Lake Powell 11.0

I recently noticed that I have a plethora of Lake Powell posts. So as not to get confused I have decided to name them by their year. Brilliant... I know. Stop the presses. Local woman comes up with a doosie.

So here we are in 2011 and after a long wait we were finally able to coordinate a weekend on the Lake with Wade's family. (some of them. it's impossible to all be there because of the family business) It was soooooo good. Easily my favorite part was watching Lynn and Bryce relive their earlier days on the Lake and act like bonafide children again. Here you will live a day in the life at Lake Powell. Can I just pre-empt this with what a joy it is to have a decent camera to capture these precious moments surrounded by beautiful scenery!

Bryce agrees with me

Cliff jumping kid style with Uncle Greg

Blue-eyed Kole happy as a clam as long as he had a bottle and a lid to play with

Jake, Zac, Ellie and Jett on the tube


Lynn enjoying tons of uninterrupted time with her grandkids

We spent every morning doing the obligatory sandhill trip, lots of fun there, especially the last day when a Varsity Scout group from Kansas let the kids slide down their houseboat slide for an hour... I think we wore out our welcome!

Saige, Jett, and Ellie running towards the splash down

Bryce and Paiton burying themselves in the sand


Jake too...
Lexi not to be left out...


We would let the kids tube and play for a bit then find a nice beach somewhere to dig, play, and eat lunch.


play a little paddle ball



and the kids would surf and swim



We would find a nice cool shady cliff to rest under for a bit


Then on to Antelope Point Marina for some 'kiddie pool' time for the young ones, including ice cream, and some drinks and air conditioning for the adults.

Spinning contest with Grandpa
Zac and Jett regaining their equilibrium after so much spinning

Greg being asked by some poor pathetic Europeans to take them wakeboarding. He was so sympathetic and really wanted to take them.

After everyone was sufficiently rested we were off for some early evening boarding and surfing. No surfing pix this year since I was busy driving the boat, but here are a few of our boarders.

First Jake


Then Zac getting a little air with the help of Uncle Greg. (Zac finally got up on the wakeboard solo this year but didn't get very far. We're hoping to master it by the end of the summer)
Our evenings were spent having dinner, stocking up on supplies at the local Wal-Mart (we always needed something!) and then usually a campfire with smores and showers at the Campground Restrooms. The camera never made it out of the boat so you will have to use your imagination for those pictures. (don't go as far as the showers though, you'll regret it)

On our last day we took advantage of the Marina Pool for awhile after moving Jodi's campsite. We had to be on the road by 2:00 so chose the less busy of the 2 water options.

My Jake soaking in the last of our sun


My Zac (holding his favorite Lake Powell treat, Easy Cheese. I refuse to buy it any other time. 1. because it's disgusting 2. because it's expensive 3. because it's nutrient free)

My Man doing what he does best, something techie.


Pointing out which Houseboats we want to own someday..... Dream on!
Goodbye to the Lake that we love so much... until next year.

Hold the phone. Just noticed not a single photo of my gorgeous Sis in Laws in my post. I promise they were there so here you are.

Jodi loving on her sleeping Kole. She is my hero because she braved 4 days at the Lake with 3 kids under the age of 6 sans hubbie. What a woman!


Leslie with Greg. ( I claim it's out of focus not because I'm a bad photographer, but because she is so little it's hard to focus on her )
Sayonara lake dwellers. Had a great time with you. Lots of love!!!

Blog to Print

I am a Groupon Nerd... so when I recently came across a Groupon for a company that take's your blog postings and converts them to a hard back book I was psyched! It was $12 for a $25 book. I went into it knowing full well that I had alot more than $25 worth of book to print. I have been blogging for 3 years now! I went whole hog and had them print the whole kit n' caboodle. It cost me $52 total with my coupon, shipping, etc. for a 135 page book! It also reached me in about a week. That's like a 3 year journal that I never had to put a pen to. We live in a modern society, and this blog thing is as close to journaling as I'll ever get. If you ever run across one of these deals I highly recommend it. My family has been having fun reading this look that's all about the last 3 years of our lives... highs and lows.

PS. The company is called Sharedbook and here is a little photo of my final product!

My All Star

This week Jake was invited to play in an All Star game. 30 boys in his age group were invited from the state of Utah. It was held at the BYU baseball/softball complex. The first day was a series of skills challenges. Speed off the bag, pitching speed, fielding accuracy, running speed, hitting velocity etc. He did a really great job and was thrilled to find out that out of the 30 he pitches 5th fastest clocked at 56 MPH. The fastest thrower was 63 MPH and he outweighed Jake by a mere 134 lbs. Pound for pound my little man throws a mean ball. The following day they split the boys into 3 teams and let them vs each other moving them around a lot to different positions. They got to play in the indoor training facilities for their first game and on the softball field for their second game. Beautiful facilities, well run program, all around great experience!

Jake's up to bat...


Jake's behind the mound...

Who would have thought I'd ever catch a picture of my son in a BYU dugout of all places?

The score of their final game. They won both but this one was a bit of a spanking.

My favorite pic of all. True life David vs Goliath. My little 68 lb stud vs his 202 lb opponent. That kid is bigger than the coach!

2 of my favorite Jake quotes...
"Being small just means you have to work twice as hard."
"I am 68 lbs of pure power!"

gotta love that confidence.... Love you bud!

Lava Adventures

Last weekend we had an opportunity to go camping at Lava Hot Springs with friends and family. Having never been there I didn't really know what to expect, but Lori was well informed and had done a lot of research so we packed up our camping gear and headed to Idaho.
She made us a great campsite reservation that was central to everything. The River was a stones throw, the pool was a short jaunt, and the grocery store (where morning coffee was appreciated) was a mere 5 minute stroll. Lava was like going back in time to a dusty little town where everything is within walking distance, shoes cost $3.00, and they run out of tater tots at the local restaurant.

Grandma and Grandpa were even up for the trip, only theirs involved being turned away from their Hotel reservation at 11:00 at night.
Morning Chow Line... Gma & Gpa made delicious breakfast burrito's


One of the boys favorite activities... anytime of the day or night... was to go sit in the warm water being spewed from these rocks. The river was dang cold, but the water here was toasty I hear.

Our days were filled mostly with pool time. Lava has an Olympic sized pool with 4 diving boards, 3 dive platforms ranging in height from 15 feet to 33 feet (OUCH!!), toddler sized slides, pre-teen sized slides, and adult sized slides. We did them all, several times.

Jake and Zac tandem jumping... Jake high, Zac low


waiting in line for their turn...

Justin and Loree chillin' it in the sun...

Friends Marianne & Jeremy with their boys Oakley and Gage watching the diving chaos.


Luke braving the high platform.

A triumphant escape


Jake and Zac jumping from platform #1 (they did both eventually do #2, but Mom wouldn't let them venture up to #3)

Not to be outdone Nash jumping from up high... point your toes and cross your arms and legs!!!

Zac is ready to become a man and handle knives and things laced with testosterone so Justin and Bodie were gracious enough to teach him how to whittle with a pocketknife. He spent hours on that stick only to loose it the morning we left to come home. :(

As camping requires, we spent lots of hours sitting around the campsite chatting about summertime subjects, spraying down Shelbie with Solarcaine, feeding Jeremy antihistamines when he had an allergic reaction to corn, etc.

We talked in to the wee hours of the morning (which when you're nearing 40 means around 11:00 PM) even outlasting some of the kids.
Here's Zac snug as a bug in a pink blankie.

Our last day was supposed to be river rafting day. I've either failed as a mother, or succeeded because my boys were scared to death of the thought of it. I have spent the entire summer warning them against the dangers of moving waters and to stay as far away from them as possible. Then I put them in a tube, shove them down a river, and tell them to "Have Fun!" Needless to say, they were freaked and one time was all it lasted.
Others are braver than we... here they are tubing

and exiting the river

As I get older I find myself fonder and fonder of the 'Hotel vacations'. I knew it would come eventually. I am my mothers daughter. I do still enjoy a good camping trip now and then though and this one ranked up there. Love spending quality time with my big bro. Love eating corn on the cob straight off the grill. Love watching my dog be muddy for 4 days with a big smile on her furry little face. Love listening to my biggest boob, Luke, complain about everything camping related. Not love the 5 hours rainstorm we endured on our last night.


Later lava...

PS. My favorite part of the trip was the Hot Mineral Pools. I highly recommend them and would love to go back and sit in them when there is snow about!

Luke is 16!!!

Luke is finally 16! We celebrated his big day with a surprise Birthday party in his honor. There was about 50 people there including friends and family. His best friend Lewis and Grandpa Greg helped us out by taking him golfing, then delivering him to the party at the appropriate time. I think he was mildly surprised. In these high tech days we live in it's hard to keep secrets. I sent all the invitations out via Evite and tried to field all the RSVP's before he could steal my laptop and find them himself. He caught me texting his friend one night so his suspicions started. Oh well, we did the best we could with a very computer savvy boy hot on our trail.

Me and my big boy on his special night... that's his car he bought over my left shoulder.


We had a mobile Laser Tag company come set up a Laser Tag field for us so everyone would have something to do besides be gluttonous. It was hilarious watching us all run around with goofy headsets on, but even funnier was how serious those guys who run that company are...

Some of the guys shooting the breeze...

Luke and his second BFF...Grandpa Greg...

Grandma and Grandpa Sumsion. All of Luke's family was there (with the exception of Josh in LA, and Lynsey in Austin... bad excuses)


Wade used his highly honed funeral director skills and made a video tribute of Luke, it was a great reminder of what a great kid he has always been. Brought tears to the eyes of many.

Everybody enjoying their grub. We had a bbq with lots of salads and a brownie tower. Thanks a ton to everyone that helped! There's Gma Leah and Gpa Stewart!

My handsome boy with his Gma Lynn...

Family having some nice time to visit in a beautiful setting at Canyon View Park.

Sami holding baby Kole...

More Laser Tag...

Me and Luke's friend Haley doing our best Charlies Angels pose...

Blowing out the candles on the brownie tower...


We love you Luke. You are a talented, dependable, smart, hardworking, sensitive, sweet boy. You have a wonderful future ahead of you. We will always be here to be you're biggest cheerleaders and to push you through life and make you be your best. Always believe in yourself and never let anyone change your sensitive personality into anything less. Happy Birthday!!!