2017 Summer Road Trip Part 3 - Lake Powell

After our bang up 4th of July, the next stop on the party train was LAKE POWELL.  

Here is a picture of our first campsite.  Looks perfect, right?  With a nice sandy beach for the kiddos to play on, lots of evening and morning shade, etc.  Yep, except we didn't realize that this sandy beach was on top of a rock shelf that fell off into a cliff about 20-30' down.   So all of a sudden the beach starts giving way - it was like watching a Planet Earth video on erosion as we slowly lost 20 -30' of beach and the houseboat moved forward.  We were worried the houseboat was going to get beached, so we ended up moving the houseboat to another location just a few hundred yards down the  beach - by moonlight.  Luckily it was a full moon and no wind.  This definitely gave me new meaning to the phrase "having your foundation on shifting sand".  In the end it all worked out, but it was a little tricky there for a bit and a lot of extra work.  Other lessons learned this trip: Always test the generator before leaving the slip, and dig the anchors deeper than you think necessary.

Oh, and speaking of "by the light of the moon", while I don't usually like a full moon while we're at Lake Powell, because it interferes with the view of the stars, it was certainly beautiful rising over the rocks of the canyon.

So, once we were able to get those glitches worked out,  it was time for the fun to begin!  When the sun would go behind the rocks, the kids loved playing on the beach.

There was also this new "Green Pad" that was super fun to play on.  It was strong enough to hold you up, but wobbly enough to turn it into a game.  I even saw Camren and Kate doing a dance off on it, trying to make the other person fall off.  Hilarious.

The kayaks were another big hit.  The kids loved kayaking over to "the crater", our original camp spot to explore and dig in the sand.  I was also able to sneak a kayak ride up the canyon with Chris.  It was super quiet with a bunch of birds nesting at the top - pretty neat.  Oh, and even though I don't have any pictures, the kiddos also loved the jet skis.  Chris took our girls out and they loved it!

Another super fun thing we did this trip was go on a lot of hikes.  Most of the time it was after dinner when it was getting shady.  The first one was just across the bay from our houseboat to where they found the markings of the first non-native expedition through the Colorado river canyons.  It was some Spanish explorers, if I remember right.  Anywho, pretty neato-skeeto and the scenery was beautiful.

On another day we hiked through the red rock saddle to the next canyon over.  When the lake was at its peak, we used to be able to drive the boat through that saddle!  Instead this time we swam in some super warm "bath water" and just had a good time hiking up some cliffs using hand holds and then jumping down into the lake.  Super fun.

And then, there was the fun behind the boat.  First off, Lise and Camren went on a tube ride together.  I mean, this was cute and all when they were like 6, but now that they're 12/13 I'm thinking it's getting to be a bit much.  Lise did eventually end up going on a tube ride  by herself.  Those kids . . .

Kate also enjoyed a tube ride, but not just that.  Kate was the boating machine this time.  She tried out everything, and she was a natural.  She got up on the knee board like a charm and even mastered skiing!!  Way to go Kater Bug!

Aly and Chris went for the wake board and looked awesome.  Love seeing Chris flex all those muscles.  Woot, woot! ;)

I even got a ski turn and some good water.  As my mom would say, "This is livin'."

Totally random, but I love this picture of Chris taking care of a sleepy Milan who just needed a nap.

Also love this picture of Kylie being the flag girl.  

Kylie also had a turn on the tube.  She had the biggest perma-grin on her face the entire time.

Oh, and let's not forget about cliff jumping!  There was this great outcropping of rock in the middle of the bay with cliff jumping fun for all levels. 

One . . . two . . . three . . . JUMP!

Oh, and one final hike we did, which was one of the highlights of the trip, was up to the base of Cookie Jar.  A pretty cool thing was that we found a geocache at the top and we were able to put our names into the log book, saying that we'd been there.

Tons of cool rock formations on the way to the top.  Look at how strong my man is!! ;)

That is one big cookie jar!

We made it!

Spencer, scaring the begeebees out of me, standing on some pointed rock hanging above nothing.

Aly, only slightly less scaring the begeebees out of me, standing on some pointed rock hanging above nothing.

So, it was another year of great adventure, fun with family, and some of the most amazing beauty nature has to offer.  Until next time . . .

2017 Summer Road Trip Part 2 - Family and Fireworks

Now that Chris was in town, we were able to go spend a few days with the O'Gwin Clan and cousins. Super fun to see the start of a new generation and how much fun my kiddos had playing with them.  Kylie made instant friends with Sunny's daughter, Noel, and Kate loved being Harper's "helper", following her around and catering to her every whim.    We were also able to be there for the blessing of Nate and Sagan's baby girl, Jane.  She is a super cutie, and it was also really neat to see Chris up in the prayer circle with his brothers and nephews.  So grateful for family and Priesthood, how the two go hand in hand, and all the blessings they provide in my life.  

Aly and Lise were happy to see some favorite cousins as well.  (Aly has purposely started this new thing of giving me a "that's-so-lame" teen crust instead of smiling when she thinks I'm taking a picture at a dumb moment - like of people eating hot dogs - because she's the Instagram expert of what makes a cool picture, ya know.  What she doesn't realize is that I'm taking pictures of people being together, and that's what I care about.  Not necessarily that they happen to be eating at the moment ;)>  I did get her to smile in her picture with Grammy, so that was a bonus.)

Another super bonus was that Sean and Missy recently had a pool put into their backyard which was amazing for keeping things cool in the middle of the massive every-day-over-100-degrees heat wave we were experiencing.  The kids can never get enough pool time!

In Case you can't read this one:
Lise * Ella * Kate
"Skies the Limit"
Summa
"Head up in the Clouds"

The girls also had fun laying out on the cement and creating summer doodles.  It doesn't get any better than this!

While the ladies were all lounging at the pool, Chris (& Aly) was able to go shooting with his bros, which was awesome.  They haven't been able to do that in awhile.  

For the 4th of July we started the festivities the day before at my Uncle Al's for the annual 4th of July sleepover.   This has been a tradition since I was a little girl and it was so much fun to see a lot of my aunts, uncles and cousins on my mom's side of the family.  There was dinner and volleyball (Chris was really good!) and kiddos playing on the trampoline . . . and with water balloons.  Chris and I had just sat down to chat for a minute when all of a sudden - WHAM! - Lise slammed Chris in the back of the neck with a water balloon.  Totally took him by surprise.  Well, he took it in good fun and went after Lise for a little bit and next thing you know, he's in a one man water fight against about 10 little girls.  They all totally ganged up on him and were chasing him around the yard.  He finally had to take control of the hose to defend himself.  It was hilarious to watch.  And the girls were just loving his attention.  Once the water fight settled down they started asking him to do headstands and it turned into a cartwheel/gymnastics fest.  It's like they could sense that he was the dad of all girls.  He is a Chick Magnet, that is for sure, and I love it. 

Once it started to get dark outside we got our midnight pizza (at 10:00 ;)> ) and headed over to the church to watch the Centerville City Fireworks.  Super great view and not super crowded.  Perfect.  Then it time to set out the sleeping bags and either look at the stars or watch "Beauty and the Beast" on a sheet outdoors.

The next morning it was up for a scrumptious breakfast and then head down the driveway to watch the Centerville Parade (and get lots of candy).

Woot, Woot!  Go Utes!! :)>

The Old Ship Zion . . . Only in Utah (or maybe Idaho) would you see a float like that. ;)

Next up for the 4th of July - Head back to Missy's for more pool fun and festivities.  Aly wanted to hike up to the Y and Chris was nice and went with her - in the heat of the day.   They were tough though and did just fine . . . and even found a snakeskin along the way.  Sweet.

Missy's was a lot more pool time and visiting - just enjoying being together.  I actually ended up falling asleep on a lounge chair for a bit - hooray for adult nap time.

Finally it started getting dark outside so we could get to the main event - FIREWORKS!! And boy were there a ton of them.  We walked over to a cul-de-sac down the street where all the neighbors pool their resources - non stop banging, light, and explosions for about 45 minutes.

There were so many fireworks, in fact, that you need an umbrella to shield you from all the ash and debris falling from the sky.  And when the last boom had sounded, what's next?  Sparklers, of course!

We definitely did 4th of July proud this year.  I am so grateful for all the freedoms that I was able to enjoy over these two days, just being with family and celebrating.  I'm also so grateful for my hubby who works tirelessly so that I am continually able to enjoy these freedoms.  And I was super-duper grateful that he was able to be here to celebrate with us this year.  Happy 4th of July everybody!