Mike and I first visited Sun Lakes Park Resort about 30 years ago. Our youngest, Tami, was about 9, Tyler was almost 11. Our oldest, Tara, was working for the summer so she didn’t come with us.

For those of you not familiar with the area, it’s about 50 miles northeast of Ellensburg and about 25 miles southwest of Grand Coulee Dam.

We went with another couple, stayed in one of the “Lakeside cabins.” It was a small, rustic cabin with a double bed, a double size futon and a single bed, and a small kitchen. Thank goodness it had a window air conditioning unit ‘cause it was very hot outside. We spent most of our time in the water, but the kids also enjoyed playing miniature golf and riding the horses that were available near the state park on the other side of the lake.

The next year we went back and splurged on a mobile home – a two-bedroom unit, with full kitchen, a good sized living room, bathroom and air conditioning throughout.

We made it a family tradition to go yearly until the kids graduated and were off to college.

Years went by, the kids got married and grandchildren started arriving and in 2009 we thought it would be a lot of fun to get everyone together for a summer vacation. We immediately thought of Sun Lakes, checked out their accommodations and decided to rent the “Lakeview cabins.” The are advertised as “cabins” but actually they are very modern duplexes with two bedrooms (one king and one queen bed) a living room with a fold-out couch, a full kitchen, full bath, a cement patio out front with a large picnic table and a large front yard. And of course, the “cabins” are fully air conditioned.

We had such a good time we decided to make it a yearly event.

The adults took turns staying with the little ones on the beach as the kids built sand castles, chased each other round, ate lots of snacks, occasionally napped and once in a while donned their life jackets and went in the water.

We adults each had our favorite floatie device — some preferred the traditional life raft or inner-tube, some used noodles, a couple selected what looked like two mini-pontoons held together by some netting that formed a comfy chair and I was partial to “float recliner” with a webbed bottom, and back rest with a pillow. We would tie up to the buoy line for hours and enjoy the water and the sun.

Activities have changed over the last 14 years. Now the grandkids are old enough that they join us out at the buoy line. We tow out an inflatable ice chest full of Gatorade, water and beer to keep us hydrated. Sometimes we play games like “black or white” in which someone shouts out two choices, such as “Snickers or Skittles?” or “Watching soccer or baseball?” or “McDonald’s or Wendy’s burgers?” or “smooth or crunchy peanut butter?” and everyone has to choose which one they like more. Then of course we have to debate everyone’s’ decisions. Occasionally we discuss serious stories but mostly we just chitchat.

For lunch each day at the lake, we cook hot dogs and marinated chicken on a small gas grill and supplement with a large variety of Pringles, Ruffles, Funyuns and fresh fruit.

Several years ago we started doing a murder mystery. Tami orders the four-act script, granddaughter Makyha reads through it and assigns each of us a part and sends us an email, describing our costumes. Some of us go way overboard with wigs, make-up, jewelry, special shoes and accessories and others of us just bring a prop. Then each night after dinner, we pull the lawn chairs out onto the lawn and read through one act and vote on who the killer is. And the final night at Sun Lakes we find out who the guilty party is. Then we all secretly vote on “Best Actor,” “Best Accent,” Best Costume” and “Best Improvising.” Awards were presented but thankfully no acceptance speeches were given!

As an added bonus this year, the first night we were there, after sunset, all 14 of us sat on the lawn and watched the Perseid meteor shower. I’m guessing we saw 20-25 shooting stars. For some of the young-uns it was the first time they had seen anything like that but even for those of us who have watched meteor showers over the years, the experience was incredible.

We just made reservations for next year. The sunburned skin on my forehead has stopped peeling; we got all the floaties, water shoes and sun screen packed away in the garage; and life is back to normal.

I am ever so grateful to our kids (and their families — the Walls, the McBarks and the Mudds) for juggling their summer schedules so we can all get together and make wonderful memories. It’s so worth the six-hour drive!

Karen Barkstrom is the editorial assistant at The Daily World. She can be reached at kbarkstrom@thedailyworld.com and 360-537-3925.