Lake Powell...

Before I jump into what we're up to now, I better catch up on what we've been doing the past couple of months!  

In June, we took a trip with some of the Duckworth family to one of our all-time favorite places - Lake Powell.  Mitch had to skip out on last year's trip, so he'd been looking forward to this week for a looong time.  

Super dad....climbing Sand Mountain with not one, but two kids!

Carter and Miss Finn - This was there spot; in the bow of the boat, holding the flag.  That used to be my favorite spot, that is, before I started hiding in the shade with the wee ones.  I'm glad she likes "the bumps" as much as I use too.

Mitch tearing it up.  I don't think there is a prettier background than the red rocks of Powell.  You could be the crummiest wakeboarder ever (which Mitch is not) and still look awesome with those vistas behind you.

One day we decided to head up to Last Chance Bay to boat and then Dangling Rope for some ice cream.  Would you believe they were OUT of ice cream?  I had been looking forward to showing Finnley how the carp eat the ice cream and then swim away with the milky cream coming out of their gills.  Darn.  We had to settle with feeding them Pirate's Booty instead.

Since we were already over half way, we decided to go see Rainbow Bridge.  I used to love visiting Rainbow bridge, and then taking a nice cool dip in the lake after.  We did just that.  After roasting in the sun, taking a few pictures, we hopped in the boat and found a good swimming hole.

Reese getting a piggy back from her dad.

Our kids loved the Molecule.  They would have done that all day if we'd let them.  Instead we forced them to wakeboard and surf with us, as well as get up on the platform ski.  They were all great sports!  Even when Dieter took a tumble and ended up in the water alone, he was happy and proud that he'd tried the ski.

Watching mom and dad.

So proud of my two (well three including Remmy) little Powell babes.  They were happy and positive and willing to try new things.  Here's to hoping (and praying) that we get a week off for a trip to Powell next summer!

Our favorite part of the summer...

My favorite part of summer includes:

skiing, wakeboarding, tubing and surfing

laying under the hot sun, and jumping off the deck to cool off

long cruises up Navajo Canyon with stops to swim and jump off the boat

soft serve ice cream at the marina

daily games of UNO

teaching the wee ones the sports we love

watching them start to love them too

swimming and floating

watching for shooting starts, spotting satellites, and discovering the milky way

lots of laughs, memories, and eating!

We had a great trip to Lake Powell this year. It was just us, the Batemans, my parents, and Trinity (my brother's oldest). It was fun and low-key, just like Powell should be.

The kids got plenty of time to learn their stuff, and we made sure they did. I was so proud of Finnley for surfing with me, tubing, and doing the platform ski! Even Dieter got on the surf board with me.

Finnley turned into a little fish this trip. She wanted to swim, swim, swim and I was so excited to see her transformation. She has been pretty timid around the lake in the past, but that all changed this trip. She even jumped off a few 6 foot rocks/cliffs with me again and again.

Finn and her buddy Rex. These two play together so well, and had a blast. Don't worry, they are probably searching for some Caffiene-Free Diet Coke, that seemed to be the kids drink of choice this trip. ;)

Sara and Mac Daddy

My cute little "flag girl".

Ivy was the best baby, I forgot she was there most of the time. What a sweetheart!

Don't these two look straight out of a Star Trek movie? Hilarious.

On the last day, our ski boat stopped working. We didn't let it stop us from having fun though. We hufflepuffed and double-skied all the little kids behind the jet ski...oh, and Sara!

Our last and greatest adventure of our trip was definitely the houseboat ride in. As we were about to park, the pilot noticed someone was parked in our slip so he had to abort. The winds were so strong that it just picked up our houseboat and dragged it. He wasn't able to manuver it well enough in such a small space that we ended up resting on the tires that surround the houseboats. It was an experience. Luckily, everyone stayed calm and had a good laugh. Ropes, and two boats later, we were off the tires, in a different slip, and on our way home.

I just want to give another big THANK YOU to my parents for hosting yet another fabulous Lake Powell trip. We love you guys.