Lake Powell - 2009
Let's pretend that it's the end of June instead of July, okay?
Shut the front door...it's August already?
My family has been going to Lake Powell for about, ohhhh, 29 years now. My little sister Holly was 2 the first year we went - guess how old Holly is going to be this year? HA! - and we've been going every year ever since. We've never really camped at Lake Powell because it was too hard for my grandma. I'm sure she would have camped and not complained about it, but I'm just going to blame my grandma Jane for why we have always stayed in the hotel/lodge/trailers. Ahhhh, there's nothing like a toilet, shower, air-conditioning, TV and a good meal sans sand at the end of a long hot day on the lake.
Will rented a boat this year. He was in Afghanistan last year - and if I remember right, he was getting shot at - anyway, he was so excited to get down to Lake Powell and play in the water. When Will picked the boat up, it was much smaller than we had envisioned. A 19 ft. open bow. We weren't sure what year, but we looked up the model online and we were excited about it. When he came home and I saw it, I was a little worried that we all wouldn't fit along with all of our coolers full of diet coke and cavity causing garbage...yumm!
So to give a description of the boat, think...MIAMI VICE! Hot pink and aqua! I used to love that show. Waaaay back in the, gasp, 80's!! I especially loved the theme song, which I would play in my mind as we were skimming across Lake Powell at a bumpy speed of 30 mph.
I also liked Don Johnson - but Will beats him in every possible way. Will looked really good at the wheel of that boat, I must say! He spent so much time there pulling kids on the wake board and wanna-be water-skiers, that he fried his arms.
I also liked Don Johnson - but Will beats him in every possible way. Will looked really good at the wheel of that boat, I must say! He spent so much time there pulling kids on the wake board and wanna-be water-skiers, that he fried his arms.
Knee-boarding Jay...he did it because he was basically forced to. Jay is a lot like me. Could take it or leave it, but does it so everyone will shut up!
I was very proud of my self this year. I wanted to prove to my kids and my husband that I could still water ski. I got up on my first try and I did it right in front of the place we were camped for the day. None of my kids watched, or saw, or for that matter, cared. So at least I know that I can still do it. I felt good about myself until my sister-in-law Lezlee got out and slalomed. She was going from side to side and sending off a beautiful spray of water and looking all lean and beautiful - and then I imagined what I looked like. Not so lean and beautiful, and holding on for dear life with jiggly/wiggly thighs.
We took a boat ride up (or down) to Hidden Canyon - I think. It gets a little scary when you have no idea how deep the water is and you continue to turn up these windy, narrow canyons going faster than I think we should have gone (I'm a horrible back-seat/any-seat driver) because boats don't have brakes!
When we got to the end of the canyon we got out of the boat and tried to find a way to get to these old pictures on the rocks - hieroglyphics.
When we got to the end of the canyon we got out of the boat and tried to find a way to get to these old pictures on the rocks - hieroglyphics.
Lindsay, Lauren and Aspen
Will took an exhibition knee-board ride. He'd get himself up on his knees on the board, but then realize that his swimsuit was also around his knees.
I would have love to have been behind that boat!
Jay and Will - but it kind of looks like Jay is in trouble for something. Jay has the "deer-in-the-headlights" stare and Will has the "what are you thinking" stance.
WARNING - PG13 PICTURE TO FOLLOW!
Ryans rendition of a "Bum-back Whale". I know, it's not really THAT bad/PG13ish, but I had to keep to my word when I told Ryan that I was going to post that picture. He didn't believe me, but...Here it is RYAN!!!
Climb every mountain
Jay is the only one who can smile - his hair is not long enough to whip him in the face!
And it's a REAL SMILE too! Not one of his fake ones!
This is one family picture at Lake Powell that I will not be copying/pasting to anything, anywhere. We look like a bunch of...I don't know what, but not very good. The backdrop is worth the picture being here on my blog, I guess.
I told my kids that they could have 3 shells - which are glorified garbage clams - and 3 rocks. I don't need anymore rock/shell collections in my house.
I don't think I'd dare wear goggles to look under the water like Emma. I have a hard enough time controlling my fish-could-be-right-by-me-imagination when I'm in the water. What made it worse was that we all had glitter-toes done before we went down and I was sure that a fish was going to think that my toe was a perfect orange-glittery piece of fish bait - and take a bite!
Finding a place to camp for the day on the prickly, rocky shores of Lake Powell is the most stressful part. After a beach is found...it's all sun, relaxation, snacks, and water fun with the small of sunscreen filling the air! The kids tried fishing this year. Nothing was caught - which was fine with me. The only thing we did catch was a...
Just a baby one, but nonetheless - very scary. Especially for Emma who saw/heard it. The story kept getting more and more wild and detailed as the day went on. Will was in the boat pulling kids and he yelled to me that Emma was around the corner crying. The kids had been jumping off a rock when Emma said she "saw" a snake. For the amount of times my kids "cry wolf" I wasn't in too much of a hurry to get there, but when I saw her sreaming...uncontrollably...on the shore, I ran. I guess she thought that the snake would swim out with her so she froze where she was. I told her to jump into the water and swim back to camp and Ryan, my dad and me went on a snake hunt!
We had been warned by some other campers that they had seen rattle snakes around, so we were being more careful. Ryan found it, half under a rock. I found a big chunk of sandstone and my dad made the perfect shot. This is the first year that we've seen rattle snakes. We watched the snake squirm and more and we were sure that it was going to resurrect and slither away with it's head attached by only a string.
The kids waited. It never happened.
Anna and Emma
Just a baby one, but nonetheless - very scary. Especially for Emma who saw/heard it. The story kept getting more and more wild and detailed as the day went on. Will was in the boat pulling kids and he yelled to me that Emma was around the corner crying. The kids had been jumping off a rock when Emma said she "saw" a snake. For the amount of times my kids "cry wolf" I wasn't in too much of a hurry to get there, but when I saw her sreaming...uncontrollably...on the shore, I ran. I guess she thought that the snake would swim out with her so she froze where she was. I told her to jump into the water and swim back to camp and Ryan, my dad and me went on a snake hunt!
We had been warned by some other campers that they had seen rattle snakes around, so we were being more careful. Ryan found it, half under a rock. I found a big chunk of sandstone and my dad made the perfect shot. This is the first year that we've seen rattle snakes. We watched the snake squirm and more and we were sure that it was going to resurrect and slither away with it's head attached by only a string.
The kids waited. It never happened.
Anna and Emma
We all had a lot of fun. Thanks Dad and Mom for keeping this family tradition alive!
2 comments:
That looks like so much fun!
Looks like a very fun trip! Family traditions are the best.
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