...was like a little slice of heaven. Let's face it, Powell IS hands down, my favorite place to be... Summer or Fall! The perks of Fall: THIS AMAZING SPOT, and we didn't have to fight anyone for it! Our own little secluded cove with shade, a beach and exploring rocks for the kiddos. In the fall the water is still warm/swimmable, and it cools off enough at night to sleep comfortably. The lake seems like a ghost-town compared to mid-summer when it's so crowded with boats. We had GLASS water to ski on at 10 am...usually you have to be out by 6 am to get the first run with good water!
This trip was much different than we were used to....we only had a small group. Gma/Gpa, our family, and Tiff's family. It was a little weird without all the chaos of kids outnumbering adults! But we really missed everyone at the same time! As usual i took a million pics ...
The kids....all 8 of them (seems so few)! We had more than double that last year...
Emri was in heaven with Brigham and Courtney all to herself for the week.
Originally Jet wasn't going to be coming with us. He doesn't do great on long car trips, has a hard time sleeping in places other than his own bed, and is still pretty needy when it comes to napping and with a million kids on a houseboat napping isn't always an option, but when everyone bailed we decided to bring him along. He did really well during the car rides (is starting to be interested in movies for longer than 3 minutes), only had one "bad night" (of being up from 2am-5am), and did good napping. He LOVED being on the ski boat and took his first ride out on the tube and loved playing with his cousins. Our nieces Kenzie and Morgan were such amazing helpers while we were there and my kids adore their attention.
When the lake water seemed a little cold for the babes, we filled up the kiddie pool with warm water. PERFECT!
Emri was a little more cautious this year than last when it came to trying the orange board and going on the slide...but she was still brave enough try. Brett, and all his siblings learned to ski on this.
ok to go on her knees...
I tried to get her to stand up....
...that didn't make her happy!
The kids were busy with crafts when they weren't in the water.
We made Halloween t-shirts and turned these originally spooky masks to cute and creative :)
The kids all did so great with their own creations!
Brett and his weird powell stache. Why does he need weird hair or facial hair at powell? It's all about Tradition.
Tiff and Jim have an exchange student from China for the school year. I have to say it was really fun seeing her do a lot of "firsts." Like first time swimming in a lake (swimming, really)...she was scared to death to get in...wondering if the life jacket was really capable of keeping her afloat (i think we could have at least given her one that fit?!?!). She took her first ride on the boat, "drove" the houseboat, rode on the tube, slept under the stars, and was introduced to Nutella while we were there. Doesn't get much better than that folks! We never convinced her to go off the slide though! Good job Yumi!
Can't get over this little water dog!
E loved the tube and kept giving Brett the "thumbs up" to go faster and wanted more bumps!
We did a "fire drill" and bailed out to swim at this cool "cave."
Jetty and dad cooling off.
My little boating babe. She's definitely her momma's daughter. Not very many places we'd rather be than at the lake!
I was so excited that Jet wanted to be on the tube! We did a slow ride with the babes.
Brett got in a little ski time...
...and I carefully tested the waters on the board.
I have to say, one of my favorite parts of the trip was tubing with my nieces and nephew. Because they didn't have cousins there we (Brett and I), were the 2nd best option. Nothing like bonding on the tube :) I can't believe the driver of the boat would pull us like this knowing THE MOTHER OF HIS CHILDREN was on board! haha! I guess I did taunt him just a little!
Morgan had some sweet acrobatics on her dismount....and her momma was not happy with Brett (don't worry, nobody was injured)!
Jim tried to dump off Brett and Carter...but they wouldn't have it!
On our last day/last ride Brett took Carter and I on a ride to remember! We were in the air long enough that I had enough time to contemplate bailing off into the water...or sticking it out to show Brett he had nothin on us! I stayed put....should have bailed! I think i got a little whip lash on the landing! Definitely never been that high on a tube before!
King ---or shall I say "Queen??"--- of the tube with my nieces and nephew!
We were able to hike to an area with cliffs from the spot of our houseboat. We saw this cliff from the water and thought it didn't look very high... UNTIL WE GOT TO THE TOP!! I was so proud of Kenzie, Morgan, and Carter (and Tiff who is scared of heights)...we all went. Then Tiff and I went again later for a picture. The kids said no thanks :) I'd say maybe 25 feet? Scary enough for me!
We called this the "echo log." Because we were back in a cove, within a canyon. You could yell and the echos were amazing; they went on and on, and you could hear them clear as day!!! We took some pics here on our last morning! Our little fam. So happy all 4 of us were there :)
The cousins.
The 2 people that make this trip possible every year! They rock...and so does the scenery. You just CANNOT beat the landscape and backdrops at Powell. Each time I go back I'm in awe at such an amazing place. SO. GORGEOUS. Thanks Mom & Dad A! So happy we were able to stretch summer out just a bit longer!
Until next time red rocks, until next time.
XO
