scrambled eggs. It's definitely been a fun learning adventure but someday I will make a great homemaker. Ha.

Working here at the beach has a few excellent benefits, one of which is the hook ups we get at Bear Lake Sails (the boat rental shack on the beach). I've become friends with a few of the kids that work there, and one of the guys there, Kevin (aka Jamaica), has a love for wakeboarding that can only be rivaled by mine, or at least my desire to learn how. So we go out wakeboarding early in the morning once or twice a week when the water is glass. It's been amazing so far. I learned how to drive a boat well while pulling a wakeboarder, which is great. And not to mention my wakeboarding skills have been improving immensely. My goal (though it may be far-fetched) is to jump the wake and land it by the end of the summer. My jumping skills are definitely improving, though my goose egg from crashing Monday morning is only just fading. Another bonus is the extremely discounted prices on renting waverunners and boats. It's been excellent utilizing that aspect of my Ranger Aide duties. (here is where I put in a plug -- come visit me, and I'll do what I can to hook you up!)

My official job title here is "Ranger Aide", so my ranger Jonathan aka Bossman and I often joke about me assisting him in dire situations (also known as petty tasks). Recently, I've carried his apple tree, filled up his truck with gas, shared my milkshake, and warmed up his leftover pizza. It's definitely been taxing, but I've found that I have a reserve of strength that seems only attainable when being my Ranger Aide self. Maybe I'm a super hero. Maybe I'm not. It's all up for interpretation.

This week Marci and her siblings bought a Golden Retriever puppy as her dad's birthday present. We "puppy sat" in Salt Lake for the three days and it was a blast! He is the most well-behaved puppy I have ever seen. We had to leave him inside while we were at work for 6 hours, and he didn't make one single mess. He's the best puppy ever. We named him Ghandi, though it remains to be seen if it will remain so. Regardless, as soon as I am settled somewhere in life, I am getting a dog. Period.

Some other highlights of the summer have been when the fam came and camped with me here at the lake,  Sunshine and crew came to Idaho for the 4th of July weekend, horseback riding at Glen's, the China crew camping here with me, cruising waverunners with TJ, and the countless adventures and visits from my number one fan and wingman Marcitron.

This summer has been quite possibly the best summer of my life so far. I love every day I spend here. This lake has become my sanctuary, and I can't help but smile everytime I come back over the hill into the valley (cheesy, I know). My ghetto little borrowed 1958 camper feels more like home than I ever thought it would, and the people I work with are amazing. Life is great.