Lake Powell

When Greg was growing up, Lake Powell was a family tradition.  His family would head down at least once a summer, usually more than once.  He loved it and had great memories.
When I was growing up we had a houseboat for a few years. I have some memories of Lake Powell.  While it isn't my favorite place, I do have fun, fond memories.
Greg has been pining for Lake Powell for years (he has gone down a few times with his dad and brothers, but we haven't been down as a family).  We had the opportunity to buy into a time share for a houseboat and we took it.  We get two weeks (one summer, one spring or fall) every other year.  Not as much as Greg would like, but as much as I was willing to do.
Getting ready to go was so much work!  I now have so much more appreciation for my mom!  It's like packing for camping, only more.  We packed clothes, food, sand toys, sleeping bags, entertainment for the car, etc, etc, etc.
We left on a Wednesday morning.  We drove until Green River and stopped at a small park to let the kids get out and run around and feed Guard.  Back into the car and we drove until Hanksville where we grabbed lunch.  We were anxious to get on the water, so we didn't stay long.
We finally pulled into the marina, where we loaded up Greg's dad's speed boat that he let us borrow.  We made out way out the the docked houseboat.  We transferred everything to the houseboat, tied the speedboat to the houseboat and headed out to find a spot.
We were surprised at how crowded it was.  We decided to stay in Hall's Bay because we didn't want to spend a lot in gas.  We finally found a decent spot and stayed over night.  We moved the next day to a better place.  We affectionately named it Dog Island.  The people staying across the way had a big dog that would swim over every morning and say hello.  We named the dog Perry and looked forward to his visits.

 

 

We had a wonderful time.  Rather than doing a timeline, I'm going to list all our fun activities.

Kayaking

These blue kayaks are kept on the houseboat.  When Enoch saw them, he was thrilled.  He hoped in and paddled all over.  He made me quite nervous how far away he would go.  He would paddle to another island, get out and explore and then hop back in the kayak, come back, get Kate and show her what he had discovered.  I kept reminding myself they had life jackets on, but I was still nervous.

 

 

 

 Even I got in on the fun.  You can imagine how much sunscreen we went through with pasty white legs like those!  I'm not sure why my face it so red (I didn't end up getting that sunburned).  It must be the complete panic from being in open water!

Gavin and Jarom also played kayak jousting.

 The Speedboat

Gavin was determined to learn how to water ski this trip.  I was amazed at how well he did.  He got up and stayed up the second time he tried!  He had a blast and can't wait to do it again.  Greg was planning on skiing later in the day, but that didn't work out (see below).  Unfortunately, we didn't get in enough water skiing or speed boating time.

 

 Enoch and Kate had such a great time tubing.  They were both iffy at first, but it only took them a few seconds to love it.  Even Guard had a turn, but he really didn't love it like the others.

 

After a short time in the boat, it started making a funny noise.  After a few more minutes, we started to smell smoke and then a short time after that, we saw the smoke.  We were stranded in the middle of Moki Canyon.  Yuck.  Some kind soul finally pulled over and agreed to tow us back.  We were quite far from the boat and we felt bad about them taking so much time to tow us.  We saw a park ranger and flagged her down.  She radioed for a tow.  We met the tow boat and she took us the rest of the way.  About two hours and $500 later, we were back at the houseboat with a broken speedboat.  It was quite disappointing, but we were thankful that the kids were okay, we had extra food and water on the speedboat and Guard slept through most of it.

 The Houseboat

The thing that I love about our houseboat is that it is very livable.  It is clean, but not so nice that you worry about every grain of sand the kids drag on to it.  The best part is the top.  We loved sitting up there and relaxing, talking, watching a bit of DarkWing Duck.  We also completely enjoyed sleeping up on top.  The weather was perfect for outdoor sleeping.  It's a great houseboat and we feel very lucky to be a part of it.

 

 

 

 

Defiance House

When Greg asked if anyone wanted to go to Defiance House, I asked him what that was.  He was surprised that I had never been there before and declared that we were going that morning.  We jumped in the speedboat (this is the trip that it broke down) and headed for Forgotten Canyon.  It didn't take too long to get there and the kids enjoyed the ride.  Once we got there, parked and hopped out, we started the hike.  It was hot, but thankfully, the hike wasn't too long.  The kids were troopers and did great.  Guard did not.  Greg carried him the whole way and he screamed the whole way.  He was already hot and we had to keep him covered up from the sun with a lightweight blanket, so he was miserable.  You can imagine how his screams echoed throughout the canyon.  When we got to the top, a man said, "Oh, so this is the little guy we could hear clear up here."  Yep, in all his red-faced glory.

The kids thought the ruins were really fun and enjoyed exploring them.  They ran around in the shade, loved to go down into the pit house (where it was cool) and thought it was quite fun.

 

 

 

 

 

  

On our way back to the houseboat, we stopped in a little cove for some swimming and cliff jumping. This is where the boat started causing problems.

 

 

 

Can you see Jarom jumping?

 Can you see Gavin jumping?

 

 

Playing in the Sand

 When Greg visited Lake Powell with his family, they spent most of their time water skiing and sightseeing.  When I visited Lake Powell with my family, we spent a lot of time relaxing and playing on the beach.  When we initially picked a spot to stay in, the beach wasn't very good.  I wanted somewhere better, and Greg didn't understand why the beach was so important to me.  When we finally talked it over and figured it out, Greg was very accommodating and found a better spot.  Probably a good thing, since we only had the speed boat working for a few days and had more time to play on the beach that Greg would have liked.

The kids had a great time building sand castles and getting sandy.  Guard loved laying on the beach towel under the awning and, I'll admit, I took a pretty long nap in the shade.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Guard Duty

I was really nervous about taking a baby to Lake Powell.  Next year, I'll be really nervous about taking a toddler to Lake Powell (and quite honestly, that might not happen.  Guard will probably stay home.)  This year, he did wonderfully.  He loved being on the boat, he slept through the night, and really enjoyed the water.  He loved all the attention he got.  We all took turns being on Guard duty (aren't we clever!) and he was such a happy little guy that no body minded.  It did help that he isn't mobile yet (although he rolled over for the first time on the boat, almost right off the bench if Aunt Michelle hadn't caught him).

 

 

 

 

 I love this picture of Gavin and Guard!

Swimming

I was surprised how quickly the kids took to the water.  Gavin hopped in without a problem and wasn't happy I made him wear a life jacket (too bad, so sad - yes, you have to wear one!).  Kate wanted to play with Jarom and Stephanie, so she was in the water without a problem.  Enoch was a touch hesitant.  He had no problem with the kayaks, but being completely in the water was a bit scary for him.  When he finally discovered he could do it, he had a blast.  His favorite thing to say was, "Trust your life jacket".  I think he was saying it more to himself than anyone else, but I love how he overcame some fears.

 

 

 

Lake Powell is a wonderful place.  Our family had a great time on our vacation and can't wait to go back!

 

 

Sibling Saturday at BYU

The first Saturday in August is always our Sibling Saturday - a fun day to spend with the family.  We chose to go to BYU, go bowling, eat at the Creamery and wander the campus.  Our kids love BYU and always have a great time while we are there.
Our first stop was the Creamery on the Ninth for lunch.  Yum!  We were so full, we decided to come back later for ice cream.  We walked to the Wilkinson Center and planned on going bowling, but the lanes were reserved for a private party, so we were out of luck.  Not to worry, we had plenty to do.
We ended up in the children's book section downstairs in the Bookstore.  The kids had such a fun time looking at all the books.  We hadn't planned on it, but we let each child pick out one book to take home.  They were all happy with their selections and they still remember they got those books at BYU.
Back to the Creamery for ice cream.  Double yum!  Their mint brownie is amazing!  Gavin and I both get it every time we go.
On our way home, we stopped for some pictures.  Isn't BYU the best place ever!?

 

 

 

NWR at the Zoo

Northwest Research again had their company summer party at Hogle Zoo.  We, again, loved it. 
A funny story before we left for the zoo.  I needed to run Gavin to his saxophone lessons.  I loaded Guard in the car and told Enoch and Kate I would be right back.  Enoch is always begging to be 'in charge' and 'watch Kate' while I take Gavin the 3 minutes to lessons.  They were happily watching Wild Kratts, so I told them I would be right back, they said okay and I left.  When I got back a few minutes later, Enoch and Kate were crying in the driveway with our neighbor comforting them.  I asked what happened.  Apparently, they were so into Wild Kratts they didn't hear me tell them I was taking Gavin to saxophone lessons (even though Enoch looked right at me and said, "okay mom, I'll watch Kate").  They thought I had left them home and went to the zoo by myself.  Yep.  I sneaked out of the house and went to the zoo.  Because when I don't have kids, that is where I'm heading.  Needless to say, they were upset.  And Enoch hasn't babysat since.
When we got to the zoo we had a yummy dinner of hamburgers, hot dogs and all the fixings, watched the bird show, rode the train and the carousel and saw a lot of animals.  Our visit in pictures:

 

Look at Kate's cute braids.  She calls them stuffed braids (I think because they are thicker than normal).

 

 

It was so hot that even the tigers were taking a swim.  Enoch was wondering why the water was blue in the tiger's pool.  Gavin told him that tiger's pee is blue (insert eye roll here - aren't big brothers fun?).  Enoch totally bought into it and was telling that to everyone who came to see the tigers.

 My little animal lover!

 

We have to measure ourselves every year.  I told you my kids have monkey arms!

 

 

In the eagle's nest.  Isn't he a good sport?!

 We all enjoyed the new exhibit, Rocky Shores.  They kids loved the seals and bears.

I think Guard liked the bird show.  He just spent the whole time taking it all in.

 

As many times as we have seen this elephant...Enoch still got sneezed on and was startled.

 Ohh?  Is that where teenage boys come from?

 Enoch is incredible at monkey bars.  He found these and played and played.  Greg asked him if he could do some pull-ups.  Could he ever!  A lot of them.  Not to be outdone, Greg jumped in on the fun.  No fair!  They have the freaky Fowler upper body strength.  I didn't even try, but Gavin did.  He just hung there.  Sorry, sweetie.  You get your wimpy arms from me.

We had a great time!  Thanks NWR!