Over the summer my dad and I went up north with his side of the family. I knew that it would be a lot of fun because it was just my dad, uncle, cousin and I. We had a little orange cottage on the lake with a small area of sand in order to access the lake and just enough room for us to sleep. We come to this cottage every summer, I never really thought  much about it other than how small it was. I didn't want to complain because I was fortunate for the opportunity, but it was always hard when we were all cramped together. At least this year there would only be four of us because none of the girls in our family could come. Maybe this would make the cottage seem a lot bigger. The most memorable times I have up there are jet skiing. Jet skiing is by far my favorite thing to do on the water, I love the feeling of being able to go where ever I want on a lake that is 20 miles long! While i'm speeding down the lake it often feels like i'm flying in the wind with tons of water being shot at me through an invisible cannon. Although I like to ride in the rough water, the best time to race is when the water is still as glass and looks like it would break on any contact. This is when my dad and I start to race, we get pretty competitive over something that doesn't even matter to most people. We normally go between 55-60 mph which seems a lot faster on water than it does on land. It's always fun but I never seem to beat him.

After our last race I asked him, “ what was your top speed that time?”

   He responds “57, that was my best run yet!”

I've come to accept the fact that I might never beat him when it comes to jet skiing. He always seems to get the edge on me no matter how hard I try.

After jetskis, we grill salmon and hamburgers and start a campfire so we can roast marshmallows once it gets dark. This was also a tradition for us because we sit in the sand and listen as the boats take a night run out on the calm lake. I always liked going up to torch lake and spending lots of quality time with my family, but this past summer was different. While I was sitting in the living room watching tv with my dad and uncle on the last night, I realized something. I was reflecting on the great trip we had just had while living in the moment at the same time. While I thought that the day was over and winding down, I thought to myself, “This is going to be one of the most memorable moments of the entire trip,” It didn't matter the size of the cottage or who went the fastest on the jet skis. Sometimes being cramped in a small house brings you closer to people. Since we've been doing this, I have become a lot closer to my dad's side of the family. So this time I made it a goal of mine to think about all of the little things that made this trip awesome instead of the big things. Now I know that the relationships we develop are way more important than the things we do or have.