July: Fun, Fun and More Fun...First at Lake Powell

We kicked off the month right by heading to Lake Powell on the 4th. Although we missed out on our annual 4th of July traditions including the hometown parade, festivities and fireworks in central Utah, we were thrilled to go to Lake Powell. We did get to see the fireworks from Bullfrog Bay as we layed on top of the houseboat. With millions of stars overhead and the reflection of the fireworks off the water, it was spectacular! This year was a record breaking year for number of people on the houseboat...43!! Although there was a little chaos at mealtimes, there was ALWAYS plenty of entertainment and fun. I feel so blessed to have such close relationships with cousins, aunts and uncles. We have grown up with many fun family traditions and outings that have cultivated and kept strong family ties. We love to be together and can always have a great time no matter what. Here are some of the highlights......

* Mason revealed his bravery by jumping off the houseboat numerous times. Last year, at only 3 years old, he jumped 3 times but that was enough to make him the youngest kid to ever jump of the boat! Go Mason!!


* The Super Mable was a new addition to the trip, an inflatable giant tube for 3 that kept us all entertained for days


When I was younger, the boys would spend hours and hours on the beach digging in the dirt, making ditches and ponds, or creating their own Seven Peaks with waterslides and tunnels. They would also spend hours carrying buckets of water from the lake up to the top of their slides. Now that the boys are older, they are also very inventive, resourceful and quite ingenious. This year, some of the boys discovered a water pump at the farm and decided to put it to good use while at Lake Powell. They dug a trail, laid plastic over it and then used the water pump with a big hose on the end to take the water to the top of their slide. Now we had a Real water slide!


The kids (and Daddies) loved to go for hikes and look for lizards, snakes, and anything else creepy and crawling....yes, I opted to stay behind on those adventures! They did catch 3 big frogs, several lizards, 2 scorpions, and they heard a rattle snake. Alan is dying to find a rattlesnake in the wild...he hasn't yet in his life. As a boy, he used to go out hunting for them. Maybe better luck next year (or NOT!)





Of course the sand was a big hit. The kids especially enjoyed making trails and roads with their dump trucks and building sand castles




Here are the kids cruising the lake all on their own. They loved going for rides on the paddle boat


Just chillin...Mason and Jalen could always find a friend to play (or be mischievous) with